Arma Christi

Last updated September 23, 2024

Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Christ used to achieve his conquest over Satan. There is a group, at a maximum of about 20 items, which are frequently used in Christian art, especially in the Late Middle Ages. Typically they surround either a cross or a figure of Christ of the Man of Sorrows type, either placed around the composition, or held by angels.

History

The prime member, the Cross, had been introduced to Christian art in the 4th century as the crux invicta, a symbol of victory. As a group they have a long tradition in iconography, dating back to the 9th century; the Utrecht Psalter of 830 is an example, though the only one from the Early Middle Ages known to Gertrud Schiller. This reflected an increase in theological interest in the sufferings of Christ at the time.^[1] The Middle English poem Arma Christi, which appeared before the end of the 14th century, exists in fifteen manuscripts, attesting to its popularity, of which seven are engrossed in highly unusual scroll form, designed to be displayed in church as a pictorial aid to public devotion; manuscripts of Arma Christi are generally accompanied by illustrations of the instruments, viewing of which, according to the texts, granted indulgence of a certain number of days in Purgatory to come.^[2]

Relics of the most important items had a long history, dating back to the Empress Helena's discovery of the True Cross in the early 4th century. Relics claiming to be the Holy Lance, Holy Sponge, Holy Chalice and nails from the cross were all venerated well before 1000, and were to proliferate in later centuries. There was a wave of new relics in the West at the time of the Crusades, and a further wave as the Instruments became featured more prominently in devotional literature and practices in the 14th century.^[3]

In art the Instruments either surrounded an image of Christ in andachtsbilder subjects such as the Man of Sorrows, or might appear by themselves - often the image of Christ's face on the Veil of Veronica was the focal point of the image. In both cases the purpose of the representations was to symbolize the sufferings of Christ during his Passion. They had the practical advantage for less accomplished artists of being much easier to represent than human figures, and were no doubt often treated as a subject an apprentice could be left to do. Possibly the earliest representation of the isolated instruments laid out across a space is in a drawing in a German manuscript of about 1175, where they are to one side of a Christ in Majesty.^[4] In devotional books they were sometimes, by the Late Middle Ages, shown one at a time, accompanying one of the many texts that devoted meditations in turn to the episodes in which each had been used, before culminating in a figure subject with Jesus.^[5] Miniature versions of the objects were attached to rosaries and crucifixes, and used as aids to contemplation of the suffering of Christ.

The Instruments

Depictions of the Instruments of the Passion may include many combinations of those following (though the cross of Jesus is almost always represented). A primary group of the most frequently used instruments can be distinguished:

The instruments of the Passion (cont). Left to right: chalice, torch, lantern, sword, flagellum, pillar of flagellation, Veronica's veil, 30 pieces of silver, dice, reed sceptre, hand which struck Christ, torch, pitcher of gall and vinegar Passion-instruments-2.jpg — The instruments of the Passion (cont). Left to right: chalice, torch, lantern, sword, flagellum, pillar of flagellation, Veronica's veil, 30 pieces of silver, dice, reed sceptre, hand which struck Christ, torch, pitcher of gall and vinegar

The Cross on which Jesus was crucified (True Cross), either depicted alone or with the crosses of the two thieves
The Crown of Thorns
The pillar or column where Jesus was whipped in the Flagellation of Christ
The whip(s), in Germany often birches, used for the 39 lashes
The Holy Sponge set on a reed, with which gall and vinegar were offered to Jesus
The Holy Lance with which a Roman soldier inflicted the final of the Five Wounds in his side
The Nails, inflicting four wounds on the hands and feet
The Veil of Veronica

Other common ones are:

The reed which was placed in Jesus' hand as a sceptre in mockery
The purple robe of mockery
The Titulus Crucis, attached to the Cross. It may be inscribed in Latin (INRI, Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum), Greek, Hebrew, or some other language.
The Holy Grail, the chalice used by Jesus at The Last Supper, and which some traditions say Joseph of Arimathea used to catch his blood at the crucifixion
The Seamless robe of Jesus
The dice with which the soldiers cast lots for Christ's seamless robe
The rooster (cock) that crowed after Peter's third denial of Jesus
The vessel used to hold the gall and vinegar
The ladder used for the Deposition, i.e. the removal of Christ's body from the cross for burial
The ropes used for the Raising of the Cross
The hammer used to drive the nails into Jesus' hands and feet
The pincers used to remove the nails
The vessel of myrrh, used to anoint the body of Jesus, either by Joseph of Arimathea or by the Myrrhbearers
The shroud used to wrap the body of Jesus before burial
The sun and moon, representing the eclipse which occurred during the Passion
Thirty pieces of silver (or a money bag), the price of Judas' betrayal
A spitting face, indicating the mockery of Jesus
The hand which slapped Jesus' face
The chains or cords which bound Jesus overnight in prison
The lantern or torches used by the arresting soldiers at the time of the betrayal, as well as their swords and staves
The sword used by Peter to cut off the ear of the High Priest's servant. Sometimes a human ear is also represented.
Sometimes the heads or hands of figures from the Passion are shown, including Judas, Caiaphas, or the man who mocked Christ spitting in Christ's face. The washing hands of Pontius Pilate may be shown. The Lorenzo Monaco painting below has several such images.
The trumpet played for mocking Christ on the Way to Calvary.^[6]

Other contexts

The principal group of the Instruments appear in other contexts as well. The lance and sponge on a stick are held as though they are standards or weapons by the archangels flanking the throne of Christ in a 6th-century mosaic from Ravenna (now in the Bode Museum, Berlin), and are often shown in this way thereafter, especially in scenes of the Last Judgement. In Eastern Orthodox art they are often on or around the Hetoimasia or "empty throne" of judgement.^[7] The Crown of Thorns sometimes hangs alone on the cross; it has been suggested that the Celtic cross originated from this motif. The minor Instruments generally did not developed a sufficient ability to be recognised and understood in this way, and appear only in groups.

