(Lat. crux; Gk. σταυρός), a gibbet formed of two pieces of wood placed crosswise; and, metaphorically, the punishment of the cross, as well as the pain it inflicts, and in a general sense, any severe suffering or heavy trial. Instead of σταυρός the Greek ξυλοκολάρι sometimes found as equivalent to the Latin crux. Both are in frequent use among the writers who transferred the events of Roman history into the Greek tongue.

In its simplest form, consisting of two pieces of wood, one standing erect, the other crossing it at right angles, the cross was known at an early age in the history of the world. Its use as an instrument of punishment was probably suggested by the shape so often taken by branches of trees, which seem to have been the first crosses that were employed. It was certainly customary to hang criminals on trees—arbor infelix. Cicero (Pro Rabir. 3) appears to consider hanging on a tree and crucifixion as of the same import; and Seneca (Ep. 101) names the cross infelix lignum, which may with no undue liberty be rendered the "accursed tree." Trees are known to have been used as crosses (Tertull. Ap. viii. 16); and to every kind of hanging which bore a resemblance to crucifixion, such as that of Prometheus, Andromeda, &c., the name was commonly applied. Among the Scythians, Persians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, and the ancient Germans, traces are found of the cross as an instrument of punishment. The sign of the cross is found as a holy symbol among several ancient nations. Among the Indians and Egyptians it often appears in their ceremonies, sometimes in the shape of the letter T, at others in this shape +. At Susa, Ker Porter saw a stone cut with hieroglyphics and cuneiform inscriptions, on which in one corner was a figure of a cross, thus ✡. The cross, he says, is generally understood to be symbolical of the divinity or eternal life, and certainly a cross was to be seen in the temple of Serapis as the Egyptian emblem of the future life, as may be learnt in Sozomen and Rufinus. In this case, it is always the cross ansata, thus ✡, which is often held in the hands of Egyptian deities. Porter also states that the Egyptian priests urged its being found on the walls of their temple of Serapis, as an argument with the victorious army of Theodosius to save it from destruction. In an obelisk recently discovered at Nineveh, there is a representation of a king, within an arched frame, having the Assyrian symbols over the head, and a cross, like that of Malta, on his breast. From the numerous writings on this subject by La Croze, Jablonski, Zoega, Visconti, Pococke, Pluche, Petit Radel, and others, the symbol of the cross appears to have been most various in its significations. Sometimes it is the Phallus, sometimes the planet Venus, the Nilometer, an emblem of the four elements, or the seasons (Creuzer's Symbolik, pp. 168-9). It is not therefore surprising that ancient and even modern Christian writers should on this subject have indulged in some degree of refinement and mysticism. Justin Martyr (Apol. i. §72) says: "The sign of the cross is impressed upon the whole of nature. There is hardly a handicraftsman but uses the figure of it among the implements of his industry. It forms a part of man himself; as may be seen when he raises his hands in prayer."

According to Lipsius (De Cruce Christi, i. 5-9) and Gretser (De Cruce Christi, vol. i. c. 1) there were in general two kinds of crosses:—1, crux simplex; 2, crux composita or compacta. The first consisted of a stake on which the criminal was fastened, or by which he was impaled. For the first kind of punishment, a tree or a specially prepared stake was used, on which the criminal was bound, and either left to perish, or immediately put to death. For impaling (infixio) a long and sharpened piece of wood (pale) was employed, on which the criminal was put as on a spit. Seneca describes this kind of execution (Consolat. ad Marc. c. 20): "I behold these crosses, not of one kind, but made differently by different people. Some suspended the criminal with his head turned towards the earth; others drove a stake through his body." This cruel mode of execution was formerly very customary in Russia, China, Turkey, and other countries, and is not yet universally abolished by law.

Of the crux composita or compound cross there were three sorts: 1, crux decussata; 2, crux commissa; 3, crux immissa. The crux decussata is also called Andrew's cross, because tradition reports that on a cross of this kind the Apostle Andrew suffered death. Jerome (Comment. on Jerem. c. 31) describes this cross in the following terms:—Decussare est per medium secare velut si due regulae concurrent ad spectum literae X que figura est crucis. So Isidorus Hisp. (Orig. I. i. 3) says that the letter X denotes a cross and the number ten (in Roman numerals).

