Embodiment of the cross in Anglo-Saxon England

In studies of the conversion of the pagan Anglo-Saxons by the Christian missions of the sixth century, the wearable cross has featured only as a minor player, and the role of the body on which it was arrayed has been similarly overlooked. This thesis will attempt to call attention to the body as not only the site of generation of material objects such as the cross, but as subsequently conditioned by those very objects. Incorporating methods of phenomenology with existing archaeological evidence and textual sources reveals the Anglo-Saxon body as an active agent in the generation of material culture. Items of adornment functioned most prevalently in the construction of identity, memory, and societal structure, and also operated as amuletic protection in life and the grave. Exploring the importance of the tactility and permanence of ornamentation in pagan Anglo-Saxon society reveals the bodily needs that dictated the creation of the wearable cross, its purpose and affectivity in life, and its appearance in Anglo-Saxon burials in the seventh century. The eventual disappearance of the cross from the grave in the eighth century represents one of the first major shifts in attitudes toward materialism and the body in Anglo-Saxon thought. This project tracks changes in mind/body perception in Anglo-Saxon society through the eleventh century, as precipitated by embodiment of the cross through personal wear and devotion. Focusing on the minor player of the wearable cross serves to cast light on the question of the presence and role of the body in Anglo-Saxon society, as well as the larger issue of the ability of objects which are embodied to change entrenched cultural notions about the mind/body relationship.