by THE RUTHWELL CROSS. 
the 12th, or even the roth, century. It takes its place in the 
Anglian series, a little later than we formerly supposed, but 
still in the same period. 
Why it was set up, to whom, or in memory of what event 
is a question that might perhaps be answered if we knew 
something of Dumfriesshire in the 8th century, under the 
Kings Alchred and Elfwald the pious (765-788) and Bishop 
Cynewulf of Lindisfarne (740-780). But the chronicles and 
the Cross are silent on this point, and too many guesses have 
been made already by those who have attempted to assign 
monuments to the persons we know in history. 
P.S.—Since the above was in the printers’ hands Profes- 
sor Albert S. Cook has kindly sent me his review of Bishop 
Browne’s book on ‘‘ The Ancient Cross Shafts of Bewcastle 
and Ruthwell’’ (Modern Language Notes, Johns Hopkins 
Press, June, 1917, pp. 354-366), and I wish to affirm my 
respectful agreement with the methods of research formulated 
by Professor Cook, while differing from him in conclusions. 
‘“ These crosses,’’ he repeats on p. 361 from a previous paper, 
‘““must be dated by ecclesiastical stone sculpture whose 
approximate period is beyond reasonable doubt.’’ Certainly ! 
Anglian ornament has no true analogy in the twelfth century, 
but close parallels in Italian details of the eighth and ninth. 
The argument from language cannot be denied; but as the 
Northumbrian dialect underwent changes earlier than the 
West Saxon (zbid., pp. 356-357), I ask whether the materials 
existing are sufficient to prove that these changes did not 
begin before the Danish invasion. And, finally, I beg those 
who discuss the two better known monuments to study the 
rest. The problem of Ruthwell and Bewcastle is not solved 
by a theory which fails to explain the great series as a whole. 
