cross

cross. Very ancient ornamental form consisting primarily of two straight or nearly straight members, set at 90° to each other, one vertical and the other horizontal, but also with many variations. Varieties of cross include: alisée patée: like a circle with four curved, spear-headed slices taken out of it;Ankh: Ancient Egyptian T-form topped by a halo-like loop, signifying Life and Resurrection, and therefore a prototype of a Crucifixion symbol. With serif-like (splayed) ends to the three arms (instead of being sans-serif), the Ankh-form becomes a crux ansata;bottonée: Greek cross with each arm terminating in a trefoil-like form resembling a clover-leaf;Calvary: large stone cross erected on three steps representing Faith, Hope, and Charity;cantonée: Greek cross with a small Greek cross in each of the areas bounded by the arms;churchyard: large stone cross standing on a stepped base in a churchyard to indicate the ground was consecrated, and from the base of which itinerant friars would preach;city: see market;clover-leaf: as bottonée above;consecration: cross painted or carved on a church wall indicating where chrism was to be applied during the consecration of the building. There were 12 in all, and many have survived as permanent interior decoration;Crusader's: potent cross with four Greek crosses added to the areas bounded by the arms;crux ansata: see Ankh;double: two Greek crosses, one set above the other, with the lower arm of one joined to the upper arm of the other;Eisenkreuz: Prussian iron cross, designed by Schinkel as a form of patée cross, but with the ends of the arms straight, so like a square from which four wide curved-sided sections like spear-heads have been taken out of the sdiagonals;Eleanor: one of the 12 tall Gothic memorial structures resembling a variety of ornate spire set over a stepped base, erected to commemorate the funeral route of Queen Eleanor (d. 1290), consort of King Edward I of England. Three survive (Geddington, Northamptonshire, Northampton, and Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire). The monument at Charing Cross, London, is a C19 revival of the type;fleury or fleurée: Greek cross with each arm terminating in three leaves resembling the fleur-de-lys. If the centre-leaf of each termination is missing, it is a moline cross;forked: Y-shaped;fylfot: Greek cross, with the arms cranked at 90°, the ends pointing anti-clockwise, an ancient symbol associated with good fortune and the sun, called swastika, related to the Greek-key, fret, or labyrinth, and to the potent cross;glory: Latin cross with radiating lines like a sunburst projecting from the centre of the cross where the two arms intersect, symbolizing glory;Greek: with arms of equal length, representing the miraculous powers of Christ, and used as the basic form of Byzantine and some Renaissance church-plans;Hakenkreuz: potent rotated cross, like the fylfot or swastika, but with the cranked arms pointing clockwise, used by the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis). Its association with misfortune is C20 propaganda;iron: see Eisenkreuz above;Jerusalem: as Crusader's cross;Latin: with three equally long topmost arms, though sometimes the vertical arm may be shorter than the two horizontals, and a much longer bottom arm. Used as the basic form for many Western cruciform church-plans from the Romanesque period;Latin cross fleurée: as Latin cross but with a three-leafed termination to each arm resembling the fleur-de-lys;Lorraine: resembles the patriarchal cross, but the lower, longer arm is set further down the vertical element;Maltese: like four identical acute-angled triangles or arrow-heads meeting at their most acute points, with V-shaped notches taken out of the ends of each equal arm;market: large structure in the principal market-place of a town, consisting of a raised platform with a high and elaborate superstructure, sometimes acting as a canopy over the platform. A good example is the Gothic city-or market-cross, Chichester, Sussex (1501);moline: see fleury;papal: like a Latin cross, but with three horizontals set across the vertical, the lowest longer than the one above, which is in turn longer than the topmost member. If the lowest arm is set diagonally, it is a Russian Orthodox cross;patée or pattée: see alisée patée;patée formée: like a square from which four sharp straight-sided triangular notches have been removed from the diagonals, so like the Eisenkreuz but with straight-sided arms;patriarchal: like a Latin cross but with two horizontals set across the vertical, the lower longer than the top and set roughly half-way up the vertical;pommée: Greek cross with each arm terminating in a circular blob;potent: Greek cross with each arm a T;potent rotated: see Hakenkreuz;Rood: cross set above the western entrance to a chancel, on a screen, on a Rood-beam, or suspended. Roods often have a representation of the Crucifixion with Sts Mary and John on either side;St Andrew: X or saltire cross;St Anthony: T or Tau cross;St James: Latin cross fleurée, with each arm terminating in three leaves, like the fleur-de-lys, although the base is usually pointed;St Julian: X or saltire cross with each arm terminating in a Latin cross;St Peter: Latin cross set upside-down;saltire: X-shaped cross, also known as St Andrew's cross. If each arm terminates in a Latin cross, it is a St Julian's cross;Tau: T-shaped cross, also known as St Anthony's cross.The Cross is the emblem of the Christian religion, and is employed architecturally, not merely in the plan of cruciform churches with transepts, but on grave-slabs and tombs and on crowning features on cupolas, gables, spires, etc. It was also placed surmounting a monument, such as a churchyard-, Eleanor-, or market-cross (see above).

Bibliography

Dirsztay (1978);
G. Ferguson (1961);
Seymour (1898)