TheChristogram,
Symbol of Armed Authority.
Ranges of Authority
1. Administrative Authority
2. Armed Authority
3. Religious Authority
The Symbol XP
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The christogram has to be considered to be
the symbol of (christian-) armed authority. It consists of the monogram of
the greek letters X (chi) and P (rho), the first letters of ‘Christ’. It is supposed to date from
the very beginning of christianity but it received a more official meaning at
the beginning of the 4th century when it was used by Constantine the Great as
a symbol of his army. [1] In many cases the letters A
and ω, the first and last letters of the greek alphabet,
are added to the cypher. The immediate cause for the adoption of the
christogram is said to have been the vision of Constantine before the battle
at the Milvian Bridge in 312. The symbol is described by Lactantius (†320)
as transversa X littera, summo capite circumflexo but is usually a monogram of the
letters X and P. The quote of
Lactantius reads: “Constantine
was directed in a dream to cause the heavenly sign to be delineated on the
shields of his soldiers, and so to proceed to battle. He did as he had been
commanded, and he marked on their shields the
letter X, with a perpendicular line
drawn through it and turned round thus at the top, being the cypher of CHRIST. Having
this sign, his troops stood to arms. The enemies advanced, but without their
emperor, and they crossed the bridge. The armies met, and fought with the
utmost exertions of valour, and firmly maintained their ground. In the
meantime a sedition arose at Rome, and Maxentius was reviled as one who had
abandoned all concern for the safety of the commonweal; and suddenly, while
he exhibited the Circensian games on the anniversary of his reign, the people
cried with one voice, "Constantine cannot be overcome!" Dismayed at
this, Maxentius burst from the assembly, and having called some senators
together, ordered the Sibylline books to be searched.” [2] In the battle of the Milvian Bridge the christogram seems to have been
written on the shields of the soldiers of Constantine but soon Constantine
gave it a wider use in the first place by decorating his helmet with it.
Eusebius of Ceasarea (†339 ca) in his Vita
Constantini, Book IX writes in Chapter 31 that: (2) the symbol of the Saviour's name, two
letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the
letter P being intersected by X in its centre: (3) and these letters the
emperor was in the habit of wearing on his helmet at a later period. The way it was displayed by Constantine
can be seen on this medallion: Medallion of Constatine the Great, 315 ca. On this medallion Constantine wears a helmet crested with peacocks’
feathers and a christogram within a circle in front. He also bears a shield
decorated with the Capitoline Wolf, the symbol of Rome. The medallion is
dated between 313 and 321 and is one of the oldest if not the very oldest
representation of the cypher in a military context. [3] The combination of the christogram and the Capitoline Wolf means ‘Christian Roman Army’ and replaced
the eagle-and-thunderbolt which meant ‘The Consular Roman Army’ on standards
and cuirasses. Christogram From
the Catacomb of S. Agnese 350 AD ca. Coll.
Museo Vaticano In its most elementary form however the christogram means ‘The
Christian Armed Authority’ and all additions are further definitions and
restrictions. Such a symbol of Christian Armed Authoriy for
example is on a coin of the emperor of the western provinces Magnentius (350-†353) with a large
christogram. [4] Contemporary with this coin is a
plaquette from Trier, the capital of Gaul, attached to a coffin. [5] The chistogram alone however is
mainly known from grafitti on walls and
objects. |
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Christogram on a coin of Magnentius,
emperor in Gaul only (350-353). |
Christogram from Trier 358 AD |
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In this way a shield with a christogram means: ‘A soldier of the
christian army’ and the standard with a christogram ‘a division of the chistian
armed forces’. Silver dish of
Constantius II (*317- †361) Constantius on horseback,
his shield-bearer with a shield charged with the XP-cypher Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg inv. n° 1820/79 Æ 24,8 cm. Weight 660 g.
