Cross of St. Eligius
Type:
Crosses
Date:
First half of the seventh century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
France
Dimensions:
10 × 9.2 cm
Description:
The Merovingian king Dagobert (r. 629–39) commissioned a cross, from which this is possibly a fragment, for the altar of Saint-Denis. It is the work of Eligius, a goldsmith and metalworker who struck coins for Merovingian kings and founded several monasteries. He was ordained as a bishop in 641 and is considered the patron saint of goldsmiths and metalworkers. The cross was made using the cloisonné technique, named after the cells or compartments (cloisons in French) into which glass and stones of different colors were inlaid. In its original form, it was approximately 2 meters tall.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
3
Repository and Online Resources:
• The cross fragment is now in the museum of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
• A painting from around 1500 may represent the cross in complete form above an altarpiece.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons; Linda Safran
