The Cross of the Angels ( ast, Cruz de los Ánxeles, es, Cruz de los Ángeles) is a pre-romanesque Asturian reliquary donated by

Alfonso II of Asturias Alfonso II of Asturias (842), nicknamed the Chaste ( es, el Casto), was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian, a family member of undeter ...

in the year 808 to the Church of San Salvador in

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located a ...

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

(Spain). The Cross of the Angels is the symbol of the city of Oviedo. The cross is the first example of

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

made in the

Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias ( la, Asturum Regnum; ast, Reinu d'Asturies) was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of ...

that has reached our days. Its current appearance is the result of careful reconstruction carried out after the damages the cross underwent in August 1977 after the robbery of the Camara Santa. Its squared dimensions (, wide and thick) are typical from

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

es. The cross is formed by two pieces of cedar wood with, at the center, a round disc.

History

The donation is usually interpreted as a sign of gratitude of the monarch after being restored to the throne, after the years of his incarceration in the monastery of Abelania.

Veneration of the True Cross in the Kingdom of Asturias

Reliquary

The lateral arms have kept the rings from which hang chains with pearls and precious stones, also known as pendilia, comparable to votive crosses and crowns of the Visigothic

treasure of Guarrazar The Treasure of Guarrazar, Guadamur, Province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, is an archeological find composed of twenty-six votive crowns and gold crosses that had originally been offered to the Roman Catholic Church by the Kings ...

Symbol of the City of Oviedo

The Cross of the Angels became the symbol of the city of

around the 15th century, although it is said that even earlier, in 1262, it was used as a seal of the city. This is reflected in an engraving in the old city walls where the cross, with the Greek letters

alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whi ...

and

omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. The ...

hanging of his arms, is used as a sign of consecration. Nowadays, the cross is present in the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of both the city of Oviedo and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oviedo.

Notes

References

* * * * * * https://web.archive.org/web/20090329231625/http://www.arqweb.com/lucusaugusti/sello.asp * http://el.tesorodeoviedo.es/index.php?title=Cruz_de_los_%C3%81ngeles

External links

The Art of medieval Spain, A.D. 500-1200
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Cross of the Angels (no. 72)º {{Asturian Art, state=uncollapsed 9th-century sculptures Asturian culture Crux gemmata Reliquary crosses Religion in Asturias Spanish art