The crux commissa, Lipsius states, was formed by putting a cross piece of wood on a perpendicular one, so that no part of the latter may stand above the former. This form is found in the figure T. Of the crux immissa, or, as others prefer to term it, crux capitata, the following is given as the description:—"a cross in which the longer piece of wood or pale stands above the shorter piece which runs across it near the top." It is distinguished from the preceding by the part of the longer beam which is above the shorter or transverse, thus †. This form is found in paintings more frequently than any other. On a cross of this kind our Saviour is believed to have suffered death; at least it is thus represented on ancient monuments and coins. Four ecclesiastical historians (Socrates, i. 13, Sozomen, ii. 1, Rufinus, i. 7, Theodoret, i. 18) concur in stating that the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, in the year of our Lord 326, when seventy-nine years of age, was induced by the warmth of her piety to visit the places which the Saviour had rendered sacred by his presence and sufferings. The hatred of the heathen had led them to obliterate as much as possible all traces of the memorable events which the life and death of our Saviour had hallowed; and to cover Mount Calvary with stones and earth, and raise thereon a temple to the goddess Venus. A Jew, however, had treasured up what traditions he could gather, and was thus enabled to point out to Helena the spot where our Lord had been buried. On excavation, it is said that three crosses were found, and the title which that of Jesus bore was also found lying apart by itself. The question arose how the cross of Christ was to be distinguished from the other two. Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, suggested that their respective efficacy should be tried as to the working of miracles. Sick persons were brought forward and touched by each separately. One only wrought the desired cures, and was accordingly acknowledged to be the true cross. A full view of all the authorities on this matter may be seen in Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. chapter on Helena).

Having built a church over the sacred spot, Helena deposited within it the chief part of the supposed real cross. The remainder she conveyed to Constantinople, a part of which Constantine inserted in the head of a statue of himself; and the other part was sent to Rome, and placed in the church of Sta. Croce in Gerusalemme, which was built expressly to receive the precious relic. When subsequently a festival to commemorate the discovery had been established, the Bishop of Jerusalem, on Easter Sunday, exhibited to the grateful eyes of eager pilgrims the object to see which they had travelled so far, and endured so much. Those who were persons of substance were further gratified by obtaining, at their full price, small pieces of the cross set in gold and gems; and that wonder might not pass into incredulity, the proper authorities gave the world an assurance that the holy wood possessed the power of self-multiplication, and, notwithstanding the innumerable pieces which had been taken from it for the pleasure and service of the faithful, remained intact and entire as at the first—at detrimenta non sentiret, et quasi intacta permaneret. (Paulinus, Ep. xi. ad Sex.)

The capture of Jerusalem by the Persians, a.d. 614, placed the remains of the cross in the hands of Chosroes II., who mockingly conveyed them to his capital. Fourteen years afterwards, Heraclius recovered them, and had them carried first to Constantinople, and then to Jerusalem, in such pomp, that on his arrival before the latter city he found the gate barred, and entrance forbidden. Instructed as to the cause of this hindrance, the Emperor laid aside the trappings of his greatness, and, barefooted, bore on his own shoulders the sacred relic up to the gate, which the monkish records assure us opened of itself, and allowed him to enter, and thus place his charge beneath the dome of the sepulchre.

