Envisioning Christ on the Cross: Ireland and the Early Medieval West

The crucifixion is at the very center of Christian art and thought. This book brings together leading medieval scholars from a wide range of disciplines in an assessment of its depiction in Ireland and more generally across the early medieval West. With such a narrow focus, the collection’s range is broad, with discussions of objects and texts from 4th-century Rome to 12th-century Catalonia, and serves to place Irish artistic, literary, and theological representations of the crucifixion within a wider European context. *** There has been much recent scholarship on the subject and the editors of the volume under review have done a fine job in assembling contributions that range across Europe from fifth-century Rome to twelfth-century Parma. As the volume’s title indicates, its primary purpose is to situate the contribution of early-medieval Ireland in establishing the iconic status of the cross and in exploring its spiritual, exegetical, liturgical, and aesthetic potential. Two aspects of this sweeping task underpin the volume: ‘God Hanging from a Cross’ and ‘Contemplate the Wounds of the Crucified.’ – Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 102, No. 1, Winter 2016 [Subject: History, Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, Irish Studies, Christianity, Art History]