Lothark Cross

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Imperial side
Christ side

The Lothar Cross is an Ottonian lecture cross in the Aachen Cathedral Treasury . According to recent research, it was made in the last quarter of the 10th century (around 985?) In the Rhineland , probably in Cologne , and possibly by Otto III. donated. It is still used in the liturgy on high feast days . The cross bears its name after King Lothar named in the inscription of an incorporated seal stone .

description

The Lothar cross (height: 50 cm, width: 38.5 cm, depth: 2.3 cm) has an oak wood core that has evidently been renewed several times, which is covered with gold sheet on the gem-studded imperial side, on the Christ side and on the sides with gold-plated silver sheet. The ends of the bars of the Latin cross are widened like a capital and are each highlighted by a particularly large uncut sapphire . The stones sit on a triangle pointing inwards, the corners of which are each set with a small stone or a pearl. The tip of the triangle rests on two bulging bars that are adorned with gold filigree or a decorated cell enamel .

The Lothar cross is set on its more splendid side ( imperial side ) with 102 precious stones and 35 pearls, which cover the gold background of the cross bars in different sizes and colors. Due to the special meaning of this number as a symbol of the Heavenly Jerusalem, it can be assumed that it was originally 144 gemstones and pearls, especially since the setting of the stones represents temple buildings when viewed from the side, which also forms a reference to the Heavenly Jerusalem. The crossing is emphasized by a splendid, three-layer cameo made of sardonyx . The slightly oval antique cameo shows the bust, turned to the left, of the emperor Augustus crowned with a laurel wreath , who is holding an eagle scepter in his right hand . In addition to the cameo, a black onyx with a walking lion and an amethyst with the incised representation of the three graces can be seen as ancient stones. In the rock crystal on the lower half of the vertical bar, an image of the ruler is cut in profile, surrounded by an inscription cut in mirror-inverted letters: + XPE ADIVVA HLOTARIVM REG ("Christ, help King Lothar!").

The gemstones on the cross bars are arranged in five rows. In the middle row there are large stones in high arcade frames . In the two inner rows next to it, small stones, pearls and gold wire baskets sit in lower arcade frames. The outer rows are covered with small and large stones and pearls in simply ornamented box frames. The tendril ornament of the gold filigree seems to grow out of the large stones in the middle row, while it only frames the lower stones and pearls in the other rows.

The other side of the Lothar cross ( Christ side ) shows no jewelry and no ornamental decorations. A cross with a crucifix is engraved on a smooth background . The lifeless body hangs slightly bent on the arms and the head has sunk on the chest. The feet are spread apart on a suppedaneum . To the left and right of the horizontal cross bar, personified in a medallion , the sun and moon mournfully cover her face. Around the foot of the cross winds the serpent, defeated by Christ's redeeming death, symbolizing evil. Coming out of tongues of fire, the hand of God extends the laurel wreath to the crucified, in the middle of which there is a dove.

Emergence

Provenance

There are no written sources on the origin of the Lothark Cross. In order to determine the place and the time, one has to rely on the comparison with other objects. In terms of its external shape, the Lothark Cross closely matches the Otto Mathilden Cross and in particular the Theophanu Cross (1046), both in the Essen Minster Treasure . The setting of the stones and the filigree technique are also the same on the crosses. The crucifix on the back of the Lothar cross resembles the crucifix on the Cologne Gero cross , while the style of the crucifix on the Otto Mathilden Cross corresponds to the Cologne illumination from the early 11th century. The mentioned similarities make it very likely that the Lotharkreuz was created in Cologne.

Client

Cameo in the center of the imperial side
Seal stone of King Lothar, the eponym, made of rock crystal

The Lothar cross takes its name from the Lothar seal, an intaglio on the lower half of the vertical cross bar . The cut rock crystal was made in the 9th century as a seal stamp for Lothar I , the son of Ludwig the Pious , or for his son Lothar II. The seal stone takes the place on the cross that was found on comparable crosses in Ottonian times ( the Essen Otto Mathildenkreuz, for example) the donor's picture is located. Since the Lothar cross was created much later than the seal stamp, it cannot be the donor image of Lothar I (795–855) or Lothar II (855–869). But Lothar I of France (954–986) could have used the Carolingian seal stamp from the 9th century to identify himself as the donor on the Lothar cross. Integrated into the numerical order of the stones and pearls on the cross, the intaglio is obviously only a secondary gemstone.