From this time no more is heard of the true cross, which may have been destroyed by the Saracens on their conquest of Jerusalem, a.d. 637. The wooden title, however, is said to be still preserved in Rome, not entire, indeed, for only diminutive fragments remain of the Hebrew letters, so that no one can say what in reality the characters are. The Greek and Latin, excepting the letter Z, are both written after the Eastern manner, from right to left. This is said to have happened either because they were written by a Jew, following a national custom, or from a desire on the part of the writer, if a Roman, to accommodate himself to what was usual among the Jews. Nicetus (Titulus Sancti Crucis) holds that it is not all the work of one hand, since the Roman letters are firmly and distinctly cut, but the Greek letters very badly. He thinks that a Jew cut the Hebrew (or Aramaean) and Greek, and a Roman the Latin. All that remains of the Greek is Nałapovos β, of the Latin, Nazoreus. It is somewhat extraordinary that there should appear in the sole Greek word, what some have thought two mistakes, namely, ε for η, a short for a long ει, and the termination oει for ος. The history of the discovery of this title is worthy of a brief notice. When sent by Constantine to Rome, it was deposited in a leaden chest, above the vaulted roof of the Church Sta. Croce, in a little window, and then bricked into the wall; its position being recorded in a mosaic inscription without. Time rendered the inscription almost illegible; and the window, owing to the carelessness of workmen engaged in repairing the church, was accidentally broken open, when the holy relic was discovered. This discovery, and the genuineness of the title, Alexander III. authenticated by a bull. The letters found on the title, if taken according to their numerical value, make 1532, a circumstance which led Stifelius to fix that as the year for the termination of the world.

Jortin has, in his own manner (Remarks, vol. iii.) discussed the evidence which bears on the discovery and genuineness of the cross, to which discussion those who desire satisfaction may refer. One or two remarks seem required in this place. None of the authorities give a close description of the three crosses said to have been found in the rubbish under the temple of Venus, which is the less surprising, since they were not eye-witnesses. The three crosses, it appears, were very much alike, and nothing short of miracles could distinguish that of the Saviour. That the crosses were of wood, all declare, but no one states the peculiar kind of wood; nor is any mention found in the four historians of the tradition, which may be traced back to the days of Chrysostom, that the true cross consisted of three kinds, cypress, pine, and cedar, or of four kinds, cedar, cypress, palm, and olive.

Quatuor ex lignis Domini crux dicitur esse— Pes crucis est cedrus; corpus tenet alta expressus; Palma manus retinet; titulo iestatur oliva.

Lipsius (De Cruce) supposes that the cross was made of oak, since it is likely it would be constructed of such wood as was most abundant, and therefore probably nearest at hand, and oak grew plentifully in Judæa: the relics too are said to resemble oak.

According to Ambrosius (Oratio de Obitu Theodor. p. 498), the piece which bore the title stood on the top of the cross of our Lord (John xix. 19-22; comp. Matt. xxvii. 37; Mark xv. 26; Luke xxiii. 38): the form would be somewhat thus □. This fact would lead to the expectation of more accurate information from those who are said to have found the cross. The language of the scriptural writers seems to imply that it was only on the cross of Jesus that a title was placed; and it does not therefore appear to be a case in which human sagacity could have been so wholly at a loss as the accounts imply; yet Rufinus says, Hic jam humanae ambiguitatis incertum, divinum flagitium testimonium. Probably a divine testimony was required by other considerations than such as arose from the essential ambiguity of the case. But the conduct of Helena in dividing the cross, setting aside one part for Jerusalem, another for Constantinople, and another as a phylacterion for her son, and the subdivisions thereof, which subsequently took place, rendered it impossible to ascertain in any satisfactory manner, not only whether the alleged was the real cross, but also of what wood and in what shape it had been made.

This only then as to the shape of the Saviour's cross can be determined, that the prevalent form was that of the crux capitata, and that this form is generally found on coins and in the so-called monogram (Munter's Sinnbilder, I. iv.)

Much time and trouble have been wasted in disputing as to whether three or four nails were used in fastening the Lord to his cross. Nonnus affirms that three only were used, in which he is followed by Gregory Nazianzen. The more general belief gives four nails, an opinion supported at much length by Curtius, an Augustine friar, who wrote a treatise De Clavis Dominicis, in the beginning of the seventeenth century. Others have carried the number of nails so high as fourteen. Of the four original nails, the Empress Helena is reported to have thrown one into the Adriatic, when furiously raging, thereby producing an instant calm. The second is said to have been put by Constantine into either his helmet or crown. This nail, however, was afterwards to be found in a mutilated state in the church of Sta. Croce. In the Duomo of Milan is a third nail, which Eutropius affirms was driven through one of Jesus' hands, and which Constantine used as a bit, intending thereby to verify the prophecy of Zechariah (xiv. 20): "In that day shall be upon the bells (margin, bridles) of the horses, Holiness unto the Lord." Trèves possesses the fourth nail, which is alleged to have been driven through the sufferer's right foot. Those who maintain the number of nails to have been more than four have had no difficulty in finding as many nails as their hypothesis in each case needed, and as many sacred places for their safe keeping.

