Crux Christi Sit Mecum: Devotion to the Apotropaic Cross

Abstract

A late medieval paper amulet containing prayers to St. Dorothy and the Holy Cross was found in a demolished part of a medieval wooden stave church in Torpo, Norway. This article examines the content and the function of this textual amulet by placing it in a wider Scandinavian and Western European context. From the perspective of materiality and sensory-based religious practices, this article will explore the connection between the textual amulet found in Torpo and its relation to the now-lost large wooden cross in Torpo church, and to crosses believed to be wonderworking or miraculous in its proximity. By doing so, this study will shed light on the apotropaic and healing potential that the material and immaterial cross offered the pious in late medieval Norway. The last part of this article addresses the Post-Reformation theological understanding of the amulet, and its use and function in Lutheran Norwegian society.

Keywords

• material devotion
• holy matter
• <i>hagiosensorium</i>
• haptic devotion
• amulets
• devotional literature
• the holy cross
• wonderworking and miraculous images
• apotropaic potential
• reformation