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Pectoral (Crusader?) Cross
Descriptionsolid cast, this unusual crucifix displays the dead Christ with head turned right and arms extending upwards, knee-length perizoneum probably knotted on the right. Very rubbed, perhaps already because held a lot when worn around the neck. Indeed, because of greater wear on the feet it is not possible to say for certain, despite the likelihood, that this is a ‘three-nail’ type of crucifixion, with feet crossed, as the legs remain parallel and the feet perhaps only partially overlap because of their disproportionate width, a stylistic feature also seen in the hands. CommentaryAlthough the facts surrounding the provenance are no more than suggestive, though highly so, this modest little cross stems from a time when a whole medieval period associated with it, the High Middle Ages, came to an end. The massacre of the Franks in Acre in 1291 by the Mamluks, where even the monks were murdered whilst singing matins, more or less ended the Latin presence in the Holy Land and also signalled the beginning of the slow decline of the influence of the Church. At the same time, in January 1307, as if martyrdom in Palestine was not enough, the last six templars at Dinsley were arrested and charged, with at least two brothers ending up in the Tower of London.The new century was to be one of more domestic internecine battles in Europe such as the Hundred years war interspersed with the ravages of the plague. ProvenanceFound in 1995 near Walkern (Stevenage, Hertfordshire) on the site of Box wood, this unassuming pectoral cross has an extremely interesting context. First of all small personal items such as this are often associated with pilgrimage and the Holy Land, indeed, were often made there. Secondly, the people who had the most regular business in the Holy Land, and not only in times of conflict, were the Knights Templar, and their chief preceptory and base in South Eastern England was precisely 7 km West from the site, at Temple Dinsley. An even closer templar building is The Priory in Little Wymondley, founded in about 1203 by Richard Argentein, a Norman knight associated with them. Lastly, only 15 minutes walk away from Box wood (also known as Pryors wood) was the manor of Chells (now in Stevenage) which was in Templar hands some time between 1216 and 1272 (cf. Sir Henry Chauncy, The Historical Antiques of Hertfordshire). |
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