Lothar Cross
Date:
ca. 1000 (including a first-century cameo, a ninth-century seal matrix, and a fourteenth-century base)
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Germany
Dimensions:
50 × 38.5 × 2.3 cm
Description:
This cross is associated with Otto III, who was crowned king of Germany in 983 and Holy Roman Emperor in 996. The Lothar (or Lothair) Cross is named after the oval rock-crystal seal matrix of the Carolingian king Lothar II (r. 855–69) set toward the bottom of its gemmed front. This same side also has a first-century cameo of Augustus, which probably came from Byzantium with Otto’s mother, Theophanu, a Byzantine princess.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
1,
6
Repository and Online Resources:
The cross is still part of the Aachen Cathedral Treasury.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
