Ryedale Zoomorphic Ornament and Tenth-Century Anglo-Scandinavian Art

Abstract

The zoomorphic ornament of a group of sculptured crosses from Ryedale is here analysed in detail in terms of motif and style. Its Yorkshire context is defined and close parallels from Skaill, Orkney and Kirk Braddan on the Isle of Man are discussed. Origins for various style and motif elements are sought in insular and Scandinavian art. It is concluded that a group of sculptures in Ryedale, exemplified by the Sinning ton crosses, were produced in the second quarter of the tenth century during a period when Yorkshire was under strong Scandinavian influence and had close contacts with the Irish Sea Province. The ornament of the Sinnington crosses closely reflects Anglo-Scandinavian motifs and styles current in York and around the Irish Sea in this period. These Anglo-Scandinavian artistic developments reveal a complex assimilation of preceding English and Scandinavian artistic traditions and may have been a source for reciprocal influences on the arts in mainland Scandinavia. Following the abolition of Scandinavian kingship in York in 954, metropolitan art styles further developed, with prominently insular, particularly Mercian, rather than Scandianavian influences, while the sculpture of Ryedale became introverted and provincial with little evidence of further external influence.