a gibbet made with two pieces of wood placed crosswise, whether they cross with right angles at the top like a T, or in the middle of their length like an X. The cross to which our Saviour was fastened, and on which he died, was of the former kind; being thus represented by old monuments, coins, and croselets; and St Jerome compares it to a bird flying, a man swimming, or praying with his arms extended. The punishment of the cross was common among the Syrians, Egyptians, Persians, Africans, Greeks, Romans, and Jews.

The death of the cross was the most dreadful of all others, both for the shame and pain of it; and so scandalous, that it was inflicted as the last mark of detestation upon the vilest of people. It was the punishment of robbers and murderers, provided that they were slaves too; but otherwise, if they were free, and had the privileges of the city of Rome, this was then thought a profanation of that honour, and too infamous a punishment for such a one, let his crimes be what they would.

The Mosaic law ordained, that the persons executed should not be left upon the tree after sunset, because that is hanged in this manner is accursed of God, Deut. xxii. 22. The Jews believe, that the souls of those who remain upon the gibbet, and without burial, enjoy no peace, and receive no benefit from the prayers of other people; but wander up and down till their bodies are buried: which agrees with the notions that the Greeks and Romans had of this matter, as may be seen in Hom. Iliad 4, and Virg. Æneid 6. The form of a cross being such as has been already described, the body of the criminal was fastened to the upright piece by nailing the feet to it, and on the other transverse piece generally by nailing the hands on each side. Now, because these parts of the body, being the instruments of action and motion, are provided by nature with a much greater quantity of nerves than others have occasion for; and because all sensation is performed by the spirit contained in these nerves; it will follow, as Stanhope observes, that wherever they abound, the sense of pain must needs be more quick and tender.

The Jews confess, that indeed they crucified people in their nation, but deny that they inflicted this punishment upon any one alive. They first put them to death, and then fastened them to the cross either by the hands or neck. But there are indisputable proofs of their crucifying men frequently alive. The worshippers of Baal-peor and the king of Ai were hung up alive; as were also the descendants of Saul, who were put into the hands of the Gibeonites, 2 Sam. xxi. 9.

Before crucifixion the criminal was generally scourged with cords; sometimes little bones, or pieces of bones, were tied to these scourges, so that the condemned person might suffer more severely. It was also a custom that he who was to be crucified should bear his own cross to the place of execution. After this manner we find Christ was compelled to bear his own cross; and, as he sunk under the burden, Simon the Cyrenian was constrained to bear it after him and with him. But whereas it is generally supposed that our Lord bore the whole cross, i.e., the long and transverse part both, this seems to be a thing impossible; and therefore Lipsius (in his treatise De Supplicio Crucis) has set the matter in a true light, when he tells us that Jesus only carried the transverse beam; because the long beam, or the body of the cross, was either fixed in the ground before, or made ready to be set up as soon as the prisoner came; and from hence he observes, that painters are very much mistaken in their description of our Saviour carrying the whole cross.

There were several ways of crucifying; sometimes the criminal was fastened with cords to a tree, sometimes he was crucified with his head downwards. This way St Peter chose out of respect to his master Jesus Christ, not thinking himself worthy to be crucified by him; though the common way of crucifying was by fastening the criminal with nails, one through each hand, and one through both feet, or one through each of them; for this was not always performed in the same manner; the ancients sometimes representing Jesus Christ crucified with four nails, and sometimes with three. The criminal was fixed to the cross quite naked; and in all probability the Saviour of the world was not used with any greater tenderness than others upon whom the punishment was inflicted. The soldiers divided his clothes among them, and cast lots for his tunic, which is an under garment worn over the flesh like a shirt.

The text of the gospel shows clearly, that Jesus Christ was fastened to the cross with nails; and the Psalmist (xxii. 16.) had foretold long before, that they should pierce his hands and his feet; but there are great disputes concerning the number of these nails. The Greeks represent our Saviour as fastened to the cross with four nails; in which particular Gregory of Tours agrees with them, one at each hand and foot. But several are of opinion, that our Saviour's hands and feet were pierced with three nails only, viz. one at each hand, and one through both his feet; and one custom of the Latins is rather for this last opinion; for the generality of the old crucifixes made in the Latin church have only three nails. Nonnus thinks that our Saviour's arms were besides bound fast to the cross with chains; and St Hilary speaks of the cords wherewith he was tied to it.

Sometimes they who were fastened upon the cross lived a good while in that condition. St Andrew is believed to have continued three days alive upon it. Eusebius speaks of certain martyrs in Egypt who were kept upon the cross till they were starved to death. Pilate was amazed at Jesus Christ dying so soon; because naturally he must have lived long, if it had not been in his power to have laid down his life and to take it up again. The thighs of the two thieves who were crucified together with our Saviour were broken in order to hasten their death, that their bodies might not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath-day (John xix. 31, 32, 33.), and to comply with the law of Moses, which forbids the bodies to be left there after sunset. But among other nations they were suffered to remain upon the cross a long time. Sometimes they were devoured alive by birds and beasts of prey. Guards were appointed to observe that none of their friends or relations should take them down and bury them. The story of the Ephesian matron and the soldier who was set to guard the cross, is very well known. The Roman soldiers who had crucified Jesus Christ and the two thieves continued near the crosses till the bodies were taken down and buried.

