The Hunt Scenes Of The Irish High Crosses And The Iconography Of The Continental Celtic Stag Deity

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the iconographic depictions of the hunt found on the Irish High crosses, in particular, the Banagher cross-shaft (Co. Offaly) and the Bealin High Cross (Co. Westmeath) involving a religious figure holding a crozier and a trapped stag. The author looks at further iconographic and literary evidence that can provide the basis of these scenes. Iconography and prosopography of the early Anatolian, Gallo-Roman and Celtic deities are also compared with the early Irish data from a typological religious perspective.