The Holy Cross

Rhabanus Maurus, De laudibus sancte crucis. Pforzheim: Thomas Anshelm, 1503. Fol.

Using examples from late Antiquity, Rhabanus Maurus, abbot of the monastery of Fulda, devised ’visual poetry’ around 810 on the subject of the redeeming Holy Cross. The figures, corresponding with preserved manuscripts, largely consist of carefully inserted xylographic parts (including letters), within a typographical whole, with the distinction between the two very hard to perceive. The illustration shows how two cruciform blocks (above) and two T-form blocks (below) were fitted in: text was then printed from type in red over these figures.