The John the Baptist Panel on the Ruthwell Cross

Abstract

The paper brings forward new arguments in support of the traditional interpretation of the figure carrying the lamb on the Ruthwell Cross as John the Baptist, an interpretation challenged in a recently published paper by Paul Meyvaert. The present paper sees a connecting logic in the choice of subjects on the obverse of the cross, illustrating man's salvation through Christ. The Flight into Egypt is reinterpreted as a symbolic coming out of Egypt, and the principal panel, Christ and the beasts, is recognized as an image of the Sacraments, integrating Old and New Testament references. In this reading of the overall program of the cross, the presence of John the Baptist is shown to be intelligible and indeed necessary. Furthermore, a number of specific features of the disputed panel are seen to be consistent with Bede's Homilies on the theme of John the Baptist. In view of Bede's impressive emphasis on John the Baptist it seems not improbable that his role as Christ's precursor should feature conspicuou...