Holzkreuz mit Inschrift (Bibelspruch), Fund aus der Lauinger Fürstengruft

Description

Between 24 September and 6 October 1781, under the supervision of a commission of Munich court officials, the burial place of the Protestant princes of the House of Palatinate-Neuburg was opened in the church of St. Martin in Lauingen. During this process, the jewellery which had been entombed with the deceased was collected and brought to Munich. In 1781, a simple wooden cross was also taken from the royal crypt of the Lauingen Fürstengruft and came into the possession of Joseph Benedikt Graßegger. In the index of his collection from 1894, it is recorded as a "simple black wooden cross with writing". The "scripture" consists of two text fragments from chapter 8 of the Song of Solomon, with which the longitudinal bars of the cross are inscribed. From verse 5 we find "Sub Arbore Malo Suscitau(=v)i te", which has been supplemented with "Amica Mea" in a deviation from the biblical text. The "Ca. 8" could be a reference to the biblical passage: "Ca." for "Cantico Canticorum" (= Song of Songs in the Latin Vulgate). Translated, the passage reads: "I woke you under the apple tree, [my friend]". The text on the other side is taken from the 6th verse, incomplete and rendered with a change of wording: "fortis ut Mors dilectio. [the last word is difficult to read]", i.e., "Strong as death is love!" Its external simplicity and its reference to the Old Testament make the cross from the Lauingen Fürstengruft an impressive example of the private piety of its previous aristocratic owners.