The Power of the Cross and Cruciform Devices in the Carolingian World

The sign of the cross emerged as the dominant symbol of divine authority in Carolingian material and manuscript culture, overshadowing late antique christograms. This study reveals how cruciform devices evolved in the ninth century, incorporating early Byzantine traditions into Carolingian graphicacy. Notably, Hrabanus Maurus' In honorem sanctae crucis exemplifies the cross's central role as an organizing principle in visual and textual representations. The research analyzes manuscripts, including the Bible of San Paolo fuori le Mura, to demonstrate this shift. By examining carmina figurata and cruciform monograms, it highlights the cross's symbolic power in Carolingian society.

Garipzanov, I. (2018). The Power of the Cross and Cruciform Devices in the Carolingian World. Graphic Signs of Authority in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, 300-900, 286–312. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198815013.003.0010