[MR] History Blog: Anglo-Saxon Pectoral Cross

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today's History Blog entry concerns a gold Anglo-Saxon pectoral cross
dating between 700 and 900 CE. The piece was found last year by a metal
detectorist near Berwick-upon-Tweed.

What makes this find doubly interesting is the runic inscription "Eadruf",
presumably the owner at some point. Eadruf is not a previously known
Anglo-Saxon name. "Ead" means "happiness" or "fortune", but "ruf" is not a
known word in any Germanic language.

You can see the cross at http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/62909 .

The land where the cross was found was once owned by the monastery on
Lindisfarne.
In 793 CE Lindisfarne was the first place trashed by the Vikings in
Britain. More about this fascinating and religiously important island can
be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindisfarne .

Lady Sarah and I are currently reading Alistair Moffat's meditative book TO
THE ISLAND OF TIDES, A JOURNEY TO LINDISFARNE (Canongate, 2019; ISBN
9731786896346). The author undertook a personal pilgrimage to discover St.
Cuthbert, the famous hermit and abbot of Lindisfarne. In the book he treks
across the Scottish-English border region to the ruins of Old Melrose and
Dryburg abbeys, as well as other places associated with St. Cuthbert in
Bede's writings and in an anonymous 'Life' of Cuthbert. Moffat finally
reaches Lindisfarne, and attempts to sort out St. Cuthbert from the tourist
mecca that the Island has become. It is a fascinating and moving book of
personal discovery, often with touches of dry humor. I highly recommend
this book to anyone interested in the saint or Lindisfarne.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