The Story of the Cross

Ever since Jesus was crucified, the cross has both united and divided people. How could a brutal Roman method of execution become the defining symbol of a world religion? Across two thousand years of art and culture, people have debated these questions and their answers are vividly seen in ways as varied as paintings, carvings, architecture, political symbols, military medals, tattoos and jewellery. From Jesus wearing trousers on Viking crucifixes, to modern representations of the crucified as an Indian untouchable; from early medieval jewelled crosses from which Jesus serenely reigns, to later paintings which graphically portray his suffering; from the cross portrayed in industrial landscapes, to modern high-end jewellery, the cross has been seizing attention and stimulating thought for centuries. The cross of Christ is a symbol which has exploded beyond the church and is now a world-wide phenomenon. In this book, Esther and Martyn Whittock explore (with the aid of striking visual images) how the cross has been explained, interpreted, used, and at times abused, over two thousand years.