The Picts have left no documentary sources to explain their history or beliefs. Instead, they have left behind a rich but mute gallery of magnificent stone sculpture. One of the largest collections was assembled in the 8-9th centuries at the church of St Vigeans. Here, stone No.007 presents an enigmatic sequence of scenes, brutal, pagan and Christian, surrounding a cross. The literary and pictorial sources for these scenes reveal their patrons had a wide knowledge of literature and were caught up in contemporary religious controversy. By carefully observing the construction of the cross, the substance of its polemical sermon begins to emerge.