Devotion, Dispute and Destruction: Insular Crosiers in the Later and Post-medieval Periods

Around sixty early medieval insular crosiers, or crosier fragments, survive today from both Ireland and Scotland. Many of the more complete examples, dating from the tenth to mid twelfth centuries, have been handed down since medieval times and show evidence of breakage, repair, refurbishment and, in some cases, enshrinement. While the focus up to now has been on the original objects and their contexts, in this paper I will consider the use and meaning of insular crosiers in the later and post-medieval periods, from the late twelfth to late sixteenth centuries. I will demonstrate that during this time their function as staffs of office diminished and that they were chiefly regarded as relics of the founding saints. The paper will explore how this change came about, as well as the reasons why some crosiers were seemingly deliberately broken or disposed of. Key examples will feature, such as: the Coigreach from Glen Dochart in Perthshire; St Moluag’s from Lismore in Argyll; Bachall Dhamhnaid from Tedavnet, Co. Monaghan; and the so-called ‘Glenarm’ crosier from Co. Antrim. The role the hereditary keepers of these objects and their historical contexts will be examined.