The Visionary Cross Project

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Brussels Cross

The Brussels Cross is an early eleventh-century reliquary that once contained a supposed fragment from the True Cross (see Van Ypersele de Strihou 2000; Webster 1984; Ó Carragáin 2005). It is built on an oak core that was covered with precious metal and jewels and perhaps a crucifixion (stolen sometime before 1793). Gilt silver decoration on the cross’s back and side bands bearing a vernacular inscription have survived. On the centre of the back of the cross is a depiction of the Agnus Dei; symbols of the four evangelists are found at the terminals. An Old English inscription around the edge quotes a text closely similar to the texts found on the Ruthwell Cross and in the Vercelli Book. A second inscription explains that the cross was made by two brothers in memory of a third. On the back we are told the name of the artist responsible for its manufacture.