The Celtic cross is a cross whose four “arms” are intersected by a central circular ring, a function of both structural form and symbolism. While the Celtic cross’s roots are likely in paganism with the ring symbolizing the sun and “renewal”, it has become a potent symbol of Christianity and Irish heritage. The roots of the Celtic cross go back to prehistoric Europe, where the “sun cross,” a circle with an “x” or hatched cross shape inside, began to appear in rock drawings and burial sites. The image persisted through the Bronze and Iron Ages evolving into the Celtic Cross. It is likely that the “cross” symbolized north, south, east, and west.
Irish folklore tells the story of how Saint Patrick combined the Christian cross with the “sun” to emphasize the importance of the cross to pagan followers, giving rise to the Celtic cross. Although there is likely little truth to the story. Around the 7th century, Irish monks from the Celtic regions of Ireland and Great Britain began erecting upright or “high” crosses, many of which incorporated the characteristic ringed structure of the Celtic cross. Many of these crosses survive today in Cornwall, Wales and on the Isle of Iona along with many others in Ireland.
Early Celtic crosses often had zoomorphic or animal images carved into the stone due to the influence of the animal style common in the Iron Age. Not surprisingly, the herdsmen-warriors were so dependent on wildlife for food and clothing. This influence died out after the Iron Age when art in Ireland and Britain passed into the “Insular Period”. Artists during the Insular Art period produced many Celtic crosses in Ireland, Wales and Scotland in the Hiberno-Saxon style. The “Insular Art” movement takes its name from the Latin word “Insula” which means “island”. This applied to the Isles of Great Britain and Ireland, and spoke to the shared nature of artwork between the two regions that was very different from what was produced in the rest of Europe. Celtic crosses from this era were ornate and often had spiral geometric patterns that likely symbolized man’s “twisted” journey through life.
Around the 15th century, interest in the Celtic cross and its influence as an art form waned. In the mid-19th century, a Celtic revival began which resulted in the increased display and use of Celtic crosses in Ireland. The Celtic cross became fashionable as a graveyard marker in Victorian Dublin around the 1860s. This revival continued to spread throughout Ireland and beyond and the symbol began to gain importance as a symbol of Irish heritage in addition to its religious connotation. .
Today the Celtic cross is commonly used as a grave marker, although this is a departure from the Celtic and medieval revival periods when the symbol was used primarily as a monument and had little association with grave markings. Celtic cross imagery has expanded its influence even into modern times, often seen in jewelry as an expression of Irish pride and Christianity. The symbol is also seen on everything from T-shirts to tattoos. The Northern Ireland national football team uses images of the Celtic Cross in its logo and branding. The symbol has also received unfortunate attention and was recently banned from display in Germany when a banned neo-Nazi party co-opted the image as a symbol of their movement.
The famous Celtic crosses that can still be seen today are at the Cross of Kells, County Meath, Ireland; Ardboe Auld Cross, Ardboe, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland; The Crosses at Monasterboice, County Louth, Ireland; and the Cross of Scripture, Clonmacnoise, Ireland.
