Three Visigothic crosses, 5th-7th century AD.
Bronze.
Provenance: Private collection of the Berenguer family.
Measurements: 4 x 3 cm (largest).
Three Visigothic bronze crosses, Latin, with widened arms ending in pairs of diamond-shaped appendages. Incised decorations. Two of them have a hole for hanging.
The cross became widespread as a symbol of Christianity during the 5th century, which was marked by increasing insecurity - especially the invasion of the Huns led by Attila - and deteriorating living conditions.
As imperial power weakened, religious power emerged as the new unifying element, especially in the Eastern or Byzantine Empire, which would survive for another thousand years and in which the Church would play a crucial role; while in the West, the struggle between royal and papal power would mark the whole of the Middle Ages. The symbol of the cross would remain in both cases as the promise of an afterlife reward for the sufferings of a world in which war and famine were the norm.