Arood orrood cross, sometimes known as atriumphal cross,[1] is a cross orcrucifix, especially the largecrucifix set above the entrance to thechancel of amedieval church.[2] Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of thecrucifixion of Jesus.
Rood is an archaic word forpole, fromOld Englishrōd 'pole', specifically 'cross', fromProto-Germanic *rodo, cognate toOld Saxonrōda,Old High Germanruoda 'rod'.[3]
Rood was originally the only Old English word for the instrument ofJesus Christ'sdeath. The wordscrúc and in the Northcros (from eitherOld Irish orOld Norse) appeared by late Old English;crucifix is first recorded in English in theAncrene Wisse of about 1225.[4] More precisely, the Rood orHolyrood was theTrue Cross, the specific wooden cross used in Christ's crucifixion. The word remains in use in some names, such asHolyrood Palace and theOld English poemThe Dream of the Rood. The phrase "by the rood" was used inswearing, e.g. "No, by the rood, not so" inShakespeare'sHamlet (Act 3, Scene 4).
The alternative termtriumphal cross (Latin:crux triumphalis,German:Triumphkreuz), which is more usual in Europe, signifies the triumph that the resurrectedJesus Christ (Christustriumphans) won over death.[5]
Inchurch architecture the rood, or rood cross, is a life-sized crucifix displayed on the central axis of a church, normally at thechancel arch. The earliest roods hung from the top of the chancel arch (rood arch), or rested on a plain "rood beam" across it, usually at the level of the capitals of the columns. This original arrangement is still found in many churches in Germany and Scandinavia, although many other surviving crosses now hang on walls.
If the choir is separated from the church interior by arood screen, the rood cross is placed on, or more rarely in front of, the screen.[6][7] Under the rood is usually the altar of the Holy Cross.
Numerous near life-size crucifixes survive from theRomanesque period or earlier, with theGero Cross inCologne Cathedral (AD 965–970) and theVolto Santo of Lucca the best known. The prototype may have been one known to have been set up inCharlemagne'sPalatine Chapel in Aachen, apparently in gold foil worked over a wooden core in the manner of theGolden Madonna of Essen,[8] though figureless jeweled gold crosses are recorded in similar positions inHagia Sophia inConstantinople in the 5th century. Many figures in precious metal are recorded inAnglo-Saxon monastic records, though none now survive. Notables sometimes gave their crowns (Cnut the Great atWinchester Cathedral), necklaces (Lady Godiva to the Virgin accompanying the rood atEvesham Abbey), or swords (Tovi the Proud,Waltham Abbey) to decorate them.[9] The original location and support for the surviving figures is often unclear but a number of northern European churches preserve the original setting in full – they are known as aTriumphkreuz in German, from the "triumphal arch" (or "chancel arch") of Early Christian architecture. As in later examples theVirgin andSaint John often flank the cross, andcherubim and other figures are sometimes seen. A gilt rood in the 10th-centuryMainz Cathedral was only placed on a beam on specialfeast days.[10]
In theRomanesque era, the crucified Christ was presented as ruler and judge. Instead of a crown of thorns, he wears a crown or ahalo; on his feet he wears "shoes" as a sign of the ruler. He is victorious over death. His feet are parallel to each other on the wooden support ("four-nail type") and not one on top of the other.[11] Theperizoma (loincloth) is highly stylized and falls in vertical folds.
In the transition to theGothic style, the triumphant Christ becomes a suffering Christ, the pitiful Man of Sorrows. Instead of the ruler's crown, he wears thecrown of thorns, his feet are placed one above the other and are pierced with a single nail. His facial expression and posture express his pain. The wounds of the body are often dramatically portrayed. The loincloth is no longer so clearly stylized. The attendant figures Mary and John show signs of grief.[12]
A triumphal cross may be surrounded by a group of people. These people may include Mary and John, the "beloved disciple" (based onJohn's Gospel –John 19:25–27,Matthew 27:25f,Mark 15;40f andLuke 23:49), but also apostles, angels and the benefactor.
Rood screens developed in the 13th century as wooden or stonescreens, usually separating thechancel orchoir from thenave, upon which the rood now stood. The screen may be elaborately carved and was often richly painted andgilded. Rood screens were found in Christian churches in most parts of Europe by the end of the Middle Ages, though in Catholic countries the great majority were gradually removed after theCouncil of Trent, and most were removed or drastically cut down in areas controlled byCalvinists andAnglicans. The best medieval examples are now mostly in theLutheran countries such as Germany and Scandinavia, where they were often left undisturbed in country churches.
Rood screens are the Western equivalent of theByzantinetemplon beam, which developed into theEastern Orthodoxiconostasis. Some rood screens incorporate a rood loft, a narrowgallery or just flat walkway which could be used to clean or decorate the rood or cover it up inLent, or in larger examples used by singers or musicians. An alternative type of screen is thePulpitum, as seen inExeter Cathedral, which is near the main altar of the church.
The rood provided a focus for worship, most especially inHoly Week when worship was highly elaborate. DuringLent the rood was veiled; onPalm Sunday it was revealed before the procession of palms, and the congregation knelt before it. The wholePassion story would then be read from the rood loft, at the foot of thecrucifix, by three ministers.
Few original medieval rood crosses have survived in churches of the United Kingdom.[13] Most were deliberately destroyed as acts oficonoclasm during theEnglish Reformation and theEnglish Civil War, when many rood screens were also removed. Today, in many British churches, the "rood stair" that gave access to the gallery is often the only remaining sign of the former rood screen and rood loft.
In the 19th century, under the influence of theOxford Movement, roods and screens were again added to many Anglican churches.
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A unique rood exists atSt Mary's parish church, Charlton-on-Otmoor, nearOxford, England, where a large wooden cross, solidly covered in greenery stands on the early 16th-century rood screen (said by Sherwood andPevsner to be the finest inOxfordshire).[14] The cross is redecorated twice a year, on 1 May and 19 September (thepatronal festival, calculated according to theJulian Calendar), when children from the local primary school, carrying small crosses decorated with flowers, bring a long, flower-decorated, rope-like garland. The cross is dressed or redecorated with locally obtainedbox foliage. The rope-like garland is hung across the rood screen during the "May Garland Service".[15]
An engraving from 1822/1823 (Dunkin) shows the dressed rood cross as a more open, foliage-covered framework, similar to certain types ofcorn dolly, with a smaller attendant figure of similar appearance.Folklorists have commented on the garland crosses' resemblance to human figures, and noted that they replaced statues ofSt Mary andSaint James the Great which had stood on the rood screen until they were destroyed during the Reformation. Until the 1850s, the larger garland cross was carried in aMay Day procession, accompanied bymorris dancers, to the formerBenedictineStudleypriory (as the statue of St Mary had been, until the Reformation). Meanwhile, the women of the village used to carry the smaller garland cross through Charlton,[15] though it seems that this ceased some time between 1823 and 1840, when an illustration inJ.H. Parker'sA Glossary of Terms Used in Grecian, Roman, Italian, and Gothic Architecture shows only one garland cross, centrally positioned on the rood screen.[16]
![Two corn-dolly-like garlands formerly stood in the rood loft, as illustrated in 1823.[citation needed]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCharltonGarlands1823.jpg)
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