Early. I have worked on only the Anglo-Saxon evidence, where it is
clear that church leaders strongly encouraged the laity to make use of
the sign on a regular basis (e.g. daily) and as a protection from evil
(AElfric's homilies, among others). It appears to be right up there
with the Pater noster and Creed in basic Christian instruction. It is
also a commonplace in hagiography, where saints use the gesture in
powerful ways. I think, but can't find the reference right now, that
both Augustine and Jerome mention signing gestures.
By the way, in discussion with liturgists, it appears we should
distinguish between signing oneself (anyone can do that) and signing
over another person or object (a priestly perogative, although I know of
some rule breakers on this one).
I am currently involved in a collaborative project on this subject
(The Cross in Anglo-Saxon England) with Sarah Keefer and Catherine
Karkov. We will be hosting a seminar this summer in Durham (3-4 August)
and in other venues. The website is:
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly/cross/cross.html and under project
activities is a link to the Durham seminar
(http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly/cross/crdurham.html). I will be
updating it within the next day or two with registration info, etc.
Any discussion on this topic is therefore more than welcome.
Karen
--
Dr. Karen Jolly
Associate Professor, History
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
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http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly
