# Reliquary cross of the True Cross of Clairmarais Abbey (Sandelin museum in Saint-Omer)

Short intro:

In the treasure of the brotherhood of Notre-Dame des Miracles, there is an almost comparable treasure, the cross from the Cistercian abbey of Clairmarais (suppressed in 1791, destroyed in 1802). This establishment was the largest in the region after Saint-Bertin. Founded in the 12th century, it joined the Cluniac reform and brought together very rich estates before the wars of the end of the Middle Ages and the following centuries ruined its prosperity. This cross dating from the 1210s, the era of splendor, is an excellent reflection of this prosperity. Made at a time close to the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders, it is one of the first works belonging to the "1200 style".

The Clairmarais cross has a golden face covered with high quality floral networks made of filigree and embedded stones. The reverse of the cross, in gilded silver, is also of high quality execution. Unlike the obverse, it is entirely depicted with an iconographic program linked to the crucified Christ and Savior of the World. It is used for processions but above all constitutes a reliquary of the pieces of the true cross brought back during the crusades. These fragments of the True Cross are visible through the rock crystal arranged in the shape of a cross on the front side.

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