Acquired in 1892. Found in Kerch, 1891. [6] Reconstruction of the shield of Constantius II Labarum The standard of Constantine the Great
himself and his successors is known as
the Labarum. It is described by
Eusebius of Caesarea in his “Life of Constantine”: “CHAPTER XXXI: A Description
of the Standard of the Cross, which the Romans now call the Labarum. (1) Now it was made in the following
manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by
means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a
wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, (2) the symbol of the
Saviour's name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its
initial characters, the letter P being intersected by X in its centre: (3)
and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on his helmet at a
later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, (4) a
royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious
stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an
indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square
form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, (5)
bore a golden half-length portrait (6) of the pious emperor and his children
on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the cross, and immediately above the
embroidered banner. The emperor constantly made use of
this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse and hostile
power, and commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head
of all his armies.” Follis of Constantine the Great, 327 AD Early representation of the
labarum, the wreath missing. [7] Others “similar to it” often show the
christogram on the vexillum or the vexillum having other charges, the christogram
on top of the staff. The labarum
was abandoned when the empire was divided into a western- and an eastern
part. |
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Christogram
and Wreath |
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There is an unterrupted series of
christogram known from the rule of Constatine the Great until the end of the
6th century. They are on shield, metal plaquettes, are represented in mosaics
and are carved on coffin. In some cases they can be connected with certain
individuals, usually occupying a very high rank in the military hierarchy. Badges of distinction like crowns
can be attached to them. These are crowns set with jewels, crowns of leaves
and diadems. Examples of crowns set with jewels
are the shield of Constantius II as illustrated above. On the Pile of
Arecadius the squires of Theodosius II
and Honorius also bear such shields. An other example is the shield on the mosaics of the S. Vitale in Ravenna. The shield the
warrior bears there is almost identical to the shield of Constantius II. It is green with a
golden christogram surrounded by a crown set with precious stones. Behind him
is an other warrior bearing a shield Gules, a star Vert within a bordure
Azure of the model that also can be seen on the Pile of Arcadius. The
arrangement of the company reminds the one on the Pile of Arcadius and a kind
of replica of it in colour. [8] From this examples we may cnclude that the
warriors of the highest rank, like the emperor himself and the caesares who held the highest
commands, could surround the christogram with a crown set with precious stones. Besides a lot of
christograms are on memorials and sarcophaguses of which the owners cannot be
identified or are uncertain.
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Christogram in the
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna ca. 450. |
These memorials,
taking into account their expensiveness, have certainly been destined for
high ranking military officials. This makes it possible, added to the place
where they were erected, to speculate about the who and what of the original
owners. To mention is the mosaic in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in
Ravenna. Here a christogram is depicted on a blue background, surrounde by a
red and blue crown of leaves. Because red was the color of the infantry and
blue the color of the cavalry it can be possible that this was the symbol of
the Magister
Equitum et Peditum of the West. A
candidate is Constantine III, husband of Galla Placidia, Chief commander,
master of the infantry and the cavalry of the Western-Roman Empire, vicar of
Italia Annonaria (†421). |
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Such christograms, surrounded by a crown of
leaves are known from all over the Roman Empire. See for example the tomb
from St. Vincent (ill.). Also from France is the example of a headscarf
knotted behind. This probably is the mark of distinction of a lower military
official, probably a dux of
Aquitania II. |
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Tomb of St.
Vincent in the Church of St. Vincent in Mas d’Agenais (Lot & Garonne,
Fr.). 5th century A.D. |
Tomb in the
church of Moissac (Tarn & Garonne, Fr.). 4th century A.D. |
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Christogram and Supporters |
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Freeze on the southern side of the Column of
Arcadius, once Constantinople, 403 AD. Trinity
College, Cambridge (After Grabar, 1971) In
the uppermost register we see some vexillae with a christogram, in the
second shield with christograms and in the centre the achievement of the
Roman Christian Army Staff. A christogram on a
clipeus and supporters makes the achievement of an army organisation, for
example of the army staff. When the christogram is supported by angels the
organisation is autonomous and has its mandate ‘from heaven’. This is also
possible for the army staff of a chief commander as is indicated on the Pile
of Arcadius as ilustrated above. In other cases, as illustrated below, the
christogram is supported by peacocks which are the emblems of a prefect and
this achievement would mean: The prefectural army (-organisation). [9] |
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Crowned christogram between two staurograms and an
achievement of a clipeus with a christogram supported by two peacocks.
Sarcophagus in the Sant´Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna. The
inscription reads: HIC REQUIESCAT IN
PACE THEODORVS VB ARCHIEPISCOPVS. [10] |
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XP achievement on the “Tomb of Stilicho”,
S. Ambrogio, Milan. An identifiable christogram is on the
socalled sarcophagus of Stilicho alias of Valentinian II (375- †392) in the
S. Ambrogio in Milan. Here a christogram within a crown is supported by two
birds most resembling a male and a female peacock. [11] This matches the clipeus on the same tomb representing
Valentinan and his wife. XP achievement On
a tomb in Ravenna However, other
supporters were possible like lambs or agnus
dei which resulted in an achievement
probably meaning “the army of the believers”. The interpretation of
these achievements is not made easier when the crowns are missing. |
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Other
Combinations with the Christogram |
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Other combinations with a christogram are a christigram
with an imago, a christogram with a latin cross and a christogram with a
square cross. The oldest example of a combination of a
christogram and an imago is on a tomb in Ravenna showing a Jesus orans with a crhistogram behind his
head. Two other examples are given below. |
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Mosaic from Hinton St.
Mary (U.K.) 4th cent. (Royal Commission on Historical Monuments,
England) |
Golden christogram charged with a red cross, charged with a bearded face. Merovingian (460 - 751). (Paris, Cabinet des
Medailles) |
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Silver plate.
