Ara Crucis: Crucifix and Altar of the Holy Cross in the Interior of Mediaeval Churches .

Abstract

The altar dedicated to the Holy Cross (altare sanctae crucis) appeared in church interiors in the early Middle Ages: the oldest testimonies to such altars date back to the 6th century. The altar was always accompanied by an impressive crucifix placed centrally in the church (crux in medio ecclesiae), and it was precisely this element that the location, dedication, and symbolic interpretation of the altare sanctae crucis in a church interior stemmed from. The combination of an altar with a cross monument centrally placed in the church contributed to the altar’s importance, making it dominate over other ones. Centrally located in a mediaeval church, the cross mimicked the cross monument placed on Golgotha, regarded together with Jerusalem as the centre of the world and of the history of Salvation.