Where Jesus Meets Odin
The Crucifixion Scene on the Gosforth Cross cast in the V&A Museum.
A little further up the Cross we find the Crucifixion scene. This might seem to be an obviously Christian scene, yet there is more to it! The first thing to note is where it is on the Cross, because rather than being at the top, as we might expect, it is roughly at eye-level. Because of this position, it is the first thing that would catch someone’s eye if they were to see the Cross. Even if you had seen many crosses already, this one would still pull you in with its grim imagery.
If we think of this scene as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus then we might wonder who the two people underneath him are. Scholars have settled on the Biblical characters of Longinus (left) and Mary Magdalene (right). Longinus was a Roman soldier who pierced Jesus’ side with a lance when he was on the Cross. He recognised Jesus’ divinity and became, according to legend, the first convert to Christianity. Mary Magdalene is more well-known to most people, but she is represented here in a traditionally Northern style. If you look closely, you can see that she has a trailing dress and that her hair is in a pigtail. This is a popular motif in Scandinavian art, so a Viking observing this Cross would have immediately recognised this and, perhaps, felt comforted by this familiar image in a still strange land. In the Middle Ages Mary was also a symbol for conversion, like Longinus. The message seems to be, then, of change and conversion.
What about a pagan interpretation, though? Here it gets a little trickier as it could refer to either of the gods Odin, Baldr, or Heimdal, or a combination of all three. Odin hung himself on the tree Yggdrasil, if you remember, to gain wisdom, helping him foresee the end of the world. But it is the story of Baldr that proves the most interesting. He is betrayed and murdered by Loki, which is the event that sets up the end of the world, also known as Ragnarök. However, Baldr is said to be reborn in the next world, almost like a second coming. Perhaps this crucified figure, then, is a combination of these two mythologies’ most tragic deaths. Whether it is Jesus or Baldr, someone looking at this Cross couldn’t help but think about something coming to an end.