Crosses in former times were usually erected on the tops of houses, by which tenants pretended to claim the privileges of the Templars hospitaliers, to defend themselves against their rightful lords. But this was condemned by the statute Will. II., cap. 37. It was formerly the custom also to set up crosses in places where the corpse of any of the nobility rested as it was carried to be buried, that a transcutinbia pro animo ejus deprecentur. It is worthy of remark that crosses are forbidden, by 13th Eliz. cap. 2, to be brought into England, on pain of a praemunire.

Cross, Invention of the, an ancient feast solemnized on the 3rd of May, in memory of St. Helena, 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 remainder was brought to Rome, and deposited in the church of Sta. Croce in Gerusalemme. (Vide supra, under Cross.)

Cross, Exaltation of the, an ancient feast held on the 14th of September, in memory of the restoration to Mount Calvary, in 628, of the true cross, which had been carried off 14 years before by Chosroes II., king of Persia. (Vide supra, under Cross.)

The adoration of the cross appears to have been practised in the ancient church; for the heathens, particularly Julian, reproach the primitive Christians with this species of idolatry, and we do not find that their apologists disclaim the charge. Mornay 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 cross to its just principle, since she worshipped in the wood not the wood itself, but him who had been nailed to this wood. With such modifications some Protestants have been induced to admit the adoration of the cross. John Huss allowed the phrase, provided it were expressly added, that the adoration was relative solely to the person of Christ. But, however Roman Catholics may seem to triumph in virtue of such distinctions, it is well known that these have no great place in their own practice. Imbert, the good prior of Gascony, was severely prosecuted in 1683 for telling the people that in the ceremony of adoring the cross practised 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, however, told them the contrary, affirming that it was the wood, and the wood only, they were to worship. Imbert replied, it was Christ, not the wood; and for this 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 distinction; it was answered that the church allowed it not.

Cross-Bearer (porte-croix, cruciger), in the Romish Church, the chaplain of an archbishop or a primate, who bears a cross before him on solemn occasions.

The pope has the cross borne before him on all public occasions; a patriarch anywhere out of Rome; as have also 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 cross, a patriarch a double cross, 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; and they were formerly of great use; but in process of time their constitutions were changed, and they were called to undergo the penance of St. Dominic.

Pectoral Cross, a cross of gold, silver, or other precious material, often enriched with diamonds, worn at the neck by bishops, archbishops, abbots, and regular abbesses.

Order of the Cross or Crusade, an order of ladies instituted in 1658 by the Empress Eleonora de Gonzagua, wife of the Emperor Leopold, in commemoration of the miraculous recovery of a little golden cross in which were inclosed two pieces of the true cross, from the ashes of part of the palace, which had been consumed. The sacred wood is said to have resisted the action of the flames, which burnt the case that inclosed it, and melted the crystal.

Heraldry, an ordinary composed of fourfold lines, of which two are perpendicular, and the other two transverse. See Heraldry.

This bearing was first bestowed on such as had performed, or at least undertaken, some service for Christ and the Christian profession, such as an expedition to the Holy Land. In those expeditions the Scots carried a St. Andrew's cross; the French, a cross argent; the English, a cross or; the Germans, a cross sable; the Italians, a cross azure; the Spaniards, a cross gules. The cross is held by some writers to be the most honourable charge in all heraldry.

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

Not only in crosses is the variety very great; the same is observable in many other bearings, and particularly in lions, and in parts of lions, of which Columbiere notices no less than 96 varieties. Leigh mentions 46 different crosses; Sylvaans Morgan, 26; Upton, 30; Johannes de Bado Aureo, 12; and so on.