A Heritage of Holy Wood: The Legend of the True Cross in Text and Image

Barbara Baert, Ph.D. (1997) in History of Art, Catholic University of Leuven, is Professor of Medieval History of Art at the Catholic University of Leuven. She published on the Legend of the True Cross, holy places in Jerusalem, Image-Theory of the Middle Ages, such as the True Face of Christ and gender issues in Iconology, such as Mary Magdalene.

This fascinating study reconstructs the tradition of the Legend of the True Cross in text and image, from its tentative beginnings in 4th-century Jerusalem to the culminating expression of its multi-layered cosmic content in 14th and 15th-century monumental cycles in Germany and Italy.

Foreword Preface Acknowledgements List of Figures List of Diagrams List of Tables Introduction 1. Helena and the Jews. The Legend of the Finding of the Cross Constantine the Great, the cross, and the Inventio crucis The Judas Cyriacus legend 2. The Finding of the Cross in Carolingian and Romanesque art The iconographic roots. Identity and diversity The Meuse region and Rhineland in the twelfth century. Expansion and enhancement 3. Heraclius and the Persians. The Legend of the Exaltation of the Cross Exaltatio crucis. Worldviews in conflict Heraclius as exemplar. Loci sancti, crusades and pilgrimage 4. The spreading of the Finding and Exaltation of the Cross in the late Middle Ages The Legenda Aurea Northern Germany and the Teutonic Order. Between Tempzin and Marienwerder Southern Germany and the Danube basin. Nuremberg, insignia of state and new iconographic formulas The Netherlands. A periphery? 5. From Paradise to Golgotha. The Legend of the Wood of the Cross Between typologia and narratio Seth and the return to Paradise The Queen of Sheba, the sibyl and the Wood of the Cross 6. The monumental programmes of the Legend of the Cross in Italy, Germany and Switzerland (1388-ca. 1495) Italy. Tradition and innovation North of the Alps. Neglected and diverse Conclusion Epilogue Colour Plates Bibliography Photographic Acknowledgements Index of Works Index of Names