The Phœnician origin of Britons, Scots & Anglo-Saxons : discovered by Phœnician & Sumerian inscriptions in Britain, by preroman Briton coins & a mass of new history : with over one hundred illustrations and maps
CROSS IN CHRISTIANITY IMPORTED BY GOTH 301
in Christianity as a Christian emblem before 451 A.D. 3! and then significantly it appears on the tomb of Galla Placidia, the widow of the Gothic Christian emperor Atawulf, brotherin-law and successor of Alaric, the famous and magnanimous Gothic Christian emperor. This tomb with its Cross of the Hittite form (see Fig. 46, 0) and a similar one on the tomb of her son (d. 455 A.D.), is at Ravenna in the Northern Adriatic, a home of Early Byzantine or Gothic art in Italy and the capital of the Roman empire of the Goths. From this time onwards the True Cross comes more and more into general use as the symbol of Christ and Christianity; but not yet as a substitute for the Crucifix. It is now found in use—both in the elongated form, as on this Ravenna tomb, and with the equal arms, as found in the pre-Christian monuments and coins of Early Britain—as the sceptre and symbol of Divine victory, as it was in the Sun-cult ; but no body is ever figured impaled or otherwise upon it.
The obvious reason and motive for this importation into Christianity in the fifth century A.p. of the old Aryan SunCross symbol of Victory of the One God of the Universe of the Khatti, Gefe or Goths now becomes evident. The “ Western ’ (properly “‘ Eastern ’’ Goths) were early converted to Christianity, about 340 A.D., by their priest-prince,
‘ This is the statement of Farrar (F.C.A., 26). But he mentions a Cross, presumably a “* Greek ’’ one, reputed on a tomb of a Christian in 370 A.D., of which no particulars are given nor evidence for the date, citing as his authority Boldetti; also a “ Greek ’’ Cross on the tomb of Ruffini, who was especially associated with the ‘* Arian ’’ Goths and who died about 410 A.D. Sir FP. Petrie, in an elaborate review of Early Christian Crosses (Ancient Egypt, 1916, 104) cites a Cross on a coin of the Roman emperor Gratian in 380 a.p.; but Gratian was not a Christian. The Romans were addicted to putting symbols on their coins which were current amongst their subjects and the Cross was a common Gothic symbol. Professor Petrie gives several slightly earlier dates, though some of these require revision ; 2.g., Galla Placidia on p. 104 is stated to have died 420, whereas the usually accepted date is 450 (H. Bradley, Goths, 105) or 451; but all of the earlier dates fall subsequent to the period of conversion of the Visi-Goths by Ulfilas. The ornate crosses of the Arian Goths at Ravenna about 510 a.p. (Petrie loc. cil. 107), decorated with smaller wheeled Crosses, and the limbs ending in discs, as well as most of the other forms figured by Petrie, disclose their clear line of descent from the Hitto-Sumerian and Kassi types (see Fig. 46, d, etc., B-F, ete.). The Cross used by the Early Christian Egyptians as a symbol and mot a crucifix, with loop at its top (see Fig. 47, c) and which is called ‘*‘ The Lock of Hovis,” i.c:, The Sun-god, also thereby asssociates this Cross with the Sun; and it occurs on carly British monuments (Itig. 1:7 ,G).