Gravestone of the Ludino
In 1845 a body buried without a casket from the 5/6th century was found on the churchyard near St. Liebfrauen Worms. A gravestone nearby has been preserved in the regional museum of Mainz. Although the gravestone is damaged at its upper and lower end, both the five-line inscription and the scratched images are visible. Both complete each other in giving personal data of the deceased and are completely in line with early Christian gravestones: Ludino, who died at the age of 30, was a Christian. His death is described as ‘resting in peace’, and the images take up this notion. Alpha and omega and two doves are added to the Christogram, which is shown here as a crux monogrammatica (cf. plate with Christogram). Although different intepretations should be found for each image, the variants are so restricted by the composition that only one possibility remains: Christ is the A and the O, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Apc 22:13). He is in the center. The souls reaching salvation are aligned with him.