Bound devil

This is the Loki Stone in Kirkby Stephen Church. It is an 8th-10th century Anglo-Danish cross shaft carved into the bearded figure of a chained devil representing the old Norse god Loki, one of the earliest Christian symbols of the devil in human shape, which is essentially a northern concept, and was spread over Europe by Scandinavian settlements. This is the only example in Great Britain and one of two in Europe.

It is important, as it is one of the pieces of evidence of Norse influence in the region prior to the Norman invasion of 1066. For many years it sat amongst a collection of old gravestones in the grounds of the church, but was eventually rescued and brought inside. It’s about 1 metre high and one interesting aspect of it is that the carving continues over the top of the stone, as if the vertical surface was not large enough to convey all that the sculptor wished to show.

And some news linked to more modern stone carving:

There was an article in the local paper this morning describing how there is a project underway to improve the Stones on Kirkby Stephen’s Poetry Path. As I have been photographing and blipping these stones I have been saddened by how they were looking neglected and in particular how the lovely little carved plaques on each were almost disappearing. Now, for the tenth anniversary of the setting up of the Path, the stones are being cleaned and some recarving is being done by the original artist, Pip Hall. Some of the paths are being resurfaced as well. A heartening bit of news indeed.