Raising of the Cross

The gospels say little of the act of crucifying but mystical literature of the 13th and 14th cents., especially the Meditations on the Life of Christ by Giovanni de Caulibus and the Revelations of St Bridget of Sweden, describe the preliminaries in detail though not always consistently. The nailing of Christ to the cross forms a separate incident and may be represented in either of two ways. Christ was either nailed to the cross as it lay on the ground, or he ascended when it was already in situ and was then nailed. The former is the more usual type and was adopted in the West from Byzantine models. The Byzantine painters' guide states, 'A crowd of Jews and soldiers seen upon a mountain. A cross laid upon the ground in their midst. The body of Christ upon it. Three soldiers hold it by ropes at the arms and foot. Other soldiers bring nails and drive them with a hammer through his feet and hands.' The alternative type which is occasionally found in the early Italian Renaissance shows the Savior either mounting a ladder, or standing in position while executioners, who have climbed ladders placed at either end of the cross-bar, are nailing his outstretched hands to it. The elevation itself—the raising of the cross with the body of Christ attached to it—belongs chiefly to the 16th-18th cents., more particularly to northern European painting. Men with straining muscles are thrusting one end upwards while others heave on ropes. There may be numerous spectators, among them the holy women. The Old Testament theme of the Brazen Serpent was taken as the prefiguration of the 'Elevation,' after John (3:14) where Christ, speaking to Nicodemus, says, 'This Son of Man must be lifted up as the serpent was lifted up by Moses in the wilderness.' Crucifixion as practiced by the Romans was different in some fundamental respects from either form in which it is depicted.