Leeds Cross

The Leeds cross is a collection of fragments of probably tenth-century stone sculpture that has been reassembled into a cross. The fragments were found in the fabric of Leeds Minster when the tower of the old church was demolished in 1838. The architect, Robert Chantrell noticed a collection of carved stones built into the medieval architecture, some of them forming the cross.[1] Representations of the Four Evangelists appear between distinctive interlaced decoration dating to the 10th or 11th centuries.[1] The cross currently stands within the church and is an important example of Anglo-Saxon sculpture. It is also the most complete example of a number of depictions of the legendary smith Weland and Beaduhild, the mother of his child, from tenth-century Yorkshire.[2][3][4]

The Leeds Cross.
  • Leeds Cross, face A (north face).
    Leeds Cross, face A (north face).
  • Leeds Cross faces A (wide face, orientated north) and B (narrow face, orientated west).
    Leeds Cross faces A (wide face, orientated north) and B (narrow face, orientated west).
  • Leeds Cross, faces B (narrow face, west) and C (broad face, south).
    Leeds Cross, faces B (narrow face, west) and C (broad face, south).
  • Leeds Cross, face D (east face).
    Leeds Cross, face D (east face).
  • Leeds Cross, panel Ai (north face, top panel). The upper third of the panel is a modern reconstruction, and the cross at the top may not originally have belonged to the shaft.
    Leeds Cross, panel Ai (north face, top panel). The upper third of the panel is a modern reconstruction, and the cross at the top may not originally have belonged to the shaft.
  • Leeds Cross, panel Aii (north face, second panel from top), depicting a holy figure. The left-hand half is a modern reconstruction.
    Leeds Cross, panel Aii (north face, second panel from top), depicting a holy figure. The left-hand half is a modern reconstruction.
  • Leeds Cross, panel Aiii (north face, panel 3 from the top).
    Leeds Cross, panel Aiii (north face, panel 3 from the top).
  • Leeds Cross, panel Aiv (north face, bottom panel), depicting a figure with a sword on the right hand and a bird on the left shoulder.
    Leeds Cross, panel Aiv (north face, bottom panel), depicting a figure with a sword on the right hand and a bird on the left shoulder.
  • Leeds Cross, panel Ci (south face, top panel). The ornament above the figure is a modern reconstruction. The cross may not originally have belonged to the shaft. The figure is of a holy man.
    Leeds Cross, panel Ci (south face, top panel). The ornament above the figure is a modern reconstruction. The cross may not originally have belonged to the shaft. The figure is of a holy man.
  • Leeds Cross panel Cii (south face, second from bottom), depicting a holy figure. The top-right quarter is a modern reconstruction.
    Leeds Cross panel Cii (south face, second from bottom), depicting a holy figure. The top-right quarter is a modern reconstruction.
  • Leeds Cross panel Ciii, depicting Weland/Vǫlundr (below, strapped into wings, with tools at his feet) holding Beaduhild/Bǫðvildr (above, at a right angle to Weland). The bottom left quadrant is a modern reconstruction.
    Leeds Cross panel Ciii, depicting Weland/Vǫlundr (below, strapped into wings, with tools at his feet) holding Beaduhild/Bǫðvildr (above, at a right angle to Weland). The bottom left quadrant is a modern reconstruction.

References
  1. Linstrum, Derek (1969). Historic Architecture of Leeds. Oriel Press. p. 6.
  2. Entry in the online Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture.
  3. Robert Halstead, 'The Stone Sculpture of Anglo-Scandinavian Yorkshire in its Landscape Context' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Leeds, 2016), pp. 203-28.
  4. James T. Lang, ‘Sigurd and Weland in Pre-Conquest Carving from Northern England’, The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 48 (1976), 83–94.
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