Gallery

Pietà with Arma Christi, Lorenzo Monaco, 1404
Votive panel, Wrocław, 1443
Hans Memling, The Man of Sorrows in the arms of the Virgin, 1470s
Fictive coat of arms of Jesus Christ in the Wernigerode Armorial (Southern Germany, c. 1490)
Arma Christi crucifix, St. Wendelin, Bremenried, Weiler-Simmerberg, Bavaria
Christ in the dark with the Arma Christi, 19th-century Russian icon
Triumph of the Christ Child by Ambrosius Francken I, 1605–10, Angels carry away the Arma Christi.
Wayside cross with the Arma Christi near Stammham, Eichstätt
Atrial crosses, such as this one in Metepec, Mexico, usually include the Arma Christi.

Notes

↑ Schiller, 184-185
↑ Rossell Hope Robbins, "The 'Arma Christi' Rolls", The Modern Language Review34.3 (July 1939:415-421)
↑ Schiller, 189-191
↑ Schiller, 187
↑ Schiller, 192-3
↑ Ballester, Jordi, "Trumpets, Heralds and Minstrels: Their Relation to the Image of Power and Representation in the Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Catalano-Aragonese Painting", Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography (2018) 43/1–2, 5–19.
↑ Schiller, 186-187

Related Research Articles

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Man of Sorrows, a biblical term, is paramount among the prefigurations of the Messiah identified by the Bible in the passages of Isaiah 53 in the Hebrew Bible. It is also an iconic devotional image that shows Christ, usually naked above the waist, with the wounds of his Passion prominently displayed on his hands and side, often crowned with the Crown of Thorns and sometimes attended by angels. It developed in Europe from the 13th century and was especially popular in Northern Europe.

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The Pensive Christ is a subject in Christian iconography depicting a contemplating Jesus, sitting with his head supported by his hand with the Crown of Thorns and marks of his flagellation. It is, therefore, a picture of Jesus shortly before his crucifixion, although more an andachtsbild or devotional subject than intended to show an actual moment in the narrative of the Passion of Christ. The Pensive Christ is much more common in sculpture than in painting, where the similar Man of Sorrows is more often depicted.

The Flagellation of Christ, in art sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is an episode from the Passion of Jesus as presented in the Gospels. As such, it is frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the Life of Christ. Catholic tradition places the Flagellation on the site of the Church of the Flagellation (the second station of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. It is the second Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary and the sixth station of the John Paul II’s Scriptural Way of the Cross. The column to which Christ is normally shown to be tied, and the rope, scourge, whip or birch are elements in the Arma Christi. The Basilica di Santa Prassede in Rome is one of the churches claiming to possess the original column or parts of it.

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The Descent from the Cross is a panel painting by the Flemish artist Rogier van der Weyden created c. 1435, now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid. The crucified Christ is lowered from the cross, his lifeless body held by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

The Mass of Saint Gregory is a subject in Roman Catholic art which first appears in the late Middle Ages and was still found in the Counter-Reformation. Pope Gregory I is shown saying Mass just as a vision of Christ as the Man of Sorrows has appeared on the altar in front of him, in response to the Pope's prayers for a sign to convince a doubter of the doctrine of transubstantiation.

Crucifixions and crucifixes have appeared in the arts and popular culture from before the era of the pagan Roman Empire. The crucifixion of Jesus has been depicted in a wide range of religious art since the 4th century CE, frequently including the appearance of mournful onlookers such as the Virgin Mary, Pontius Pilate, and angels, as well as antisemitic depictions portraying Jews as responsible for Christ's death. In more modern times, crucifixion has appeared in film and television as well as in fine art, and depictions of other historical crucifixions have appeared as well as the crucifixion of Christ. Modern art and culture have also seen the rise of images of crucifixion being used to make statements unconnected with Christian iconography, or even just used for shock value.

Man of Sorrows is a small Early Netherlandish oil on wood panel painting completed c. 1485–1495. It is attributed to Geertgen tot Sint Jans and in the tradition of the devotional images of the "Man of Sorrows", which typically show Christ before his crucifixion, naked above the waist, bearing the wounds of his Passion. The panel has an unusually complex and suffocating spatial design, and depicts the mocking of Jesus, and his grieving mother. The panel is steeped in both complex iconography and deep pathos. Christ is in obvious pain and holds his wounds up for the viewer. He looks out while white robed weeping angels bear the Arma Christi -objects associated with his crucifixion and death- float around him. The attending saints include Mary and the Magdalene.

The Man of Sorrows is a tempera and oil on panel painting of Jesus Christ by the Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510), thought to have been painted sometime between 1500 and 1510.

References

Schiller, Gertrud, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II, 1972 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, ISBN 0-85331-324-5

External links

Weapons of Christ

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[1] Schiller, 184-185

[2] Rossell Hope Robbins, "The 'Arma Christi' Rolls", The Modern Language Review34.3 (July 1939:415-421)

[3] Schiller, 189-191

[4] Schiller, 187

[5] Schiller, 192-3

[6] Ballester, Jordi, "Trumpets, Heralds and Minstrels: Their Relation to the Image of Power and Representation in the Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Catalano-Aragonese Painting", Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography (2018) 43/1–2, 5–19.

[7] Schiller, 186-187

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