Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/646

612 CROSS thorns, spear, hyssop, scourge, seamless coat, and dice were often blazoned on shields introduced in Gothic edifices and upon monumental memorials, as " Symbols of the Passion." The name crucifix is applied to a Latin cross, in size either small or large, to which a human figure, designed to represent the body of Christ when suffering crucifixion, is affixed. A.S a symbol of the Christian faith at once pre-eminently characteristic and significant, the cross in various modifica tions of its form would naturally be adopted on very many occasions, and used in a diversity of ways throughout the Christian world. Scarcely less natural also was it that from an early era Christian writers should have treated the symbolism of the cross with fanciful and even extravagant refinement, and endowed it with mysterious attributes ; while superstition, which as time advanced threw so baneful a shadow over Christianity itself, would not fail to deal after its own fashion with the sign of the cross. It is curious, on the other hand, that a cruciform device having diverse significations should have occupied a prominent position among the many sacred and mystic figures and symbols connected with the mythologies of heathen antiquity. Such certainly was the case in Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and India, and also among the Scandinavian races of the North. Possibly the cross figure sometimes may have found its way among heathen symbols in early Christian times ; and, again, the presence of the great symbol of Christianity in such an alliance on other occasions may have suggested an early Christian influence that never had any real existence. In the Middle Ages the cross sign was universally held to be the special and distinctive symbol of Christianity, as, to the present day, the cross and the crescent are symbols which distinguish the faith of the Christian from that of the Moslem. In the great art of Christian architecture, and throughout the entire range of mediaeval decorative art, the cross sign has exercised a most powerful influence. The ground on which the grandest churches, as well as many others of a less aspiring order were erected, was made to assume a cruciform plan, so that the very walls from their foundations upwards might carry with them, as they rose, the image of the sacred sign, to receive its crowning figure displayed in the ridge-lines of their roofs. Crosses, exhibiting an endless variety of form, proportion, and adornment, surmounted the loftiest and most important architectural members of cathedrals and churches ; and here and there upon the masonry they attested the consecration for Christian wor ship of the buildings which bore them ; five crosses, in like manner (their number determined by the five wounds of the crucified Christ) gave similar witness to the consecra tion of every altar slab ; and monumental stones of every kind in the pavements of the churches repeated the same great sign, to proclaim that each one of the dead who rested there had died in the faith. With the triumph of Christianity, the cross at once was recognized as a universal symbol of the highest dignity and honour. It was made of the most precious materials, enriched with the most costly gems, and adorned with most exquisite art. The cross became the proudest ensign upon royal diadems ; and it gave both their form and their name to the noblest insignia of knightly rank. The cross crowned the sceptres of princes ; and the greatest warriors were proud to see the cross as well in the hilts of their swords as in the banners under which they fought. In private life also the cross was held in corresponding estimation ; and, accordingly, the most beautiful and most highly prized personal orna ments appeared in some cruciform type. Thus was art taught to aid in realizing the enthusiastic sentiment of Justin Martyr, when he said (Apol. i. 72) " The sign of the cross is impressed upon the whole of nature. There is hardly a handicraftsman, also, but uses the figure of it among the implements of his industry. It forms a part of man himself, as may be seen when he raises his hands in prayer." The simplest treatment of the plain rectangular cross (fig. 1), with a view to its enrichment, may be assumed to have consisted either in expanding each limb from the point of their common intersection, and so forming a " Maltese FIGS. 1-6. Varieties of Cross. cross " (fig. 2), or by giving some ornamentation to each limb at its extremity (fig. 3). The expanded cross, when of Greek proportions (fig. 2), would readily suggest having its extremities bounded by curved lines, and then the inclosure of such a cross within a circle would naturally follow (fig. 4). The next step would be either to place a circular disc upon the cross, as at lona (fig. 5), or to extend the limbs of the cross beyond the circle, as in fig. 10, the west gable cross of Washburn Church in Worcestershire, or in fig. G, Fig 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. also at lona. In any of these cases the addition of a shaft would producs a Latin cross. The circular band, again, thus associated with a cross would naturally lead to the in troduction of decorative accessories specially connected with itself, as in fig. 11, from the gable cross of the nave of the church at Castle-acre, Norfolk. The combination of an erect cross with a diagonal one would be another modification, producing a cross of eight points, easy of attainment, and one that in its turn would suggest and lead to a variety of further modifications of construc tion, with many diversified enrichments. From known examples still in existence, and in fair if not perfect preservation, it is evident that the mediseval artists delighted to expatiate in the wide field opened out before them for designing the cross sign under fresh conditions of both form and decoration. They wrought leaves and flowers into cruciform figures, and adorned their crosses with foliage in every degree of richness. They made the cross both simple and compound ; they introduced it in combination with other figures and devices ; and they composed it from figures and devices, each one of them having some definite motive or significance of its own. Market and other Crosses. In addition to acting aa a. fmial to gables, as in figs. 10 and 11, and in fig. 12 from the east gable of the nave of Hethersett Church in Norfolk, and also to various other architectural members of edifices, the symbol which surmounted them gave its name in the Middle Ages to certain structures well known as " crosses." These include marketplace crosses, open arched and vaulted structures, sometimes of considerable size ; churchyard crosses, usually consisting of a tall shaft raised on steps and often much enriched, and either surmounted by a bold cruciform figure, or having a canopied head with statuettes and a cross finial ; and ivayside crosses, in their general character resembling those erected in churchyards, designed to commemorate some memorable incident on the spot

where it took place. Many of these crosses still exist in