Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High Crosses

Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High Crosses

Rites of Initiation in early medieval Ireland have been studied only with reference to contemporary texts; recourse to other sources, most notably the substantial corpus of extant high crosses, has not been made. Here it will be demonstrated that the iconography and programmatic arrangement of the d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Megan Henvey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
early medieval Ireland
Christian rites of initiation
high cross
sculpture
iconography
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/329
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spelling doaj-b987d2c15f464bc3b296288a1889e71a2021-05-31T23:29:20ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442021-05-011232932910.3390/rel12050329Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High CrossesMegan Henvey0Department of the History of Art, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UKRites of Initiation in early medieval Ireland have been studied only with reference to contemporary texts; recourse to other sources, most notably the substantial corpus of extant high crosses, has not been made. Here it will be demonstrated that the iconography and programmatic arrangement of the depictions of Noah’s Ark, the Baptism of Christ, and the Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace can significantly advance theological and liturgical understanding of the early medieval rites of baptism and ordination in this region, indicating the central role of these biblical events and their associated literatures in these contexts. It will be further suggested that this relationship between text, image, and ritual points to the role of the high crosses in facilitating the liturgical rites of the early medieval Irish Church.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/329early medieval IrelandChristian rites of initiationhigh crosssculptureiconography
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Megan Henvey
spellingShingle Megan Henvey
Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High Crosses
Religions
early medieval Ireland
Christian rites of initiation
high cross
sculpture
iconography
author_facet Megan Henvey
author_sort Megan Henvey
title Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High Crosses
title_short Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High Crosses
title_full Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High Crosses
title_fullStr Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High Crosses
title_full_unstemmed Rites of Initiation in the Early Irish Church: The Evidence of the High Crosses
title_sort rites of initiation in the early irish church: the evidence of the high crosses
publisher MDPI AG
series Religions
issn 2077-1444
publishDate 2021-05-01
description Rites of Initiation in early medieval Ireland have been studied only with reference to contemporary texts; recourse to other sources, most notably the substantial corpus of extant high crosses, has not been made. Here it will be demonstrated that the iconography and programmatic arrangement of the depictions of Noah’s Ark, the Baptism of Christ, and the Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace can significantly advance theological and liturgical understanding of the early medieval rites of baptism and ordination in this region, indicating the central role of these biblical events and their associated literatures in these contexts. It will be further suggested that this relationship between text, image, and ritual points to the role of the high crosses in facilitating the liturgical rites of the early medieval Irish Church.
topic early medieval Ireland
Christian rites of initiation
high cross
sculpture
iconography
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/329
work_keys_str_mv AT meganhenvey ritesofinitiationintheearlyirishchurchtheevidenceofthehighcrosses
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