The Legendary History of the Cross A Series of Sixty-four Woodcuts from a Dutch Book Published by Veldener, A.D. 1483 — A Closer Reading

ewe Biſſhop of the Cyte of Fundane ſuffred an holy noune to dwelle with him / the fende[42] thenemy beganne temprynte in his herte the beaulte of her / in ſuch wiſe / that he thought in hys bedde wycked and curſyd thynges / and on a daye a Iewe cam to Rome / and whanne he ſawe / that the day fayled / and myghte fynde no lodgynge / he wente that nyght / and abode in the Temple of appolyn /. And bycauſe he doubted of the ſacrylege of the place / how be hit / that he hadde no faythe in the Croſſe / yet he markyd and garnyſſhed hym wyth the ſigne of the Croſſe / then at mydnyght whan he awoke / he ſawe a companye of evylle ſprytes / whiche went to fore one / like as he hadde ſomme auctoryte puyſiance[43] above thother by ſubiection / and thenne he ſawe hym ſytte in the myddes among the others / and beganne to enquyre the cauſes and dedes of everyche[44] of theſe evylle ſprytes / whyche obeyed hym / and he wold knowe / what evylle everyche had doo / But Gregory paſſyth the maner of this vyſyon / bycauſe of ſhortnes / But we fynde ſemblable in the lyf of faders / That as a man entryd in a Temple of thydolles / he ſawe the devylle ſyttynge / and all his meyny[45] aboute hym. And one of theſe wycked / ſprytes cam / and adouryd hym / and he demaunded of hym / Fro whens comeſt thow / and he ſayd / I have ben in ſuch a provynce / and have moeved grete warres / and made many trybulacions and have ſhedde moche blood / and am come to telle it to the / and Sathan ſayd to hym / in what tyme hath thow done this / and he ſayd in thyrtty dayes and Sathan ſayd / why haſt thow be ſoo longe there aboutes / and ſayd to them that ſtode by hym / goo ye and bete hym / and all to laſſhe hym / Thenne cam the ſecond and worſſhiped hym / & ſayde Syre I have ben in the ſee / and have moeved grete wyndes and tormentes / & drowned many ſhippes / & ſlayn many men / and Sathan ſayde how longe haſt thow ben aboute thys / & he ſayd +vvii+ dayes / & Sathan ſayd haſt thou done no more in this tyme / & commanded that he ſhold be beten / and the third cam / & ſaid / I have ben in a Cyte & have mevyd ſtryves and debate in a weddynge / and have ſhed moche blood / & have ſlayne the hoſbond / & am come to telle the / & ſathan ſayd / in what time haſt thou done this / & he ſaid in ten dayes / & he ſayd haſt thou done no more in that time / & commanded them that were aboute hym to bete hym alſo / Thenne cam the fourth & ſayd / I have ben in the wylderneſs fourty yere / and have laboured aboute a monke / & unnethe at the laſte I have throwen & made hym falle in the ſynne of the fleſſhe / & when ſatan herd that / he aroos fro his ſete / & kyſſed hym / & tooke hys crowne of his hede / & ſet it on his hede / & made hym to ſytte with hym / & ſayde / thou haſt done a grete thynge / & haſt laboured more / than all thother / and this may be the maner of the vyſyon / that ſaynt gregorye leveth / whan eche had ſayd / one ſterte up in the myddle of them alle / & ſeyd he hadde mevid Andrewe ageynſte the name / & had mevyd the fourth part of his fleſhe agenſt her in temptacion / & therto / y^t yeſterday he drough[46] ſo moche his mynde on her / that in the hour of evenſonge he gaf to her in Iapping[47] a buſſe[48] / & ſeid pleynly y^t ſhe muſt here it that he wold ſynne with her / thenne the mayſter commanded hym that he ſhold perform y^t he had begonne / & for to make hym to ſynne he ſhold have a ſyngular Vyctory and reward among alle the other /. And thenne commaunded he that they ſhold goo loke who that was that laye in the Temple / And they wente / & loked / And anone they were ware / that he was marked with the ſigne of the croſſe / And they levynge aferd eſcaped / and ſayd / veryly this is an empty veſſel / alas / alas / he is marked /. And with[49] thus wys alle the company of the wykked ſprytes vanyſſhed awaye / And thenne the Iewe al amoevyd cam to the biſſhop / and told to hym all by ordere what was happend / And whan the biſſhoppe herd this / he wept ſtrongly / and made to voyde all the wymmen oute of his hows / And thenne he baptyſed the Iewe.

