page_title: Bewcastle Cross
section_title: Runic inscriptions
hierarchical_section_title: Bewcastle Cross / Reliefs / Runic inscriptions
caption_attribution_description: English: Diagram of the Bewcastle Cross, image from http://www.bewcastle.com/
context_page_description: The Bewcastle Cross is an Anglo-Saxon cross which is still in its original position within the churchyard of St Cuthbert's church at Bewcastle, in the English county of Cumbria. The cross, which probably dates from the 7th or early 8th century, features reliefs and inscriptions in the runic alphabet. The head of the cross is missing but the remains are 14.5 feet high, and almost square in section 22 x 21 1/4 inches at the base. The crosses of Bewcastle and Ruthwell have been described by the scholar Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest achievement of their date in the whole of Europe".
context_section_description: Scholars have contended that only the name Cynnburug is definitely decipherable on the cross. This inscription is located on the north face in the band between the first and second panels (from the bottom). Cyneburh was a wife of Aldfrith but this was a common name at the time and might not refer to Aldfrith's wife. Alfredir was king of Northumbria, and died around 664.
  The north side may also contain runes that are barely decipherable above the fifth panel, but may refer to Wulfere, among others, who was a son of Penda, and king of Mercia.
  The main runic inscription is located as the second panel from the bottom of the four panels on the west face. A few words on it remain legible, but most of the inscription is now indecipherable due to poor weathering. Several attempts have been made to interpret them. One such reads it as: 
  "thissig be(a)cn thun set(t)on hwa(e)tred waethgar alwfwolthu aft alcfrithu ean kuining eac oswiuing gebid heo sinna sawhula"
  "This slender pillar Hwætred, Wæthgar, and Alwfwold set up in memory of Alcfrith, a king and son of Oswiu. Pray for their sins, their souls".
  Possibly referring to Egfrid, son of Oswy and brother of Alhfrith (also Alchfrith or Ealhfrith), who ascended to the throne in 670.
caption: The four faces of the cross: west, south, east and north
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