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Globus cruciger

 
Globus Cruciger

 
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Globus cruciger
 
 
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The globus cruciger (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
, "cross-bearing orb") is an orb (lat. globus) topped (lat. gerere = to wear) with a cross
Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
 (lat. crux), a Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 and even today on coins, iconography
Iconography

Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Ancient Greek e???? and ??afe?? ....
 and royal regalia
Regalia

Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereignty.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'....
. It symbolises Christ's (the cross) dominion over the world (the orb), literally held in the dominion of an earthly ruler (or sometimes celestial being such as an angel).






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The globus cruciger (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
, "cross-bearing orb") is an orb (lat. globus) topped (lat. gerere = to wear) with a cross
Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
 (lat. crux), a Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 and even today on coins, iconography
Iconography

Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Ancient Greek e???? and ??afe?? ....
 and royal regalia
Regalia

Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereignty.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'....
. It symbolises Christ's (the cross) dominion over the world (the orb), literally held in the dominion of an earthly ruler (or sometimes celestial being such as an angel). When held by Christ himself, the subject is known in the iconography
Iconography

Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Ancient Greek e???? and ??afe?? ....
 of Western art as Salvator Mundi
Salvator Mundi

Salvator Mundi, or Saviour of the World, is a subject in iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding an Sovereign's Orb surmounted by a cross, known as a globus cruciger....
 ("Saviour of the World"). It is associated with the sceptre
Sceptre

A sceptre or scepter is a symbolic ornamental Staff held by a ruling monarch, a prominent item of royal regalia. While some sceptres resemble a Ceremonial mace, their use is quite different....
.

History

Solidus Leontinus Sb1330
Denmark Globus Cruciger
The first known use was probably in the early 5th century, possibly as early as between 395 and 408 on the reverse side of the coins of Emperor Arcadius
Arcadius

Flavius Arcadius was Roman Emperors in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire from 395 until his death.Arcadius was born in Spain, the elder son of Theodosius I and Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Flavius Augustus Honorius, who would become a Western Roman Emperor....
, but most certainly by 423 on the reverse side of the coins of Emperor Theodosius II
Theodosius II

Flavius Theodosius , called the Calligrapher, known in English as Theodosius II, was an Eastern Roman Empire , mostly known for the law code bearing his name, the Codex Theodosianus, and the Walls of Constantinople#The Theodosian Walls of Constantinople built during his reign....
.

The visual symbolism of holding the world (in Latin orbis terrarum, the 'circle of countries', hence the word orb) in one's hand, or perhaps even more ominously under one's foot, was a clear message used since antiquity
Ancient history

Ancient history is the history from the History of writing until the Early Middle Ages in Europe, the Qin Dynasty in China, the Chola Empire in India, and some less defined point in the rest of the world ....
 among pagans
Paganism

Paganism is the blanket term given to describe religions and spiritual practices of pre-Christian Europe, and by extension a term for polytheistic?traditions or folk religion?worldwide seen from a Western or Christian viewpoint....
. Citizens of Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 were familiar with the plain round orb as a representation of the world or universe, and the emperor's dominion and protectorate over it; for example a 4th century coin from the reign of Emperor Constantine I shows him holding a globus in hand; and a 2nd century coin from the reign of Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian

Publius Aelius Hadrianus , as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after his apotheosis, known as Hadrian in English language, was Roman Emperor of Roman Empire from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoicism and Epicureanism philosopher....
 shows the Roman god Salus with his foot upon a globus.

With the growth of Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
 in the 5th century, the orb was topped with a cross
Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
 (hence globus cruciger), symbolising the Christian God's dominion over the world. Symbolically to Christians, the emperor held the world in his hand, on behalf of God. To non-Christians already familiar with the pagan orb, the surmounting of a cross sent a message about the triumph of Christianity. In medieval iconography, an object's scale and size indicated its importance relative to other, surrounding objects; the world is seen small and the ruler or celestial being large, to emphasise the importance of each element. Although the globe's symbolism was on a planetary scale, its use (in actual regalia
Crown jewels

Crown jewels are jewels or artifacts of the reigning royal family of their respective country. They belong to Monarchs and are passed to the next sovereign to symbolize the right to rule....
 and emblematic) was proliferated among Christian rulers over small parts of the earth, not even all sovereign
Sovereignty

File:Leviathan gr.jpgSovereignty is the exclusive right to control a government, a State, a people, or oneself. A sovereign is a supreme lawmaking authority....
.

Contrary to modern myth
Myth of the Flat Earth

The Myth of the Flat Earth or Flat Earth mythology refers to the modern misconception that the prevailing cosmological view during the Middle Ages saw the Earth as Flat Earth, instead of Spherical Earth....
, belief in a spherical rather than a flat earth
Flat Earth

The flat Earth model is an ancient view of the Earth's shape which conceived of it as flatness like a piece of paper or an infinite plane .This belief contrasts with the view introduced around the 4th century BC by natural philosophers of Classical Greece that the spherical Earth....
 was common in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, and predominant among the educated.

The globus cruciger was used by powerful rulers and celestial
Celestial

The term celestial refers to the sky and/or Heaven. An astronomical object is sometimes referred to as a celestial body or celestial object....
 beings alike; it adorned portrayals of both emperor
Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
s and kings, as well as archangel
Archangel

Archangels are members of the second choir of angels. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism....
s. It first appeared on coin
Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, usually in the shape of a Disk , and most often issued by a government....
s in the early 5th century and remained popular throughout the Middle Ages in coins, iconography
Iconography

Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Ancient Greek e???? and ??afe?? ....
 and royal regalia
Regalia

Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereignty.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'....
. The papacy, holding universal canonical jurisdiction and in the Middle Ages once rivalling the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor

Image:HRR 14Jh.jpgThe Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii principle that regarded the Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480....
 for the supreme feudal status of liege lord of all other (Catholic) rulers, also maintained the symbol on top of the papal tiara
Papal Tiara

The Papal Tiara, also known as the Triple Tiara, or in Latin language as the 'Triregnum', and in Italian language as the 'Triregno', is the three-tiered Gemstone papal Crown , supposedly of Byzantine Empire and Persian Empire origin, that is a prominent symbol of the Pope....
 ("triple crown"; there is no separate papal orb). The crowned orb was in general use as a finial on western royal crowns, whether actual objects or merely heraldic crowns, all over Europe, for example in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia and Imperial Germany, among others. It may still be seen in the national arms of the surviving European monarchies. Even in the modern era in England, the Sovereign's Orb
Sovereign's Orb

The Sovereign's Orb is a type of regalia known as a globus cruciger and is one of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.It was created for the coronation of Charles II of England in 1661 at a cost of ?1,150 ? approximately ?130,000 adjusted to 2007 currency values....
 symbolises both the state and Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
 under the protection and domain of the royal crown.

Gallery


See also

  • Monde (crown)
    Monde (crown)

    A monde is a ball-like object located near the top of a crown. It is the point at which a crown's half-arch meet. It is usually topped off either with a national or religious symbol, for example a cross in Christian countries....
  • Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch
    Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch

    The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is a fictional weapon from the comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It bears a striking resemblance to the Sovereign's Orb of the United Kingdom, and seems to draw some inspiration from the Holy Lance....


Sources and External links