Triumph Cross (Aschaffenburg)
The Aschaffenburg Triumphal Cross is an important work of art in the collegiate church of St. Peter and Alexander . The cross hanging on the north wall of the nave today is one of the few remaining large Ottonian sculptures. A dendrochronological examination of the oak wood of the cross as well as a C-14 examination of the poplar wood of the body showed that the cross was created in the last two decades of the 10th century. It is therefore only slightly younger than the Gero Cross of Cologne Cathedral . At the same time, the cross shows great parallels to the much smaller Otto Mathilden Cross in the Essen Cathedral Treasury .
The Aschaffenburg Monumental Cross is a simple bar cross to which the crucifix, which is 195 cm high , is attached. Regular depressions on the frame of the cross, which alternate with two adjacent dots, imitate the pearls and precious stones of a gem cross. Exactly the same rhythm of pearls and precious stones placed side by side can be found on the Otto Mathilden Cross in Essen. The inner surface of the cross arms between this striking frame was originally painted green, as analysis of the remains of the frame revealed. The cross was at the same time the tree of life , this connection is typical for many triumphal crosses. The body of the Aschaffenburg Cross, which, like that of the Essen Cross, stands on a pedestal, is overstretched, the proportions of the face and the body have been designed by the carver in such a way that they only appear harmonious when the viewer stands below the cross. This suggests that the cross was originally elevated.
The cross stood either on a column or on a beam near the cross altar and the grave of Duke Otto of Swabia († 982). Since Otto's date of death and the date of creation of the cross coincide, it is assumed that the cross was donated to his memoria . Otto was buried as a venerated donor in the middle of the nave of the church, directly in front of the cross altar, which separates lay and lay people, since he had strongly promoted the St. Peter and Alexander monastery through the mediation of imperial gifts and the acquisition of relics Choir area and where the sacrificial death of Christ was renewed daily in the sacrifice of the Mass . The cross erected at this point symbolized the connection between the memory of the dead and the hope of resurrection.
The matching design features, the dating and the common intention of the two crosses to take care of Otto's memoria put the Aschaffenburg Monumental Cross in close relationship to the Otto Mathilden Cross in Essen, which Otto's sister, the Essen Abbess Mathilde , had made. Mathilde will therefore also have commissioned the Aschaffenburg Cross. Archbishop Willigis of Mainz, who was involved in the documented memorial foundations for Otto, will have acted together with Mathilde on the Foundation of the Cross.
literature
- Manuela Beer: Ottonian and early Salian monumental sculpture. Development, form and function of wood sculptures of the 10th and early 11th centuries. in: Klaus Gereon Beuckers , Johannes Cramer, Michael Imhof (eds.), Die Ottonen. Art - Architecture - History , 2002, ISBN 3-93-252691-0 , pp. 129–152
- Klaus Gereon Beuckers: The Otto Mathildenkreuz in the Essen Minster Treasure . In: Herrschaft, Liturgie und Raum - Studies on the medieval history of the women's monastery in Essen . Klartext Verlag, Essen 2002, ISBN 3-89861-133-7 .