Excerpt from The Library of the University of California Los Angeles: Gift of Frederic Thomas Blanchard The theory that the Dream of the Rood is by Caedmon depends upon certain considerations relative to the Ruth well Cross. Of this notable piece of antiquity, no doubt the finest stone cross in existence, the following account is slightly condensed from a standard writer on Scottish archaeology]: 'at Ruthwell, in Annandale, within eight miles of Dumfries, there stands a very remarkable monu ment. Its form is that of a tall free-standing cross. As it stands at present, the Cross is reconstructed. The whole height of the Cross is about 17% feet, the shaft being 2 feet in breadth at the base, and 15 inches in thickness. The material is sandstone. It stood in the old church of Ruthwell till 1642, when the General Assembly which met at St. Andrews on 27th July of that year issued an order for its destruction as a monu ment of idolatry. The transverse arms are still wanting. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.