Historic Monasterboice High Cross in Gold - Recreation Collection

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This handcrafted Gold Celtic Cross is a detailed double-sided replica of Muiredach’s Cross at Monasterboice in County Louth, one of Ireland’s best-known surviving medieval high crosses.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Available in Yellow Gold and White Gold
• Height: 4.4 cm (1.73 inches)
• Width: 2 cm (0.79 inches)
• Double-sided replica of Muiredach’s Cross
• Handcrafted in Ireland by our maker
• Hallmarked at Dublin Castle

This substantial gold pendant faithfully recreates the detail of the original Muiredach’s Cross at Monasterboice. The pendant is double-sided, allowing the detailed imagery on both faces to form part of the design whichever way it is worn.

At the base of the west side of the original cross is the Irish inscription OR DO MUIREDACH LASNDERNAD IN CHROS, translated as “A prayer for Muiredach, for whom this cross was made.” Most scholars associate this Muiredach with Muiredach, son of Domhnall, an abbot of Monasterboice who died around 922 AD.

Solid gold is made to order, please allow three weeks for making.

The History of Muiredach’s Cross at Monasterboice

Located at Monasterboice in County Louth, Muiredach’s Cross is one of the most impressive surviving Irish High Crosses. Its detailed stone carvings contain biblical scenes, figures and imagery that provide a remarkable connection to the religious and artistic traditions of medieval Ireland.

The main sculpture on the circular head of the west face depicts an elaborate Crucifixion scene. On the east face, the central imagery depicts the Last Judgement. Other panels contain scenes traditionally interpreted as episodes from the life of Christ, stories from the Old Testament, the lives of saints and symbolic figures.

The scenes on the shaft are read from the bottom upwards. Traditional interpretations identify some of these carvings as Christ being seized in the Garden, the Incredulity of Thomas, and Christ seated between Peter and Paul, giving the keys to one and the Book of the Gospels to the other.

However, some of the carvings have also attracted alternative interpretations. The late Irish antiquarian Henry Morris proposed that a sequence of panels might instead tell the story of Viking warriors encountering the monastery.

Under this interpretation, the first scene depicts two Viking soldiers seizing a Celtic abbot. A later panel shows the same figures wearing ecclesiastical clothing, suggesting their conversion to Christianity and acceptance into the monastic community. The final scene has been interpreted as showing their eventual advancement within the Church.

There is historical context behind this theory. A permanent Viking stronghold was established at Annagassan on the County Louth coast around 840 AD, approximately eight miles from Monasterboice. Viking forces operating from the area are recorded as attacking other major Irish religious centres, including Clonmacnoise and Armagh, yet Monasterboice was not similarly plundered during this period.

Whether the panels depict biblical events, Viking converts, or carry meanings that are now lost, Muiredach’s Cross remains an extraordinary surviving example of early medieval Irish stone carving.

This gold replica brings the form and detail of that historic monument into a wearable piece of Irish craftsmanship with a direct connection to Monasterboice and more than a thousand years of Irish history.