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Heritage classified

Origin and history

The cemetery cross of Eygalières, dated from the 15th century, is an example of a hosannière cross, a type of medieval funerary monument spread between the 12th and 16th centuries, mainly in western France. These edicles, distinct from the lanterns of the dead by the absence of a lighting system, were often erected on common pits or ossuary. Their classic structure includes a circular stone base, a full cylindrical column, and a summital cross, up to 10 metres high. Although their concentration is more pronounced in Poitou, Charentes, or Normandy, isolated copies, such as that of Eygalières, testify to their diffusion to Provence.

The term hosannière may have its origin in the Hebrew exclamation Hosanna, associated with Palm Sunday (Dominica Hosanna) from the fourteenth century. In some areas, such as the south of the Deux-Sèvres or the west of Indre, the tradition was to deposit sacred box (called hosanne or ozanne) at the foot of these crosses, a practice still observed in Limousin before 1914. These monuments, sometimes confused with Celtic crosses, served as spiritual and community landmarks, marking the sacred space of cemeteries. The cross of Eygalières, classified as a Historical Monument in 1942, illustrates this symbolic function in a Provençal context.

Ranked by decree of 26 March 1942, this cross is located on a small square near the church of Eygalières, in the Bouches-du-Rhône (region Provence-Alpes-Côte-d-Azur). Its exact location, noted as poor (level 5/10) in the heritage bases, corresponds to the approximate address of Place Thiers, although GPS coordinates sometimes suggest confusion with the neighbouring town of Eyguières. Owned by the commune, this monument remains a rare testimony of medieval funeral architecture in Provence, where the hosannière crosses are less numerous than elsewhere in France.

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