The Cross of Reproaches brings together objects evoking different episodes of the Passion. Within the Verges Procession, it provides a visual summary of the story: a cross bearing signs that the audience can recognise. See also: Maundy Thursday.
What is the Cross of Reproaches in Verges?
The term “reproach” refers to an offence or scorn. This cross brings together objects and instruments associated with different episodes of the Passion, within the iconographic tradition of the Arma Christi. In the Verges Procession, it is carried solemnly, allowing the audience to identify each passage of the sacred drama through its objects.
The Symbols Hanging on the Cross
Màriam Serrà describes the objects on this cross in her account of the 1996 Procession (p. 105). They include:
- The rooster: a reminder of Peter’s denial. See also: Saint Peter.
- The bag of coins and the cup: objects listed by Serrà.
- The dice: associated with the soldiers dividing the tunic.
- The crown of thorns and the cross: signs of suffering and crucifixion.
- The ladder, mallet and pincers: associated with the Descent from the Cross and the nails.
A Key Element of the Street Procession
Unlike the scenic tableaux with dialogue, the Cross of Reproaches speaks through its imagery. It is a piece that invites reflection from visitors as it advances through the town’s narrow alleys.
Read together, the objects evoke the Passion without dialogue. This is an interpretation of their iconographic function; the 1996 description is neither an inventory of the present cross nor evidence that all its older elements have survived unchanged.
In the procession order recorded by Serrà, the Cross of Reproaches follows the Pilgrim and precedes the Samaritan Woman. This belongs to the formation described in 1996 and helps explain the relationship between roles, objects and scenes without establishing an unchanging rule.
Sources and versions
Màriam Serrà, Verges i la processó que no es veu (1998), p. 105; account of the 1996 Procession.