The ancient Augustus cameo (early 1st century) at the intersection of the cross beams dominates the front of the Lothar cross. Research has long discussed the importance of its placement here. For Josef Deér , who is largely followed today, the possibility of a “meaningless application” as a gemstone at this iconographically important point is ruled out. In the comparable Theophanu Cross, there is even an alleged piece from the cross of Jesus at this point. Deér also considers the possibility of a “religious reinterpretation” of the Augustus cameo as Christ imperator to be ruled out, because throughout the Middle Ages a ruler bust in profile with a head crowned in the ancient style represented a secular ruler - however, the cameo is not medieval. For Deér, "the gem in the crossing of the Lothar cross has the full iconographic significance of a ruler [...]." A parallel miniature in the Ottonian gospel book , also in the Aachen Cathedral Treasury, shows Otto III. as heavenly ruler of the world. The Emperor was the time of Otto so as Vicar of Christ, both in the earthly and in the heavenly world, so that the Augustus Kameo can also be seen as an expression of this claim.

The place and time of manufacture, the knowledge of the Lothar seal and the Augustus cameo speak for Emperor Otto III as well as the quality and preciousness of the cross. as a donor. In 983 he was crowned king in Aachen and in 996 emperor in Rome. Otto III. saw his rule in the succession of Charlemagne . His ideal and program was the Renovatio imperii Romanorum , in which the Roman tradition is combined with the Carolingian and Ottonian.

Changes

In its thousand-year history, the Lothar cross has been worked on again and again to ensure the preservation of the cross. The wood core was renewed at least once, which could be shown by dendrochronological examinations and the lack of nail holes. Part of the change in the course of time concerned the decoration of the imperial side with precious stones .

In 1865, the Aachen honorary canon and curator of the Diözesanmuseum Köln , Franz Bock (1823–1899), reported on the partial occupation of the Lothar cross with sealing stones, which were used to replace lost, original gemstones. These stones were not made according to the cabochon cut and therefore did not match the other stones. It was not possible to reconstruct when these stones were used. At another point, the curator expresses the wish to be able to use the Lothar cross again as a processional cross in the future. For this, however, reconstruction work was necessary at the foot of the cross in order to be able to attach a support rod.

In 1871 an iron screw was installed in the base of the cross (later replaced by a silver screw), which made it possible to use it as a lecture cross. The unsuitable stones were only replaced in 1932 in the course of a major restoration that became necessary after the First World War . In order not to lose the cross, it was hidden in a tin box together with other parts of the cathedral treasury at the beginning of 1914 and these were stored in a coal cellar. The exposure to moisture, which lasted for over a year, caused considerable damage to the cross. The external - visible - damage could be repaired immediately after the First World War, the internal only became noticeable in 1932 when the oak core broke apart. The Aachen goldsmith Bernhard Witte opened the cross, repaired the broken wooden core by inserting silver angles and partially renewed the gold plates on the side. Then he removed the sealing stones - 39 in total - and replaced them with stones that were given a gloomy cut to match the others . All but 17 of the removed seal stones were lost in the Second World War .

The current condition of the cross is the result of the last conservation and repair measures in 1978. In the 14th century , a foot was made for the cross so that it could also be used as a standing cross.

meaning

Since Otto I's coronation in Aachen (936), 31 coronations have been carried out in Aachen Cathedral in the following 600 years . The coronation ritual included the solemn entry into the Palatine Chapel of Emperor Charlemagne in order to succeed him as the rightful King of the Holy Roman Empire . It can be assumed that the Lothar cross was carried before this solemn entry as a processional cross . The people looked at the splendid, radiant, paradise-promising side with the image of the emperor Augustus representing the ruler in the middle. The king walking behind the cross looked at the plain back and saw the image of the crucified. It exhorted him to humility and reminded him of the exaltation of Christ through God (cf. Phil 2: 5–11  EU ). In this respect, one cannot speak of a front or back, both sides belong together as an integral part: Jesus gave people paradise through his suffering on the cross. For the new king the cross was a warning and justification for his mandate to rule in the sense of Christ on earth ( divine right ). The Lothar cross is a testimony to the sovereign self-image of the Ottonian and Salian emperors.

