Theorizing Anglo Saxon Stone Sculpture

Taken from the International Medieval Congress held in leeds in 1998 these six papers, plus introduction, take a more theoretical approach to studying, interpreting and explaining Anglo-Saxon carved stone monuments.

This analytical catalogue of sculpture from the historic counties of Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire provides a new perspective on the artistic achievement of the late Saxon kingdom. The volume includes individual pieces of the highest quality such as the Bradford-on-Avon and Winterbourne Steepleton angels or the newly discovered figures from Congresbury. Most of the monuments were carved at a time when Wessex art was at its zenith in the tenth and eleventh centuries, a formative period for English cultural identity. This volume sets the sculpture within an historical, topographical and art-historical context, highlighting the close links with contemporary styles in manuscripts and metalwork. Full photographic records of each monument present many new illustrations unique to this volume. An indispensable research tool for all those interested in the early medieval world, this volume is also an authoritative aid for local historians.

Carved stonework from before the Norman Conquest is a rare survival. This volume provides an authoritative listing, description, and illustration of sculptures in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, and the historical background. The book demonstrates how this material can illuminate an obscure and under-investigated period in Anglo-Saxon history.

The visual heritage of Northern Yorkshire in the pre-Conquest period is revealed in this addition to the Corpus series. This volume surveys the sculpture in the historic North Riding of Yorkshire (excluding those parts covered in Volume three).

To meet the demands of this first comprehensive catalogue of Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture, Professor Cramp, the series editor, has devised a new system of description capable of dealing with the complex ornament of the material. As well as classifying forms, shapes and decoration, she also discusses techniques of carving, dating methods and epigraphy. The extensive use of line drawings to illustrate each point makes this the most useful and compact work produced on the subject to date--an invaluable reference tool for anyone interested in early medieval art and design.

The cross pervaded the whole of Anglo-Saxon culture, in art, in sculpture, in religion, in medicine. These new essays explore its importance and significance.