Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 4.djvu/326

AN ACCOUNT OF SOME MONUMENTAL AND WAYSIDE CROSSES, STILL REMAINING IN THE WEST OF CORNWALL. The ancient crosses, which I woukl now present to public notice, belong to an early period of the history of our Church and country : the oldest of them to the time when the Romans held sway in Britain ; and the remainder to the period imme- diately succeeding the final departure of that people from these parts. They may be regarded therefore as monuments of primitive Christianity, and as a specimen of crosses which prevailed numerously, not only in Cornwall, but also, and perhaps more numerously, in other parts of ancient Britain. It will be seen that they possess all the distinctive marks which our limited acquaintance with this subject leads us to look for in them ; and also that they illustrate and confirm, in a remarkable manner, the history and character of the times to which I have ventured to attribute them. One great use of such antiquities is in the confirmation they afford to tra- dition, and that confirmation is the more valuable and inter- esting in proportion to the importance and interest of the history to which they refer. Now of all histories and tra- ditions, perhaps none are more valuable and more interesting than those which relate to the introduction and establishment of Christianity in these islands ; and yet it must be admitted there is scarcely any part of our history, as a Church and nation, which is less generally known ! There are many who do not know that the religion of the Cross has prevailed in some portion or other of our land, without intermission, for nearly 1800 years; there are many who are incredulous on the point ; but of the generality of persons it must be said they have not thought upon the matter. When we think of Romans, we are predisposed to regard them only as heathens ; when we think of the aboriginal Britons, the horrors of Druidism present themselves to our imagination. But surely it cannot be unknown that a great many Romans were Chris- tians, even in the first centmy of the Christian era. It cannot be unknown that Christianity prevailed more in Britain during " See Williams' Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Cymry, pp.49 — (>2.