Pokus o interpretáciu rytých symbolov na fasáde kaplnky sv. Margity Antiochijskej v Kopčanoch

Abstract

On the south facade of the chapel of St. Margaret of Antioch in Kopčany (Slovakia), there are two stones with engraved symbols. On one of the stones, the signs X, X in a rectangular frame and a schematically depicted face surmounted by three crosses are engraved. On the second stone, only the signs X and some simple lines are carved very indistinctly. Only the signs on the first stone are the subject of the analysis. The sign X can be interpreted as a Christogram. The rectangular frame around the second sign X can be interpreted as a symbol for the whole world or universe. The face with the three crosses can be considered an image of Christ. The signs as a whole composition probably symbolize Christ, his sacrifice, salvation through his death on the cross, the universal effect of salvation and saving from eternal death and perdition. The symbols had probably a protective function for the church and for the community of the faithful who used the church as well as for the buried in the cemetery. For these symbols, their meaning and function can be found analogies made in similarly reduced form and dimensions from the early Middle Ages (6 th –10 th centuries) in the territory of France, Germany, Switzerland or Austria.