The carbunculus (red garnet) and the double nature of Christ in the early medieval West

This paper aims to discuss the employment of garnets on early medieval gold crosses. Despite appearing on a large number of pectoral crosses from the Mediterranean as well as from northern Europe, the symbolism of garnets has never been fully explored. No study has related their employment to the major controversies that took place between the late seventh and the first half of the ninth centuries over the natures of Christ and the symbolism related to his incarnation. During these centuries, the Greek and Latin words meaning garnets gained new nuances in religious texts: this literary development will be followed, to shed light on the early medieval understanding and perception of garnets on early medieval crosses.