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Sacred Art & Iconography

Gosforth Cross

Christian Art

A red sandstone cross of the 9th or 10th century standing 4.4 metres tall in St Mary's churchyard, Gosforth, Cumbria, England, one of the best preserved pieces of Anglo-Scandinavian stone sculpture to survive. Its shaft is carved with a mixture of Norse mythological and Christian imagery read together rather than as rival traditions: Loki bound beneath a serpent with his wife Sigyn catching its venom, a figure identified as the god Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, a horned bearer holding a horn to his lips most often read as the god Heimdall, and a panel read alternately as Baldr's death or the Crucifixion. The reading of the horn bearing figure as Heimdall is the majority scholarly view rather than a settled certainty. The cross remains in its original churchyard; the Victoria and Albert Museum cast a plaster replica in 1882 for display in London, and a life-sized replica was erected in 1887 at St Kentigern's Church, Aspatria. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Physical Form
MediumSourced to the subject's own account
Stone cross, St Mary's churchyard, Gosforth, Cumbria, 9th to 10th century 1
Classification
Object TypeSourced to the subject's own account
Sculpture or Statuary 1
Medium (class)Sourced to the subject's own account
Sculpture 1
In Other Languages (9 names)
  • Kreuz von Gosforth
  • Kruco de Gosforth
  • Croix de Gosforth
  • ゴスフォース十字架
  • 고스포스 십자가
  • Gosforthkrossen
  • Gosforthkorset
  • Krzyż z Gosforth
  • Госфордский крест
Connections

Associated With

Heimdall, Figures

This source names Heimdall directly: "to his lips most often read as the god Heimdall, and a panel read alternately as Baldr's death or the Crucifixion."

Source Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)
Loki, Deities

This source names Loki directly: "rather than as rival traditions: Loki bound beneath a serpent with his wife Sigyn catching its venom, a figure identified as the god Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, a horned bearer..."

Source Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)
Loki, Figures

This source names Loki directly: "rather than as rival traditions: Loki bound beneath a serpent with his wife Sigyn catching its venom, a figure identified as the god Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, a horned bearer..."

Source Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)
Thor, Deities

This source names Thor directly: "a figure identified as the god Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, a horned bearer holding a horn to his lips most often read as the god Heimdall, and a panel read alternately as Baldr's..."

Source Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)
Thor, Figures

This source names Thor directly: "a figure identified as the god Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, a horned bearer holding a horn to his lips most often read as the god Heimdall, and a panel read alternately as Baldr's..."

Source Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)

Belongs to Tradition

Norse Paganism, Religions
Source Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)

Depicts

Heimdall, Deities

The horn bearing figure on the cross's shaft, the majority scholarly reading rather than a certain identification, corroborated independently by the Wikipedia article on Heimdallr himself.

Source Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)
Additional Source Heimdallr (Wikipedia)

Originated In

England, Regions
Source Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Gosforth Cross (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • lead, on the cross date and location
    The Gosforth Cross is a tall, slender Viking High Cross, dating to the first half of the 10th century AD in St Mary's churchyard, Gosforth in the English county of Cumbria. It is a remarkable and unique example of early medieval sculpture in the British Isles.
  • catalogue record, medium/object-type description
    A red sandstone cross of the 9th or 10th century standing 4.
  • Originated In: England, Lead
    in St Mary's churchyard, Gosforth in the English county of Cumbri
View the Source
Heimdallr (Wikipedia)
WikipediaDepicts: Heimdall
Quote, Depicts: Heimdall
A figure on the Gosforth Cross, holding a horn and a sword, standing defiantly before two open-mouthed beasts, has been often theorized as depicting Heimdall with Gjallarhorn.
View the Source
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