[Sidenote: 50 _Bit._]

Seynt Gregory reherceth in his dyalogues that a nonne entryd into a gardyne / and ſawe a letuſe / and coveyted that / and forgate to make the ſigne of the Croſſe / and bote[50] it glotonouſly / And anone fylle doune and was ravyſſhed of a devylle / And ther cam to her ſaint Equycyon[J] / And the devylle beganne to crye and to ſaye / What have I doo / I ſatte uppon a lettuſe / and ſhe cam / and bote me / and anone the devylle yſſued oute by the commaundement of the holy man of god /. It is redde in thyſtorye Scolaſtyke / that the paynyms had peynted on a walle the armes of Serapis / And Theodoſyen dide doo putt them oute / and made to be paynted in the ſame place the ſigne of the Croſſe / And when the paynims & prieſtes of thydolles ſawe that / anone they dyde them to be baptyſed / ſayenge / that it was gyven them to underſtonde of their olders / that thoſe armes ſhold endure tyll / that ſuche a ſigne were made then / in whiche were lyf / And they have a lettre / of whiche they uſe / y^t they calle holy / & had a forme that they ſaid it expoſed and ſignyfyed lyf perdurable.

Thus endeth the exaltacion of the holy Croſſe.

Having read theſe extracts from the Golden Legend, we ſhall be able to underſtand the accompanying illuſtrations, which repreſent ſome freſcos of the fifteenth century, which formerly adorned the walls of the / Chapel of the Gild of the Holy Croſs, at Stratford-upon-Avon; which ſtands cloſe by New Place, Shakeſpeare’s houſe. Theſe freſcos, alas! no longer exiſt, for, in 1804, the Chapel underwent conſiderable repair, during which, under the whitewaſh, were diſcovered traces of paint, and theſe, being ſcraped, a ſeries illuſtrating the legend of the Croſs was found in the chancel, which was built in 1450. In other parts of the Chapel were found repreſentations of the Reſſurection, and the day of Judgment, St. George and the Dragon, and the death of St. Thomas a Becket, beſides others.

Luckily, a gentleman from London, a Mr. Fiſher, was then ſtaying at Stratford-on-Avon, and he drew, and painted them—afterwards, in 1807, publiſhing them—and it is from his ſketches that theſe illuſtrations are taken. The barbarians of Stratford hacked the plaſter on which the Holy Croſs ſeries was painted to bits, and whitewaſhed all the other paintings. It is preſumed they ſtill exiſt, for, when the Chapel was thoroughly reſtored in 1835, traces of the other pictures were viſible under the whitewaſh.

Theſe pictures of the Invention, and Exaltation, of the Holy Croſs are eſpecially intereſting, not only on account of their age and artiſtic merit, but from the fact that they are of Engliſh work, and ſhow the Engliſh idea of treating the ſubject. I have reproduced them all but two; one, the fight on the bridge over the Danube between Heraclius and the ſon of Choſroes, and the other repreſenting Heraclius ſmiting off Choſroes’ head.

