Amongst the later examples, Scripture scenes similar to those on the Irish crosses are introduced in the panels, together with numerous hunting pieces and figures of men and animals. Dr Anderson[38] shows distinctly that the Scriptural scenes are debased and barely intelligible representations of symbolic subjects from the Bible, such as Adam and Eve, the Sacrifice of Isaac, David Slaying the Lion, &c. Similar subjects are common in the Catacombs of Rome, where they are painted so as to be easily recognised; but in course of time, and after many imperfect efforts to copy them, they became reduced to the conventional forms seen in the Celtic sculptures, the meaning of which can only be explained by following the designs back to the originals. Dr. Anderson also shows that the hunting scenes, with men on horseback, dogs, &c., and the grotesque
Fig. 5.—Logierait, Perthshire. (From Scotland in Early Christian Times.)
animals represented, often with much spirit in the sculptures, are derived from the symbolic mediæval bestiaries. These figures, which at first sight might be regarded as secular or grotesque, are thus proved to be symbolic of Christian doctrine and moral teaching, like many of the later and more naturalistic carvings in the Gothic churches. In the hunting scenes the hart panting after the waterbrooks represents the soul pursued by its worldly enemies; the shooting of the wild boar with arrows symbolises the conversion of heathen savages to Christianity; the pelican, with its young, is a symbol of the Resurrection; the lion, the eagle, the phœnix are types of Christ; the fox and hyena of the devil.[39]
The above monuments of the East of Scotland are, as we have seen, almost all of the upright slab form, bearing the cross on the obverse. Only a very few free standing crosses exist in that region. Some examples of transition character are, however, found which form a connecting link between the upright slabs and the free standing crosses. These consist of cross bearing slabs having the circles, at the junction of the arms with the shaft, cut through the stone. It then only remained to cut away the remainder of the slab and leave the cross free.
Fig. 6.—At Rossie Priory, Perthshire. (From Scotland in Early Christian Times.)