Rood
A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross,
Derivation
Rood is an archaic word for pole, from
Rood was originally the only Old English word for the instrument of
The alternative term triumphal cross (
Position
In church architecture the rood, or rood cross, is a life-sized crucifix displayed on the central axis of a church, normally at the chancel arch. The earliest roods hung from the top of the chancel arch (rood arch), or rested on a plain "rood beam" across it, usually at the level of the capitals of the columns. This original arrangement is still found in many churches in Germany and Scandinavia, although many other surviving crosses now hang on walls.
If the choir is separated from the church interior by a rood screen, the rood cross is placed on, or more rarely in front of, the screen.[6][7] Under the rood is usually the altar of the Holy Cross.
History
Numerous near life-size crucifixes survive from the
Components
Image of Christ
In the Romanesque era the crucified Christ was presented as ruler and judge. Instead of a crown of thorns he wears a crown or a halo; on his feet he wears "shoes" as a sign of the ruler. He is victorious over death. His feet are parallel to each other on the wooden support ("four-nail type") and not one on top of the other.[11] The perizoma (loincloth) is highly stylized and falls in vertical folds.
In the transition to the Gothic style, the triumphant Christ becomes a suffering Christ, the pitiful Man of Sorrows. Instead of the ruler's crown, he wears the crown of thorns, his feet are placed one above the other and are pierced with a single nail. His facial expression and posture express his pain. The wounds of the body are often dramatically portrayed. The loincloth is no longer so clearly stylized. The attendant figures Mary and John show signs of grief.[12]
Attendant figures
A triumphal cross may be surrounded by a group of people. These people may include Mary and John, the "beloved disciple" (based on
), but also apostles, angels and the benefactor.- The triumphal cross of Öja Church in Öja on Gotland stands on a transverse beam beneath the triumphal arch and is flanked by two people: Mary and John.
- The triumphal cross in the abbey church of Wechselburgstands in an elevated position on the rood screen and also has the same pair of attendant figures.
- The triumphal cross in Schwerin Cathedral is also flanked by Mary and John. At the end of the cross' beam the evangelist's symbols may be seen.
- In St. Mary's Church in Osnabrück there are only the empty stone pedestals of the attendant figures.
- The triumphal cross above the screen in Halberstadt Cathedral is not flanked by Mary and John, but by two angels.
- On the supporting beam of the triumphal cross in Lübeck Cathedral there is also a bishop, presumably the benefactor of the cross.
Rood screens
Rood screens are the Western equivalent of the
The rood provided a focus for worship, most especially in
Few original medieval rood crosses have survived in churches of the United Kingdom.[13] Most were deliberately destroyed as acts of iconoclasm during the English Reformation and the English Civil War, when many rood screens were also removed. Today, in many British churches, the "rood stair" that gave access to the gallery is often the only remaining sign of the former rood screen and rood loft.
In the 19th century, under the influence of the Oxford Movement, roods and screens were again added to many Anglican churches.
Representative examples
-
Cross from Linde Church on Gotland (today in the Swedish History Museum) also displays the symbol of a ruler, demonstrating the origin of the name.
-
Triumphal cross of Notke in Lübeck Cathedral
-
Triumphal cross (Christ's side) in Doberan Minster
-
The "plate cross" (Scheibenkreuz) in St. Mary's (Hohnekirche) in Soest (around 1200)
-
Triumphal cross in the Holy Cross Church in Kaysersberg (late 15th-century)
Germany
- the Gero Cross in Cologne Cathedral
- the Ottonian Cross in Kollegiatskirche St. Peter und Alexander, Aschaffenburg
- the Helmstedt Cross in the treasure chamber of Werden Abbey
- the triumphal cross in Lübeck Cathedral from the workshop of Bernt Notke, 1477, height 17 m
- in St. Catherine's Church, Lübeck, around 1450
- in Halberstadt Cathedral
- in Wechselburg Abbey, Holy Cross basilica
- in Naumburg Cathedral
- in Doberan Minster
- in Schwerin Cathedral (from St. Mary's, Wismar)
- in Osnabrück in St. Mary's and in St. Peter's Cathedral
- in Alfeld (Leine)in St. Nicholas' Church, around 1250
- in Dinslaken, St. Vincent around 1310
Sweden
- On Gotland in several of the medieval churches, including Alskog, Alva, Bro, Fide, Fröjel, Grötlingbo, Hamra, Hemse, Klinte, Lye, Öja, Rute, Stenkumla and Stenkyrka. The one at Öja is particularly lavish.
