Peter Harbison proposes that images on high crosses represent ‘good’ on their south-facing side and ‘bad’ on their north – the direction from which evil was thought to have come in medieval times
Literary expression on the theme of the triumph of virtue over vice can be traced back to the early Church Fathers more than a millennium and a half ago, and its use in the visual arts was popularised in the 9th century by Charlemagne (ad 768–814) and two generations of his immediate descendants. During the same period, the victory of good over evil makes its appearance on Ireland’s high crosses and is sometimes formulated through symbols.
