A Wikipedia article on the Gosforth Cross, a red sandstone cross of the 9th or 10th century standing 4.4 metres tall in St Mary's churchyard, Gosforth, Cumbria, England. The article catalogues the cross's mixture of Norse mythological and Christian carved imagery, naming among the Norse figures Loki bound with a serpent above him and Sigyn catching its venom, a figure identified as Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, and the god Heimdall holding his horn, alongside a panel read as either Baldr's death or the Crucifixion. It also records that the Victoria and Albert Museum cast a plaster replica of the cross in 1882 for its Cast Hall, and that a life-sized replica was erected in 1887 at St Kentigern's Church, Aspatria.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier3
A crowd-edited tertiary reference, used here for the cross's physical description, the catalogue of its Norse and Christian imagery including the Heimdall figure, and its two later replicas, independently corroborated by the separately written and maintained Wikipedia article on the god Heimdallr itself. Citation
PublisherWikipedia
URLhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosforth_Cross
Source Typeencyclopedia
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Heimdall directly: "for the Midgard Serpent, and the god Heimdall holding his horn, alongside a panel read as either Baldr's death or the Crucifixion."
This source names Heimdall directly: "for the Midgard Serpent, and the god Heimdall holding his horn, alongside a panel read as either Baldr's death or the Crucifixion."
Loki, Deities This source names Loki directly: "naming among the Norse figures Loki bound with a serpent above him and Sigyn catching its venom, a figure identified as Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, and the god Heimdall holding his..."
Loki, Figures This source names Loki directly: "naming among the Norse figures Loki bound with a serpent above him and Sigyn catching its venom, a figure identified as Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, and the god Heimdall holding his..."
Thor, Deities This source names Thor directly: "venom, a figure identified as Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, and the god Heimdall holding his horn, alongside a panel read as either Baldr's death or the Crucifixion."
Thor, Figures This source names Thor directly: "venom, a figure identified as Vidarr, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, and the god Heimdall holding his horn, alongside a panel read as either Baldr's death or the Crucifixion."
Claims Backed By This Source (30 claims)
This source backs 30 claims across the atlas. As facts: 16 well-attested. As cited relationships: 13 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sacred Art & Iconography, 19 claims: 11 well-attested, 7 holds, 1 general references.
- Sources, 11 claims: 5 well-attested, 6 holds.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.