About Black and Golden Crosses

Yesterday, Red Baron was on his way to a rather academic lecture about: Die karolingische Reform und der Bildtransfer aus der Spätantike in den Norden – bis hin zum Adelhauser Tragaltar (The Carolingian reform and the image transfer from Late Antiquity to the north - up to the portable altar from Adelhausen).

Käthe Kollwitz:
Never war again

While walking downtown to the Museumsgesellschaft, I noticed a protest march turning onto Kaiser-Joseph-Straße from a side street. The people carried banners and black crosses with names for regions presently devastated by war: Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Nigeria, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. 

It was a march commemorating the International Day of Peace that in Germany is traditionally held on September 1, the day when the Third Reich started the Second World War 75 years ago by invading Poland.

Note the policeman marching along on the right, protecting the demonstrators
 against possible right-wing aggressors.

Prof. Warland is power-pointing one of his objects.

In his talk, Prof. Warland showed crosses as well, but they were older and made of gold or gold-plated. He explained that Byzantine stylistic elements that had passed through Italy had been transferred to Aachen and Charlemagne's court. 

Somehow, one important object from the ninth century, a portable altar, survived in Freiburg. An exhibition: Unterwegs in der Zeit Karls des Großen (On the road during the times of Charlemagne) will open in Freiburg on September 20 and will, as a highlight, show the Adelhauser Tragaltar.

Portable altars were part of the baggage of high-ranking secular and ecclesiastical dignitaries and were used as sacred places to celebrate the Eucharist on the road.

The Adelhauser Tragealtar (©Augustinermuseum/A. Kilian)

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