Stone marked with a cross

Description

In judgements issued by the city of Basle up to the end of the Middle Ages there are frequent references to people expelled from Basle because of behaviour that broke the peace having to "serve [their time] outside the crosses". The duration of the penalty was laid down, and in the most extreme cases consisted of a lifelong ban. Stones with a cross engraved on them arranged more or less in a circle round the town delimited the area which the miscreants were no longer allowed to enter. Although these stones are often mentioned in written sources our knowledge of how many there were and where they stood is hazy; obviously the people of the time were so conversant with their whereabouts that they kept no records of them. Presumably there were stones marked with crosses on every road leading into Basle. This particularly fine specimen was found in the courtyard of the 'Bannwart' or field warden's house near the bridge over the Wiese (built in 1432); it must originally have stood near where it was found. An event that took place in January 1563 confirms that the Wiese river was the boundary of an old legal district: a delegation from the Basle city council received Emperor Ferdinand I and his courtiers there and escorted their distinguished guest to the Blasitor leading into the town.