Crosses were usually, in former times, erected on the tops of houses, by which tenants pretended to claim the privileges of the Templars Hospitallers, to defend themselves against their rightful lords. This was condemned by the statute Wil. II. c. 37. It was usual also, in those days, to set up crosses in places where the corpse of any of the nobility rested as it was carried to be buried; that transeuntibus pro ejus animo deprecentur. Crosses, &c. are forbidden to be brought into England by 13 Eliz. c. 2. on pain of a preemunire, &c.

Invention of the Cross, an ancient feast solemnized on the third of May, in memory of St Helena's (the mother of Constantine) finding the true cross of Christ deep in the ground on Mount Calvary; where she erected a church for the preservation of part of it; the rest being brought to Rome and deposited in the church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem.

Theodoret mentions the finding of three crosses; that of Jesus Christ and those of the two thieves; and that they distinguished between them by means of a sick woman, who was immediately healed by touching the true cross. The place is said to have been pointed out to her by St Quiriacus, then a Jew; afterwards converted and canonized.

Exaltation of the Cross, an ancient feast, held on the 14th of September, in memory of this, that Heraclius restored to Mount Calvary the true cross in 642, which had been carried off 14 years before by Cosroes king of Persia, upon his taking Jerusalem from the emperor Phocas. The adoration of the crofs appears to have been practised in the ancient church; insomuch as the heathens, particularly Julian, reproached the primitive Christians with it. And we do not find that their apologists disclaimed the charge. Momray, indeed, asserted, that this had been done by St Cyril, but could not support his allegation at the conference of Fontainebleau. St Helena is said to have reduced the adoration of the crofs to its just principle, since she adored in the wood, not the wood itself, which had been direct idolatry and heathenism, but him who had been nailed to this wood. With such modifications some Protestants have been induced to admit the adoration of the crofs. John Huf allowed of the phrase, provided it were expressly added, that the adoration was relative to the person of Christ. But however Roman Catholics may seem to triumph by virtue of such distinction and mitigations, it is well known they have no great place in their own practice. Imbert, the good prior of Galcony, was severely persecuted in 1683 for telling the people, that in the ceremony of adoring the crofs, profaned in that church on Good Friday, they were not to adore the wood, but Christ, who was crucified on it. The curate of the parish told them the contrary: it was the wood! the wood! they were to adore. Imbert replied, it was Christ, not the wood; for which he was cited before the archbishop of Bordeaux, suspended from his functions, and threatened with chains and perpetual imprisonment. It little availed him to cite the bishop of Meaux's dilution; it was answered that the church allowed it not.

Cross-Bearer (port-croix, cruciger), in the Roman church, the chaplain of an archbishop or a primate, who bears a crofs before him on solemn occasions.

The pope has the crofs borne before him everywhere; a patriarch anywhere out of Rome; and primates, metropolitans, and those who have a right to the pallium, throughout their respective jurisdictions.

Gregory XI. forbade all patriarchs and prelates to have it borne in presence of cardinals. A prelate bears a single crofs, a patriarch a double crofs, and the pope a triple one on his arms.

Cross-Bearers also denote certain officers in the inquisition, who make a vow before the inquisitors or their vicars to defend the Catholic faith, though with the loss of fortune and life. Their business is to provide the inquisitors with necessaries. They were formerly of great use; but in process of time some of their constitutions were changed, and they were called of the penance of St Dominic.

Pectoral Cross, is a crofs of gold or silver, or other precious materials, often enriched with diamonds, which the bishops, archbishops, &c. and regular abbesses, wear hanging from the neck.

Order of the Crofs, or Croisade, an order of ladies instituted in 1668 by the empress Eleonora de Gonzaga, wife of the emperor Leopold; on occasion of the miraculous recovery of a little golden crofs wherein were inclosed two pieces of the true crofs, out of the ashes of part of the palace. It seems the fire had burnt the case wherein it was inclosed, and melted the crystal, yet the wood remained untouched.

Maids of the Cross, a community of young women instituted in 1265 at Roye in Picardy, and since dispersed to Paris and other towns. They instruct young persons of their own sex. Some take the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; others retain their liberty. They are under the direction of a superior.

Heraldry, is defined by Guillim, an ordinary composed of fourfold lines; whereof two are perpendicular, and the other two transverse; for so we must conceive of them, though they be not drawn throughout, but meet by couples, in four right angles near the fesse point of the escutcheon. See Heraldry.

