Crux gemmata
A crux gemmata (
Examples in metalwork are the Cross of Justin II (6th century, in the Vatican Museums), the 'crumpled cross' in the Staffordshire Hoard (8th century), the Cross of Lothair (10th century, Aachen Cathedral Treasury), the Iberian Cross of the Angels (808) and Victory Cross (908), and the Cross of Cong (1120s?, National Museum of Ireland).
History of use
In the
In depictions of the cross, such as that in the mosaic in
The use of large jewelled crosses as processional and military crosses stems from the victory of
For much of the period, a large jewelled cross is recorded as decorating the presumed site of the Crucifixion, around which the
The paradox whereby the instrument of execution is rendered the vehicle of Christ's triumph in the Resurrection remains to the present day a central theme in Christian devotion, and the jewelled cross was one of its first visual manifestations.[7]
Although it is clear that the cross was associated with Christians from a very early period, and the sign of the cross was made by Christians, it is rarely seen in the earliest Christian art, such as that in the Catacombs of Rome, where there are only about 20 crosses, though the anchor, which appears more commonly, was a disguised cross symbol.[8] There was resistance to representations of the cross with the body of Christ on it, a practice that did not begin until the 5th century, becoming more common in the 6th.[9]
One of the earliest representations of a Crucifixion scene rather oddly shows the three crosses of the gospel accounts, with the two thieves hanging in place on theirs, but with Christ standing at the foot of his. The fierce
In so-called "mystical" images, such as the apse mosaic at the
The crux gemmata is commonly seen on coins, often held by a figure of Victory, especially in the Eastern Empire.[14] Another common Byzantine coin type shows a cross with a stepped base, which should be understood as a crux gemmata even though scale does not normally allow any indication of gems.
Contrary to the assertion of
-
ApseBasilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna (549)[16]
-
Exaltation of the Cross from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1410
Notes
- repousséfigures on the reverse.
- ^ Hellemo, 100-101. Lateran sarcophagus number 106 is the earliest work.
- ^ Syndicus, 104 and 139–140
- ^ Syndicus, 104; see Hellemo 93, note for an example of the four rivers symbolism.
- ^ Wernher, 37
- ^ Friesen, 10; Wernher, 36 has further details
- ^ Friesen, 10
- ^ Syndicus, 103–104
- ^ Syndicus, 106–108
- ^ Syndicus, 108 and 145-6
- ^ See Syndicus, 139–140 and Schiller, I, 148 for slightly different interpretations in detail
- ^ Much of the basilica survives, but not the decorations.
- ^ Syndicus, 138-9, with drawing reconstructing the Nola apse. For much more detail, see Hellemo, 90ff
- ^ See Hellemo, 98-101 for the interplay between imperial imagery of victory and the earliest images of the cross
- ^ Chapter 4.
- ^ See Syndicus, 139–140 and Schiller, I, 148 for slightly different interpretations in detail
References
- Friesen, Ilse E., The Female Crucifix: Images of St. Wilgefortis Since the Middle Ages, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-88920-365-2, google books
- Hellemo, Geir. Adventus Domini: eschatological thought in 4th-century apses and catecheses, BRILL, 1989,
- ISBN 0-85331-270-2
- ISBN 0-85331-324-5
- Eduard Syndicus; Early Christian Art, Burns & Oates, London, 1962
- Wernher, Martin, The Liudhard Medalet, in Anglo-Saxon England, Volume 20, eds. Michael Lapidge, Malcolm Godden, Simon Keynes, Cambridge University Press, 1992,
- Sharp, Robert (2016). The Hoard and Its History: Staffordshire's Secrets Revealed. Brewin Books, ISBN 978-1858585475.
External links
Media related to Crux gemmata at Wikimedia Commons