Plate =A= repreſents the viſit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. Her name was Balkis, and, in her legendary hiſtory, it is reported that Solomon, having heard of her riches and power, ſent her a peremptory meſſage to ſubmit herſelf to his rule. She, dreading war with ſo potent a ſovereign, ſent an embaſſy to try and find out whether Solomon was as wiſe as he was repreſented to be. With this object ſhe dreſſed five hundred boys as girls, and a like number of girls as boys, and, among other preſents, ſent a pearl, a diamond cut through in zigzags, and a cryſtal box; and ſhe ſhould be able to judge of his wiſdom and power, if he could tell the boys from the girls, pierce the pearl, thread the diamond, and fill the goblet with water that came neither from the earth nor the ſky.

Needleſs to ſay, Solomon paſſed through the ordeal triumphantly. He ordered ſilver baſins to be brought, ſo that the ambaſſadors’ ſuite might waſh their hands after their long journey, and the boys were eaſily diſtinguiſhed from the girls, for they dipped their hands only in the water, whilſt the girls tucked up their ſleeves and waſhed their arms as well as their hands. Then he opened the box containing the pearl, diamond, and goblet, and, taking out the pearl, he applied his magic ſtone, Samur, or Schamir, which a raven had brought him, and which had the power of cleaving anything, and lo! the pearl was pierced; then he examined the diamond, which was ſo pierced that no thread could be paſſed through it; ſo he took a worm, and having placed a piece of ſilk in its mouth, it wriggled through, and the diamond was threaded. The next taſk was to fill the goblet, which he gave to a negro ſlave, and bade him mount a wild horſe and gallop it till it ſtreamed with ſweat, and then to fill the goblet with it, thus fulfilling the impoſed conditions. He then gave back theſe preſents to the ambaſſadors, who ſpeedily returned to Queen Balkis. She at once ſaw that it would be uſeleſs to oppoſe the powerful will of Solomon, and immediately ſet out on her journey to that monarch.

It is here that her connection with the holy Croſs comes in, for its wood, which Solomon had cut down in order to incorporate it into his Temple, and which had the inconvenient property of fitting in nowhere, being either too long or too ſhort for any purpoſe, was in conſequence thrown aſide, and ultimately was uſed as a foot-bridge acroſs a brook. Acroſs this plank the Queen had to paſs, but ſhe, recogniſing its holy virtue, refuſed to walk acroſs it, preferring to wade the brook, which, having done, ſhe expounded its value to Solomon, and propheſied that out of it ſhould be made the Croſs on which Jeſus ſhould ſuffer.

She afterwards became one of Solomon’s wives, and bore him a ſon, and then returned to her own land, and from this ſon are deſcended the kings of Abyſſynia.

The legend on the label is, as far as is legible, REGINA SABA FAMA SALOMONIS (adduct) A VENIT (Iero)SOLUMA UBI LIGNUM IN ... ABATICA ... IT ... GENIS ... PERSOLVETUR.

Plate =B= is, virtually, two; one ſhowing the angel appearing to Conſtantine when, early in the fourth century, he was advancing towards Rome againſt Maxentius; but the legend of the miraculous inſcription which appeared in the ſky, “IN HOC SIGNO VINCES,” does not appear. The other, and larger portion, repreſents his victory over Maxentius, and he is repreſented as ſpearing and killing that monarch; but this is not hiſtorically correct, for, after his defeat, as Maxentius fled towards Rome, eſſaying to croſs the Tiber over a rotten bridge, it gave way, and he was drowned. It is noticeable that the Chriſtian flag bears the Tau Croſs.

_The Plates_ =C= _and_ =D= _run into each other, although they portray different ſubjects,_ =C= _being the departure of St. Helena for Jeruſalem on her queſt of the holy Croſs. The label in this freſco is utterly illegible._

Plate =D= ſhows Judas (called Julius in the label) Cyryacus (the Quyryache of the Golden Legend) being releaſed, after having been forced, through impriſonment and ſtarvation, into confeſſing where the holy Croſs lay buried. In the upper part St. Helena is receiving the holy Croſs, whilſt labourers are uncovering the Tau Croſſes of the two thieves.

The legend is mutilated, but enough remains to make its meaning clear: “HERE SEYNTE HELYNE EXAMY(neth) THE I(ews for) Y^E HOLY CROS.... IULIUS CYRYACUS (saith that he knew w)HERE HETE WAS.”