This bearing was first bestowed on such as had performed, or at least undertaken, some service for Christ, and the Christian profession; and is held by divers the most honourable charge in all heraldry. What brought it into such frequent use, was the ancient expeditions into the Holy Land; and the holy war pilgrims, after their pilgrimage, taking the crofs for their cognizance; and the ensign of that war being the crofs. In those wars, says Mackenzie, the Scots carried St Andrew's crofs; the French a crofs argent; the English a crofs or; the Germans, sable; the Italians, azure; the Spaniards, gules.

St George's Cross, or the red crofs, in a field argent, is now the standard of England; that saint being the reputed patron of this nation.

Nor is it only in crofses that the variety is so great; the like is found in many other bearings, and particularly in lions, and the parts of them; whereof Columbiere gives us no less than 96 varieties. Leigh mentions but 46 several crofses; Sylvanus Morgan, 26; Upton, 30; Johannes de Bado Aureo, 12; and so others, whom it is needless to mention. Upton owns he dares not presume to ascertain all the various crofses used in arms, for that they are at present almost innumerable; and therefore he only takes notice of such as he had seen used in his own time.

mining, two nicks cut on the superficies of the earth, thus +, which the miners make when they take the ground to dig for ore. This crofs gives the miners three days liberty to make and set on stones. As many of these crofses as the miner makes, so many mears of ground he may have in the vein, provided he set on stones within three days after making his crofs or crofses. But if he make but one crofs, and a flander by makes the second, and a stranger makes the third, every one is served with the next near, according as they have first or last, sooner or later, made their crofs or crofses upon the ground.

coins, a name given to the right side or face, the other being called the pile or reverse. It has been a common error, that the reverse was meant by the crofs; because at this time, with us, it is marked with figures disposed in that form: but the stamping the head of the prince in these kingdoms on the right side of the coin, was preceded by a general custom of striking on that part the figure of a crofs; while the other, called the pile, contained the arms, or some other device.

Cross, instead of a signature to a deed, &c. is derived from the Saxon practice of affixing the sign of the crofs, whether they could write or not.

surveying, is an instrument which consists of a brass circle, divided into four equal parts by two lines crossing each other in the centre. At each extremity of the lines is fixed a perpendicular sight, with small Crofs, small holes below each slit, for the better discovering of distant objects. The crofs is mounted on a staff or stand, to fix it in the ground, and it is found to be a very useful instrument for measuring small pieces of land, and taking offsets, &c.

Cross-Bar Shot, a bullet with an iron bar passing through it, and standing six or eight inches out at both sides. It is used at sea for destroying the enemy's rigging.

Cross-Bill. See Loxia, Ornithology Index.

Cross-Bill, in chancery, is an original bill, by which the defendant prays relief against the plaintiff.

Cross-Bows. See Bows and Archery.

Cross-grained Stuff, in joinery. Wood is said to be crofs-grained, when a bough or branch has shot out of it; for the grain of the branch shooting forward, runs athwart that of the trunk.

In wood well grown this defect is scarce perceivable, except in working; but in deal-boards these boughs make knots. If the bough grew up with the young trunk, instead of a knot is found a curling in the stuff, very sensible under the plane.

Cross-Jack, pronounced cro-jack, a sail extended on the lower yard of the mizen-mast, which is hence called the crofjack yard. This sail, however, has generally been found of little service, and is therefore very seldom used.

Cross-Piece, a rail of timber extended over the windlafs of a merchant ship from the knight-heads to the belfry. It is fluck full of wooden pins, which are used to fasten the running rigging as occasion requires. See Windlass.

Cross-Staff, or Fore-staff, is a mathematical instrument of hard wood, consisting of a square staff of about three feet long, having each of its faces divided like a line of tangents, and having four crofs pieces of unequal lengths to fit on the staff, the halves of these being as the radii to the tangent lines on the faces of the staff.—The instrument was formerly used in taking the altitudes of the celestial bodies at sea.

Cross-Tining, in Husbandry, a method of harrowing land, confining in drawing the harrow up the interval it went down before, and down that which it was drawn up.

Cross Trees, certain pieces of timber, supported by the cheeks and trefoil trees, at the upper ends of the lower masts, athwart which they are laid to sustain the frame of the top.

Cross-Tree Yard, is a yard standing square, just under the mizen-top, and to it the mizen-top is fastened below. See Cross-Jack.

Cross-Wort. See Valantia, Botany Index.

Ordeal of the Cross, a species of trial frequently practised in the days of superstition. See Ordeal.

English artist, famous only for copying, in the reigns of Charles I. and Charles II. Of this talent there is a story current, more to the credit of his skill than of his probity. He is said to have been employed by Charles I. to copy the celebrated Madonna of Raphael in St Mark's church at Venice; and that, having obtained leave of the state for that purpose, he executed his piece so well as to bring away the original and leave his copy in the place of it. The deception was not detected until it was too late to recover the loss; and this piece was bought in Oliver Cromwell's time by the Spanish ambassador for his master, who placed it in the Escorial.