Alla Kurzenkova
https://doi.org/10.31392/VAH-2026.55.22
Сторінки: 261-270
Abstract. The West Coast of Scotland has a diverse range of early medieval cross-marked
stones, featuring a variety of topographical settings, stone types, and chronologically distributed
forms of crosses. This paper presents the results of a project, funded by the British Academy’s
Researchers-at-Risk Scheme, to investigate early medieval cross-marked stones on the Isle of
Barra. An essential aspect of the cross-form analysis in this paper is the result of re-dating
previously unrecorded cross types on the Isle of Barra by comparing them with similar crosses
documented in volumes of the British Academy’s Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture series
and the Corpus of Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales. By identifying
links to the founder of the site through dedications to Saint and datable cross-type materials, I have
built up a comprehensive understanding of the significance of this site, which evolved differently
between the 7th and 10th century AD. Crucially, this study has facilitated an understanding of the
links between cross forms and Saints, suggesting that crosses either coexisted with Saints or were
added to sites already made famous by a Saint.
Keywords: Early Medieval Cross-Marked Stones; the Isle of Barra, Saint’s Dedication,
Datable Cross-Type Materials.
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