A Typical Field Cross. (Tomasito photo)
19
Field crosses
The woods are utterly silent.
I walk until I am ready to pause and then I enjoy a snack of bread, honey and water sitting on one of the benches which is provided for the tired walker in Germany—even in off the beaten track places like this forest.
The bench is placed under a field cross, one of the thousands that are scattered over this extraordinary province. I often pause at these field crosses, sometimes to slip off my pack and stretch a bit, sometimes just to lean on my staff and contemplate.
I like these field crosses and don’t view them in a sectarian way at all though they are unquestionably Christian in their history and their symbolic content. To me they seem to be rather beyond dogma—perhaps they are one way a spiritual and humble folk express their faith and their hope in the final goodness of the mystery of life.
Field crosses are often large—more than eight feet tall including the shingled roof which shelters the inlaid crucifix from the worst of the weather—and they are often decorated with ornamental plants, freshly gathered flowers, or sometimes, a burning votive candle.
They are visited, and visited often, by the rural people who erect and maintain them.
The figure of Christ crucified is usually made of painted plaster or sometimes beautifully carved wood and I have never seen one of them desecrated or spoiled by graffiti, though I have heard sadly that some which were sited closer to cities have been vandalized.
For some, these field crosses are superstitious nonsense, but I love them.
Tomasito, 2009
...
...
No comments:
Post a Comment