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Jurby Cross Slab (Manx Cross 125)

Archaeology

This piece of a broken slab was found in the churchyard during the 1800s and dates from AD950 - 1000. Each face shows the lower end of a cross shaft. One face bears a ring chain on the shaft, while the space to the left is decorated with tendril-pattern. To the right is a curious device within a border of step-pattern. The other face shows a shaft decorated with double twist-and-ring. The space to the right shows a boar and a stag, while to the left a man is shown carrying a pole from which a second figure hangs.


The animals may simply represent a hunting scene, a common theme on Manx cross slabs, but the stag could be Eikthyrnir, who stands on the roof of Valhalla in Norse mythology. The other scene could possibly be derived from the Volsunga saga, in which the king Jormanrek is told by Odin that his wife has betrayed him with his son, Randver, and hangs his son in punishment.

Jurby Churchyard

Connections

Book Chapters

  • Parish: Jurby
  • Sheading: Michael
  • Grid Ref: SC3496098500

Sources

  • Isle of Man Heritage Environment Record
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