_The legend in Plate_ =E= _is nearly perfect, and accurately deſcribes the painting_, “HYT WAS PROVED EVIDENTLY BY MYRAKEL WHICH WAS Y^E VERY CROS THAT OURE SAVYOUR SUFFYRED.... IN RESYNGE A MADE FROM DETH TO LYFE.”

Here all the Croſſes are of the Tau type, and the ſcene is laid in a foreſt, where an old labourer, and a bill-man, and the deer nibbling the trees, give a rural aſpect, inſtead of in the City of Jeruſalem, as ſaith the Golden Legend.

Plate =F= evidently conſiſts of two ſeparate paintings—one, where St. Helena is reverently carrying the Croſs into Jeruſalem, whilſt the angels in heaven are diſcourſing celeſtial muſic; and the other, its reception either in Jeruſalem or Byzantium, whither St. Helena ſent a portion as a preſent to her ſon. And this latter ſeems the more probable, if we imagine the King, who, with St. Helena, is adoring the Crucifix, to be the emperor Conſtantine, a fact which might have been ſettled had the label been legible.

The legend at the bottom is unfortunately mutilated, but that evidently relates to that portion of the Croſs which remained at Jeruſalem, becauſe it ſpeaks of Choſroes: “HERE THE HOLE CROS WAS BROUGHTE SOLEMLY YN TO THE ... IN Y^E BYSSHOPS HANDS EASILY AND (remaynyd) UN TO THE TYME OF (King Codſd)ROE.

Plates =G= and =H= repreſent the ſtory told in the Golden Legend, of Heraclius bearing the Croſs into Jeruſalem, how the gate miraculouſly cloſed, and an angel appeared in the heavens and reproved Heraclius for riding in ſtate on the very ſpot where Jeſus had gone in all meekneſs, and lowlineſs, to His paſſion. The legend is eraſed in parts, the unmutilated portion reading, “AS THE NOBUL KYNGE ERACLYUS COM RYDYNG TOWARDE Y^E CYTTE OF IERUSALEM BERYNG Y^E CROSSE SO GRETE PRYDE ... WHERE Y^E....”

Naturally, the poſſesſion of a piece of the true Croſs would be eſteemed as a moſt precious property. No matter how ſmall, it would be reverentially encloſed in cryſtal and gold, and was more than a preſent fit for an emperor or king, and we cannot marvel that ſmall pieces were diſtributed all over Chriſtendom. Poſſibly ſome of the relics ſhown as pieces of the very Croſs might not have been what they were ſuppoſed to be, but it is hard to believe what John Calvin[K] wrote about it:—

“And fyrſt of all let us begynne to ſpeake of his croſſe, whereupon he was hanged. I know that it is holden for a certaintie that it was founde of Heline the mother of Conſtantine the Romaine Emperour. I knowe alſo what certaine Doctours have written touching the approbation hereof, for to certifie that the croſſe which ſhe found was without doute the ſelfe ſame on the whiche Ieſus Chriſt was hanged. Touchynge all this I reporte me to the thynge it ſelfe, ſo much is there that it was but a foliſh curioſitie of her, or at the leaſt a foliſhe and unconſidered devotion. But yet put the caſe it had ben a worke worthy of prayſe to her, for to have taken paynes to fynde the trewe croſſe, and that our lord had then declared by myracle that it was his croſſe which ſhe found; Yet let us onely conſider that which is of our time. Every one doeth holde that this croſſe which Helene founde is yet at Ieruſalem, and none doeth doute thereof. Although the Eccleſiaſticall hiſtory againſt ſayeth the ſame notablye. For it is ther recited that Helene toke one part thereof to ſend to the Emperour her ſonne, who put the ſame at Conſtantinople upon a fyne pyller of Marble in the myddeſt of the market. Of the other part, it is ſayde that ſhe did locke the ſame in a copher of ſilver, and gave it to the Biſhop of Ieruſalem to kepe. So then eyther we ſhall augment the hiſtorie of a lie or els that which is holden at this daye of the true Croſſe, is but a vayne and triflyng opinion.

