Theorizing Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture significantly advances the complex study of Anglo-Saxon carved monuments, such as the Ruthwell Cross, by adopting more explicit theoretical approaches to the subject. Scholars included here are explicit in describing how their approaches complement (or, more often, contradict) the work of others. "For too long the seas of (these) studies have been traversed by powerful vessels, steered by an assortment of scholars armed with liturgical, patristic and iconographical instrumentation, who have totally ignored the fact that others are on parallel or collision courses with them, " writes Richard Bailey in his Introduction. This book comes as a shot across the bow of these vessels. Contributors include the best scholars on this subject matter in England, Ireland, and America. Thirty black & white illustrations and four color plates.