Bewcastle Cross: A historic monument containing script in proto English
Bewcastle Cross, Cumbria, England. This evening, I am focusing on the Bewcastle Cross, which dates from around AD 700-800 and is believed to be one of the finest Anglo-Saxon crosses in England. Video clip of the Bewcastle Cross. Bewcastle is a hamlet located about twenty-five miles N.E. of Carlisle, just south of the border with Scotland. The name Bewcastle means ‘Roman fort within which shelters or huts were situated’. It is a blend of Old Scandinavian buth and Old English caester . The cross sits on a very historic site. The origins of a church here are opaque with first reference dating back to the 1200s. However, the church and nearby ruined 14th century castle both occupy positions in a former Roman fort being an outpost of the Hadrian’s Wall frontier which dates back to the 2nd century AD. Bewcastle Church, Cumbria The cross may have been created during the reign (AD 670-685) of Ecgrith, King of Northumbria. The obelisk was origina...