Labor Link 3

 

The Ruthwell Cross and Labor

Some lines from the "Dream of the Rood" appear on the much older Ruthwell Cross in Scotland (Ruthwell Cross Image 1). Using the dictionary of the Middle Ages and either the Wheaton library on-line catalogue or the MLA on-line bibliography (available through OVID), find some more information about the Ruthwell Cross. What sort of labor was required to make such a monument? What skills and tools did the laborers need? Who could have paid them or forced them to work?

In addition to the lines from the "Dream of the Rood", there are a number of pictures carved on the Ruthwell Cross. How are these pictures connected with the "Dream of the Rood" poem? How might they be connected to work? (Hint: think back to what the Labor Narrative says about the Divine Origins of work).

Write up your research into a one-page paper that explains the "So What?" of what you've found.

Ruthwell Cross Image 2: Detail of Christ trampling the beasts.

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