On high feast days and at pontifical offices , the cross is still used as a lecture cross, but when moving in and out, it is different than before with the Christ side first; During the mass, the faithful look to the emperor's side. Despite its great age and great art-historical value, the Lothar cross is not only a museum exhibit in the treasury, but also remains in use of the liturgy at Aachen Cathedral on special occasions .

literature

  • Josef Deér : The image of the emperor in the cross. A contribution to the political theology of the early Middle Ages (= Swiss contributions to general history. Vol. 13). Sauerländer, Aarau 1955, pp. 48–110.
  • Lothar Bornscheuer: Miseriae regum. Investigations into the thoughts of crisis and death in the theological ideas of the rulership of the Ottonian-Salic period (= work on early medieval research 4). Berlin 1968.
  • Ernst Günther Grimme : The Aachen cathedral treasure (= Aachen art sheets 42). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1972, pp. 24-28.
  • Theo Jülich: Gem crosses. The colourfulness of their precious stones up to the 12th century. In: Aachener Kunstblätter 54/55, 1986/87, pp. 99-251.
  • Helga Giersiepen: The inscriptions of the Aachen cathedral (= The German inscriptions , Volume 31). Reichert, Wiesbaden 1992, ISBN 3-88226-511-6 , pp. 9-10 No. 11 ( online ).
  • Norbert Wibiral: Augustus patrem figurat. On the ways of looking at the central stone on the Lotharkreuz in the cathedral treasure of Aachen. In: Aachener Kunstblätter Vol. 60, 1994, pp. 105–130.
  • Ernst Günther Grimme (text), Ann Münchow (recordings): The Aachen Cathedral. Architecture and equipment. Einhard, Aachen 1994, ISBN 978-3-920284-87-3 , pp. 89-92, 125.
  • Herta Lepie , Georg Minkenberg : The treasury of the Aachen cathedral. Brimberg, Aachen 1995, ISBN 3-923773-16-1 , pp. 33-35.
  • Ernst Günther Grimme: The Aachen Cathedral. Einhard, Aachen 2000, ISBN 978-3-930701-75-9 , pp. 51, 61.
  • Ernst Günther Grimme: The golden cathedral of the Ottonians. Einhard-Verlag, Aachen 2001, ISBN 3-930701-90-1 , pp. 53-60.
  • Herta Lepie: The Aachen Cathedral Treasure. In: Clemens MM Bayer, Dominik M. Meiering , Martin Seidler, Martin Struck (eds.): Treasure art in Rhenish churches and museums. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7954-2827-3 , pp. 121–137, here pp. 128–129.
  • Walter Maas, Pit Siebigs: The Aachen Cathedral. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7954-2445-9 , pp. 149, 152–157.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Lotharkreuz on the pages of the Aachen Cathedral Treasury.
  2. ^ Josef Deér: The image of the emperor in the cross. A contribution to the political theology of the early Middle Ages (= Swiss contributions to general history. Vol. 13). Sauerländer, Aarau 1955, p. 57.
  3. ^ Walter Maas, Pit Siebigs: The Aachen Cathedral. Regensburg 2013, pp. 154, 156.
  4. ^ Franz Bock: Charlemagne Palatine Chapel and its art treasures. Art-historical description of the Carolingian octagon at Aachen, the later Gothic additions and all the works of art from the Middle Ages located in the treasure there, with numerous explanatory woodcuts based on photographs. Schwann, Cöln & Neuss 1866, p. 35.
  5. ↑ Herta Lepie: The cathedral treasure in Aachen. In: Clemens MM Bayer et al. (Ed.): Treasure art in Rhenish churches and museums. Regensburg 2013, pp. 121–137, here p. 128.

Web links

Commons : Lotharkreuz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 46 '30.2 "  N , 6 ° 4' 57.9"  E