erect a cross in any place where he had converted the people, and where
he had been staying for some time. Very probably the Saxon preacher
would make use of the old open-air meeting-place, where the pagan
villagers used to worship Woden; and thus the spots still used for
public worship are in many cases the same which used to echo with the
songs of Thor and the prayers of pagan Saxons.

These crosses were the rallying-points for Christian congregations
before churches arose, and the bells in their turrets summoned the
people to the service of God. In Somersetshire alone there are two
hundred relics of the piety of our forefathers; and the North of England
and Scotland are especially rich in crosses. No two are ever quite
similar. Some are of simple design or character; but many have such
beautiful carving and scrollwork that we are astonished at the skill of
the workmen who, with very simple and rude tools, could produce such
wonderful specimens of art.

The pagan Saxons worshipped stone pillars; so in order to wean them from
their ignorant superstition, the Christian missionaries, such as St.
Wilfrid, erected these stone crosses, and carved upon them the figures
of the Saviour and His Apostles, displaying before the eyes of their
hearers the story of the cross written in stone.

The North of England has very many examples of the zeal of these early
preachers of the faith, and probably most of them were fashioned by the
monks and followers of St. Wilfrid, who was Archbishop of York at the
beginning of the eighth century.

When he travelled about his diocese a large body of monks and workmen
attended him; and amongst these were the cutters in stone who made the