Finland
- Hauho church, Hauho, Hämeenlinna
- Kumlinge church, Kumlinge, Åland
United Kingdom
- Church of the Annunciation, Marble Arch, London
- St Augustine's, Kilburn, London
- St Gabriel's, Warwick Square, London
- Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair, London
- St Mary-le-Bow, London
- St Matthew's Church, Sheffield
- Peterborough Cathedral
- Church of St Protus and St Hyacinth, Blisland
Charlton-on-Otmoor Garland
A unique rood exists at
An engraving from 1822/1823 (Dunkin) shows the dressed rood cross as a more open, foliage-covered framework, similar to certain types of
See also
- Chancel rails
- Dream of the Rood
- Holy Rood Church (disambiguation)
- Iconostasis
- Legend of the Rood
Notes
- ^ Gothic Sculpture, 1140-1300 by Paul Williamson (1998). Retrieved 26 Oct 2014.
- ^
Curl, James Stevens (2006). Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 2nd ed., OUP, p. 658. ISBN 978-0-19-860678-9.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, "Rood"
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, "Cross", and "Crucifix"
- ^ Margarete Luise Goecke-Seischab / Jörg Ohlemacher: Kirchen erkunden, Kirchen erschließen, Ernst Kaufmann, Lahr 1998, p. 232
- ^ E.g. in the abbey church of Wechselburg
- ^ In England the name "rood screen" indicates that there is a (monumental) cross, even if the original cross has not survived.
- ^ Schiller, 141–146
- ^ Dodwell, 210–215
- ^ Schiller, 140
- ^ Torsten Droste: Romanische Kunst in Frankreich, DuMont Kunstreiseführer, Cologne, 1992(2), pp. 32f
- ^ Formen der Kunst. Teil II. Die Kunst im Mittelalter, bearbeitet von Wilhelm Drixelius, Verlag M. Lurz, Munich, o.J. p. 71 and p. 88
- ^ Duffy, 1992, page not cited
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 530
- ^ a b Hole, 1978, pages 113–114
- ^ Parker, 1840, page not cited
References
- Dodwell, C.R. (1985) [1982]. Anglo-Saxon Art, A New Perspective. ISBN 0-7190-0926-X.
- ISBN 0-300-06076-9.
- Hole, Christina (1978). A Dictionary of British Folk Customs. ISBN 0-586-08293-X.
- Parker, J.H. (1840). A Glossary of Terms Used in Grecian, Roman, Italian, and Gothic Architecture. Oxford.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
- Schiller, G. (1972). Iconography of Christian Art. Vol. II. Lund Humphries. pp. not stated, figures 471–75. ISBN 0-85331-324-5.
- Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Steve (2000). A Dictionary of English Folklore. ISBN 0-19-210019-X.[dead link]
Further reading
- Manuela Beer: Triumphkreuze des Mittelalters. Ein Beitrag zu Typus und Genese im 12. und 13. Jahrhundert. Mit einem Katalog der erhaltenen Denkmäler ("Rood Crosses of the Middle Ages. An Article on the Typology and Genesis in the 12th and 13th Centuries. With a catalogue of surviving monuments"). Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, 2005, ISBN 3-7954-1755-4
- Der Erlöser am Kreuz: Das Kruzifix ("The Saviour on the Cross: the Crucifix"), rescissions in the portrayal of the Crucifix or Rood Cross.
External links
- Archbishops' Council. "St. Mary's, Charlton-on-Otmoor". A Church Near You. Church of England. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
- "Rood". Catholic Encyclopedia.