Æ 61
cm Kumuca
(Korydalla). Byzantine, 6th cent. Antalya Museum,
1020 A second combination consists of a christigram and a square cross and is a combination of the symbols of the armed and administrative authority. This combination was found in Byzantine themas. Imperial tomb, before 340 Musei Vaticani n°
171 A third combination consists of a latin
cross and a christogram within a crown. This is the symbol of combined
religious and armed authority. It can be found on 4th century tombs. [12] |
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Other
Monograms |
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ÈP monogram Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna 5th century |
IX monogram Baptisterium, Ravenna |
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Jesus orans and St. Peter
with …P staff Shrine with biblical scenes Thessaloniki (?), 2nd half 4th century. Chased silver 9,7 Î 12,4 Î 10 cm Nea Herakleia
excavations, 1966 Thessalonica, Archaeological
Museum Inv. 10070 Besides the christogram other christian monograms
appeared in the first centuries of christianity. These were a square cross
and a rho, an I and a chi and a latin cross and a rho. Of these monograms the ÈP monogram was the emblem
of a christian civil official. The IX monogram developed
into the emblem of an archbischop The …P-monogram was the emblem of a bishop. It was the model for the staff
of a bishop initially quite literally as can be seen in the example, but from
the 10th century in the form of a crozier. Crozier In: Isidor of Sevilla: Etymologia.
Einsiedeln, 970-980 Einsiedeln, Stiftbibliothek, Cod. 167 (140) |
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The Disappearance of the Christogram. |
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After the fall of te Roman Empire the
Roman Armies disappeared from the West. The use of the christogram however was continued by its
successor states and many examples are known from the Vandal, Frankish and
Visigotic kingdoms. The christogram remained the
emblem of the amed forces as long as these remained one of the institutions
of the empire and a part of the state. In Byzantium such armed forces were
soon replaced by an armed force strictly loyal to the emperor after the model
of a Praetorian Guard or personal armed force of the ruler. The
emblem of such a guard had been a thunderbolt and this
emblem developed into the so-called fleur de lis which was
employed as well by the Byzantine imperial guard as well as by the armed
forces of many West-European rulers. As a result the christogram disappeared
completely as a symbol of armed authority after the 11th-12th century, and
was replaced almost everywhere by a thunderbolt/fleur de lis. |
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© Hubert de
Vries 2014-03-03
[1] Cechelli, C.: Il Trionfo
della Croce (Roma, 1953) gives a christogram on a grave-stone from the 2nd century as an example.
[2] Lucius Lactantius:
De Mortibus Persecutorum (Of the Manner
the Persecutor died) Chap.
44.
[3] Samples amongst others in München
Staatliche Münzsammlung and in the British Museum. The medallion was dated in
315 by MacCormack, S., in: Arte e
ceremoniale nell' antichità. (Torino, 1995). The christogram in the crest is
not free from doubt.
[4] Schultz, H.D.: Antike Münzen. Berlin 1997 n° 350..
[5] Beschläge vom Sarg des
Trierer Bischof Paulinus († 358) Trier,
St. Paulin, Krypta, nach 358. Gold und Silberblech (Kopiiert) Kopien: Trier,
Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum. Große Rundscheibe mit Christogramm
zwischen Alpha und Omega, ringsum die Inschrift: elvthera
peccatrix posvit. (Eleutheria, eine Sünderin, hat es gestiftet)
[6] Niello and gilding
have disappeared in several places. The reverse is considerably damaged,
showing cracks. The dish is of the patera type. The reverse is plain, fitted
with a ring for suspension. The Emperor is shown mounted; on the right is the
figure of Victoria crowning him with a wreath; in her other hand she holds a
palm branch. On the left is a guard with a shield bearing the XP-monogram.
Under the feet of the Emperor’s horse is a shield with an umbo, belonging to a
vanquished enemy. Some of the details are enriched with gilding or niello.
[7] Between the name of Constantine and
his title Augustus a square cross in
saltire which makes the square cross a letter chi.
[8] This mosaic represents emperor Tiberius II Constantine (r. 578-582) and his wife Anastasia.
[9] The crest of the emperor always
consisted of peacocks’ feathers.
[10] Probably an exarch
of Ravenna is meant of which there were two of the name of Theodore: Theodore I Calliopas
(643-645 & 653-before 666) and Theodore II (678-689).
[11] Socalled sarcophagus of Stilicho. The medallion on the sarcophagus doubtlessly represents Valentinian II and his wife. A good portrait of Valentinian II on his goldcoins. Valentian II was buried in the S. Ambrogio. See Gibbon: Chap. XXVII, p. 61.
[12]
. 1. Roma, Musei Vaticani inv. Lat. n° 171. Before 340. 2. Roma, Musei Vaticani inv. Lat. n° 174 A. Last 30 years of
the4th century. 3. Istanbul, Archeological Museum, Imperial porphyry
sarcophagus. 4. Sarcophague of Pietro
Tagliavia d’Aragona. Crypt of Palermo
Cathedral: Latin cross with a crown surrounding a christogram (defaced).