CBOSS. 609 CBOSS. uuforUinato Jane Shiirc. tlic mistress of I'Jihvanl IV. from 1470 lo 148.'!, was forced to do peiiaiiee in the reign of Kielianl 111. Here Dr. Sliawe, in iiis infamous sermon, attempted to l)astardi/.e the cliildrcn of Kdwanl and cnhifiizcd Kiehard. In front of this eross sat Cardinal Widsey. to liear fulminations against Luther: and al)out ten 3'ears later, hy order of Henry VI II., preachers here delivered sermons in favor of the Reforuui- tion. At this cross Queen Elizabeth attended to hear a thanksgiving sermon for the defeat of the Spanish .Vrniada. Here si-rmous continued to be delivered until l(i4:l. when, with other so- called relics of jiopcry. because they offended the Puritans, it was demolished by order of I'arlia- ment. Whatever was the original form of Paul's Cross, it was in later times a plain, pulpit-like fabric of wood, covered with lead. The Scottish town crosses, while simple, had some distinguishing features. The more simple kind consisted of a shaft of stone, generally octangular in shape, and li or more feet in height. At the to]) was an ornamental capital, which bore a dial and vane, or the figure of a unicorn. The shaft sprang from the top of a graduated llighl of (drcular or octangular steps. A specimen of this species of eross is seen in the market-place of Melrose. The grander market cross consisted of a tall stone shaft, such as just described, but instead of steps it sprang from the centre of an imposing sub- structure. This structure was circular, hexag- onal, or octagonal, and from 10 to 16 feet high. The top formed a platform, which was siir- roimded with an oniamental stone parapet, and was reached by a stair inside. The sides of the building were decorated with pilasters, and bore various heraldic and other devices. Such were the crosses of Edinburgh, and such is the reno- vated cross of Aberdeen, the sides of which, how- ever, are open. Losing their religions character, the Scottish market crosses were employed for royal and civic proclamations, and as places where certain judicial writs were executed. The general removal of these ancient and interest- ing structures has often been a matter of lamen- tation. In the history of the cross as a Cliristian symbol, it is evident that it was used at, first as a symbol of triumph, not of sufTering. In the sarcophagi and mosaics from the fourth to the ninth century it often stands alone on the sacred rock from which flow the Four Rivers of Paradise. It is sometimes surmounted by the Constant inian monogram of Christ, the Laliarum, and thus became the standard of victorious Christianity. It was inscribed within the circle around the head of Christ, thus forming the cruciform niml)us (q.v.). As an emblem of Christ, it preceded the crucifix, and it was not until the tenth and eleventh centuries that the figure of Christ had (piitc generally replaced on the cross the ornamentation which had ]irevious- ly been its usual decoration. Even when the monumental c'ru(M fixes had come into general use in central and southern Europe, the North- ern nations (e.g. in CJreat Britain and Scandi-' navia) continued for centuries the use of the mere cross. The form of the ci'oss given (o the majority of churches in (he later Middle .ges is more connected with the specific crucifixion than the mere cross, as is shown by the bend sometimes given in some church ground-plans. imitated from the twist of the body on the cross. Consult: Stockbauer, Kuiisli/c.scliirlili- den Kreu-
- cs (SehaH'hausen, 1870) ; Kulda, Dax Krt:uz utid
(lir l rcii~iiiHii(i (Brcshiu. 18781; Dobbert. /.iir Eiilsli'hiiii(jn(ifKrhirhlr drti Krriizrx ( 18S0) : Unn- scn, Dux ttymbol des Kreiizcs bci alien ationen- (lierlin. 1871)); .lgcr, History of the CroKs ( Hoston, 1858); Jlortillct, Le sii/nv de In vroix (Irani Ic chrintianisme (Paris, 18(i(!) ; Ziickler, Dux Kreiiz Christi (Giitersloh, 1875). CBOSS. In heraldry (q.v.), one of the charges kiiciw n as ordinaries. CBOSS, Invention or Finding of the. The name of the Church festival connnemorative of the linding of the cross n]ion which Christ died by the Empress Helena, tlie mother of Constan- tine, in the year 320. As related by Socrates (h'cclcsiastical Uistori/, I. xvii.), who wrote about 4;i!l. the story is this: In Christ's se|)ul- chre she found three crosses, along with Pilate's tabid, and on the advice of .Vlacarius, Bishop of .lerusalcm, determined which was Christ's eross by taking the three to a sick wonuin, who touched the first two without avail, but was restored as soon as she had touched the third — so that was accepted as Christ's. Similar is the story in Sozomen {Ecclesiastical liistori/, II. i.), who wrote a little later. From this time on for many centuries there was no question of the fact. Doubt has been cast upon it by the consideration that Eusebius. who wrote in the fourth century, and who was |)arti<'ularly explicit reg:irding everything relative to the Constant ine family in his account of Helena's visit to the Holy Land (lAfe of Constantine, 111. lii.). says nothing of her discovery of the crosses, nor when speaking of the erection of the church over the Holy Sepulchre (ib. III. xxviii. sqq.). It is also note- worthy that the Bordeaux Pilgrim, the author of the Jtiiierariiim Biirdefialenxe. writing in .'i:5.3. says nothing in his description of the Holy Places of any cross being discovered in the Holy Sepidchre i [tincrar;/ front liordeaiix to Jci-u- salem, Palestine Pilgrim's Text Society's Eng. trans., London. 1887. p. 24). Still Cyril of .Jeru- salem, writing in the Holy City in .■i47-.'?48. uses this language: "He was truly crucified for cur sins. For if thou wonldest deny it, the place refutes thee visibly, this blessed Colgotha, in which we are now assembled for the sake of Him who was crucified, and the whole world has since been filled with pieces of the wood of the cross" (Critcchetical Lectures, iv. 10). And he alludes to the finding of the cross when writ- ing to Constantius. the son of Constantine (Ep. nd Conist. c. 3). That Helena found three crosses and that she and many others believed that one of them was the cross of Christ may be accepted. tliou;,'!: we have no confirmatory proof of its authcntieity. The festival of the Invention of the Cross may date from the visit of Helena, but unless it was
- it first local, tlie earliest certain mention of it
is in the eighth century. In the Latin Church the day is Slay 3. In" the Greek Church there is a festival of the Exaltati<m of the Cross on September 14. Consult, in favor of the story: J. H, Newman, Essay on Ecclesiastical Mira<;les: and as against it: V. C. Prime. A IJislori/ of the Inrention, Preserralion. and Disappearance of the Wood Knoirn as the True Cross (New York, 1877 > ; and I'l Nestle. De f^tancta f'niee. Ein Bei-
