medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Nov 7, 2008, at 3:57 PM, Chris Laning wrote:
(BTW, I'm still on a quest to discover exactly *how* and when people made the sign of the cross on themselves -- nobody ever bothers to describe the gestures in detail....)
Jean Daniélou devotes the last chapter of _Les Symboles chrétiens primitifs_ to this topic. I have found my copy and will summarize as the chapter is much too long to include in toto. The chapter is entitled "Le Signe du Tav" (The Tau). He begins his chapter with a combination summary and promise of things to come:
The sign of the cross traced on the forehead is one of the most ancient rites of the Christian Church. Saint Basil mentions it along with the custom of praying facing east as unwritten practices going back to the apostles. We will show that this is very likely and that the sign of the cross goes back to the primitive Judaeo-Christian community....
The sign of the cross first appears in baptismal rites. This is what Basil is referring to. The inscription of Abercios, at the end of the 2nd c., speaks of people who carry [or wear or bear] the splendid seal. The word seal [sceau; sphragis] designates the sign of the cross on the forehead. Christians signed themselves on the forehead [sorry, George Brown, but at least they weren't in movies ;-)] before the principal tasks of life. John Chrysostom writes: Whether we are on a journey, at home, everywhere, the cross is a great good, an armor, a shield.... (Hom. Philip., III, 13.)
[There follows a discourse on the tracing of the sign on the forehead and tattooing.]
After the practice of tracing the sign on the forehead came that of tracing the sign on the whole face.
The "big" sign of the cross does not appear [attested in written testimony, one supposes, because Daniélou says it was developing in parallel with the other manners of its usage] until the High Middle Ages [le haut moyen âge]. It went from the forehead to the chest, then to the left shoulder, then to the right at least in the Western Church as is practiced today. It is possible that it appeared earlier ["it" being the big sign] as a sign of benediction or exorcism].
Daniélou goes on with a very interesting suggestion that the sign of the cross on the forehead - and thus the sign of the cross itself - developed not at all as a sign of Christ's cross but rather as the sign of the Tau characterized in Ezechiel as the symbol of the Messianic community. Saint John also mentions the sign on the foreheads of the elect. The Hebrew Tav [Greek Tau] designates God just as the Omega does in Greek.
The discussion that follows is extremely interesting but, as I said, I cannot present the entire chapter. This post is probably far too lengthy as it is. If you have any specific questions, I could try to find an answer in the text. If you have any objections, take them up with Daniélou :-))
Marjorie Greene
http://medrelart.shutterfly.com
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