De imagen a cuerpo santo: el crucifijo polimatérico de la Catedral de Ourense (siglo XIV). Historia, usos, recepción

Abstract

This paper studies the medieval sculpture of Christ crucified known as Santo Cristokept in the cathedral of San Martiño de Ourense in the northwest of the Iberian Pen-insula. Firstly the analysis will focus on the impact this image has had over the centu-ries on the sacred topography and spatial configuration of this cathedral, includingchanges in the naming of altars, alterations to existing volumes, and even the creationof new spaces for worship and devotion. Secondly, the liturgical and ritual uses thiscrucifix would have had in the late Middle Ages will be investigated, particularly as avisual centrepiece during liturgies commemorating the Cross and its hypothetical ma-nipulation during the dramatized ceremonies of Holy Week. Furthermore, some con-siderations are devoted to the possible changes in its liturgical reception in the late15th and early 16th centuries, when the idea of veiling and unveiling the image be-came central. Finally, the changing status of this image as one of the cathedral's relicswill be examined, a reality that can be traced verbatim to the 16th century.