[Sidenote: 51 _Blocks—billets_]

“Let us conſider on the other part howe many peeces there are thereof throug out the worlde. Yf I would onely recite that whiche I coulde ſay there woulde be a regiſter ſufficient to fyl a whole boke. There is not ſo little a town where there is not ſome peece thereof, and that not onelye in cathedrall churches, but alſo in ſome pariſhes. Likewiſe ther is not ſo wicked an abbey where there is not of it to be ſhewed. And in ſome places ther are good great ſhydes:[51] as at the holye chappell of Paris, and at Poitiers & at Rome, where there is a great crucifix made thereof as men ſaye. To be ſhort, yf a man woulde gather together all that hath bene founde of this croſſe, there would be inough to fraighte a great ſhip. The Goſpell teſtifieth that the croſſe myght be caried of one man. What audacitie then was this to fyll the earth with pieces of wod in ſuche quantitie, that thre hundred men can not cary them,” &c.

Calvin was full of zeal, and could not ſtoop to particulariſe. Witneſs his aſſertion that the Croſs would freight a ſhip, and yet that three hundred men could carry it. M. Rohault de Fleury has gone very minutely into this matter. Knowing, from microſcopical examination, that ſeveral of the relics of the Croſs were of pine, he accepts this wood as his baſis, and, from its probable ſize, he deduces a weight of 100 kilogrammes, equal to about 240 Engliſh lbs.; and, taking the average denſity of pine, he eſtimates that this would give 178 millions of cubic millimetres. He then deſcribes all the known pieces in Europe, Jeruſalem, and Mount Athos, with their meaſurements, and he puts the outcome at 3,941,975 cubic millimetres; thus, according to his ſhewing, there is but a very ſmall portion of the Holy Croſs in exiſtence. I ſubjoin his liſt of the places in which pieces of the Croſs are known to exiſt, as it is moſt intereſting, ſhowing the comparative bulk of the pieces, in cubic millimetres:—

Aix la Chapelle 150 Amiens 4,500 Angers 2,640 Angleterre 30,516 Arles 8,000 Arras 10,314 Athos (le Mont) 878,360 Autun 50 Avignon 220 Baugé 104,000 Bernay 375 Beſançon 1,000 Bologne 15,000 Bonifacio 47,960 Bordeaux 3,420 Bourbon l’Archambault 29,275 Bourges 22,275 Bruxelles 516,090 Chalmarques “ Châlons 200 Chamirey 605 Chatillon ” Cheffes (Anjou) 100 Chelles “ Compiègne 1,896 Conques 108 Cortone 3,000 Courtrai 200 Dijon 33,091 Donawert 12,000 Faghine ” Florence 37,640 Fumes 5,250 Gand 436,450 Gênes 26,458 Gramont 5,000 Jancourt (Aube) 3,500 Jeruſalem 5,045 Langres 200 Laon “ Libourne 3,000 Lille 15,112 Limbourg 133,768 Longpont 1,136 Lorris ” Lyon 1,696 Mâcon 2,000 Maeſtricht 10,000 Marſeille 150 Milan 1,920 Montepulciano 500 Naples 10,000 Nevers 176 Nuremberg “ Padoue 64 Paris 237,731 Piſa 8,175 Poitiers 870 Pontigny 12,000 Raguſe 169,324 Riel les Eaux 671 Rome 537,587 Royaumont ” Saint Dié 99 Saint Florent 400 Saint Quentin 5,000 Saint Sepolcro 200 Sens 69,545 Sienne 1,680 Tournai 2,000 Trèves 18,000 Troyes 201 Turin 6,500 Venice 445,582 Venloo “ Walcourt 2,000 Wambach ” ———— TOTAL 3,941,975