medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
George,
The earliest reference to the use of the sign of the cross is generally said
to be in Tertullian's *De corona* 3 (ca. 204):
At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put
> on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light
> the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we
> trace upon the forehead the sign. <
> http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.iv.vi.iii.html> [*frontem signaculo
> terimus*]
Though now very old (1908), there is a thoroughly documented article
"Archaeology of the Cross and Crucifix" by Orazio Marucchi in the old
Catholic Encyclopedia <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04517a.htm>. There is
also the well-known treatment by Herbert Thurston, "The Sign of the Cross"
(orig. 1911), reprinted in *Familiar Prayers: **Their Origin and History*,
Westminster, Md: Newman Press, 1953. A recent work among many is Richard
Viladesau,* The Beauty of the Cross: The Passion of Christ in Theology and
the Arts from the Catacombs to the Eve of the Renaissance*, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2006. For changes in devotion to and depiction of the
cross around the millennium there is much of interest in Rachel Fulton, *From
Judgment to Passion: Devotion to Christ and the Virgin Mary, 800–1200*, New
York: Columbia University Press, 2002.
Some suggest that the earliest surviving cross is from Herculaneum (before
AD 79): <http://www.gliscritti.it/gallery2/v/album_022/>; cf. William L.
Holladay, "The Herculaneum Cross", Journal of Bible and Religion, Vol. 19
(1951): 16-19. I'm not sure what the modern scholarly consensus is about
this cross. (Does anyone know?)
The Alexamenos graffito may be from as early as the 1st c. or as late as the
3rd: <http://www.ntresources.com/alex_graffito.htm>. Other early crosses
seem to be from mid- to late-3rd c. (various sarcophagi), sometimes in
composite forms with ChiRho &c.
The earliest surviving crucifixions (i.e., with corpus) seem to be 5th c.:
1) an ivory panel dated ca. 420-430 now in the British Museum <
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_mla/p/panel_from_an_ivory_casket_th.aspx>
2) a panel of the mid-5th-c. door of Santa Sabina in Rome, generally
accepted as a crucixion of Christ and the two thieves, though some have seen
orants or deliberate ambiguity <http://www.rome101.com/Christian/Sabina/>
Here is a page on the iconography of the crucifix with some further links
from Augusta State University: <
http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/crucifixion.html>. -- Paul Chandler
2008/9/10 George R. Hoelzeman <[log in to unmask]>
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> I've been asked to do a presentation on the history and use of the cross in
> Christian culture this Sunday and thought I might query the group about some
> (somewhat last minute) resources on the use of the cross prior to the 4th
> Century. I seem to recall coming across some indications that ante-Nicean
> Christians
> used a form of the sign of the cross and may have used it in catacomb
> inscriptions, etc. but thusfar have come up empty handed.
>
> Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions.
>
> George the Less
>
>
>
> George R. Hoelzeman
> G.R.Hoelzeman Studios
> Liturgical Design Consultant
> grhstudios.com
> [log in to unmask]
>
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--
Paul Chandler, O.Carm. | Institutum Carmelitanum
via Sforza Pallavicini, 10 | 00193 - Roma | Italy
tel: +39-06-6810.0849 | fax: +39-06-6830.7200
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