Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey

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The Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in the town of the same name . The Abbey is considered because of their Romanesque cloister as "one of the most famous and art-historically important monasteries of Spain." The monastery belongs to the Congregation of Solesmes .

Cloister garden Twisted central column of the cloister
Cloister garden
Twisted central column of the cloister

Geographical location

The monastery is located in the eastern part of a small valley, in the south of the northern Spanish province of Burgos , in the autonomous community of Castile and León in Spain . The place is connected to the Spanish transport network by three side roads. "De Silos" refers to the granaries that once shaped the landscape here.

history

Cloister
Reconstructed floor plan of the Romanesque monastery complex

The first monastery was founded at this point in Visigothic times - it is assumed that a. the year 593. This first monastery did not survive the Muslim period.

Again a monastery, the Abbey of San Sebastian de Silos , was founded here in 929 and sponsored by Count Fernán González Castile (ruled from 930 to 970). Within a short time a flourishing activity developed here, which came to a standstill with the raids under Almansor in the last quarter of the 10th century. The oldest document that has been preserved in the monastery is a deed from 954. In 1002 the monastery was destroyed, had to be re-established, but then recovered quickly. This is especially true for the term of office of the abbot Domingo de Silos from 1041 until his death in 1073. During this time the monastery was strongly promoted by King Ferdinand I (ruled: 1035 to 1065). The construction of a Romanesque church with three naves , a transept and five apses , all of which were vaulted, began under Abbot Domingo . The consecration took place in 1088 without the construction as a whole being completed. It was only completed after the turn of the 12th century. 29 churches were dependent on the monastery and it had extensive land holdings. This made construction work possible on a large scale. After Domingo's death, his worship began and the monastery took him over as patron saint . It was called Santo Domingo de Silos from around 1110 .

In the 18th century there was a need for a larger church. The architect Ventura Rodríguez was awarded the contract. The Romanesque church was demolished and replaced by a new baroque building.

During the French occupation in Napoleonic times and the dissolution of the monastery in the Desamortización on November 17, 1835, part of the artistic equipment and the archive was lost.

On December 18, 1880, Benedictines expelled from Saint-Martin de Ligugé Abbey resumed monastic life.

buildings

Capital with mythical creatures
Capital with animals and plants
Capital with mythical creatures

church

The church is a replacement baroque building. It stands on the plan of a Greek cross inscribed in a square. Only the south wing of the transept and the Puerta de las Vírgenes , the connection between the church and the cloister, remained as structural remnants of the Romanesque church.

Cloister

Doubting Apostle Thomas Disciples of Emmaus and Christ as pilgrims with shoulder bag, pilgrim hat and scallop shell
Doubting Apostle Thomas
Disciples of Emmaus and Christ as pilgrims with shoulder bag, pilgrim hat and scallop shell

The Romanesque cloister ( claustro ) is the most important part of the monastery in terms of art history. It is two-story. The lower floor was built some time earlier than the upper floor. The dates are controversial. They are for the basement:

  • from the late tenure of Saint Domingo and shortly after his death in 1073
  • 1086 to 1100
  • at the turn of the 11th to the 12th century, the upper one at the end of the 12th century
  • both immediately following one another shortly before the middle of the 12th century.
  • Completion of construction of the upper floor: 1158

The floor plan is roughly rectangular with unequal side lengths between 33 m and 30 m, which is the result of a subsequent expansion. Since the opposite wings have the same number of arches, their spans vary between 1.00 m and 1.15 m. The 60 semicircular arches rest on 64 multiple columns . The majority are double columns 1.15 m high. The pillars in the middle of each arcade are an exception: three are five-fold and the one on the north side is four-fold and twisted by 90 °. The artistic design of the associated capitals is excellent. The corners of the arcades of the cloister form massive pillars with roughly square cross-sections . The concept of the facility is Mudejar .

In the lower part of the cloister, several construction phases can be seen. In the first construction phase, the north and east wings were built. In a second phase, the south and west wings followed. On the occasion of an expansion of the church, the west wing was extended to the west by an arcade so that the former central axis, emphasized by a special column position and the saint's grave, is no longer in the middle.

The sculptures of the capitals in the cloister are also attributed to two or three different masters. The capitals there were made by the same master who also made some of the capitals in the west wing. The allocation in detail is controversial. One of the distinguishing features is the shafts of the columns. They are further apart. The figures shown are more static and flatter. The figures of the second phase are more realistic in representation and have a larger volume. The themes depicted on the capitals are varied: biblical scenes, chimeras , griffins , lions, harpies , centaurs , fantastic birds and plant motifs. A continuous story is not told.

The pillars in the corners of the arcades are decorated with large-format reliefs on their inward-facing sides. Whether this work has anything to do with the masters of the capitals is controversial. They too come from different artists. The work of the first master shows parallels to ivory carving and Byzantine art and is classified in the 11th century, or even more precisely in the period from 1085 to 1100. Six of the reliefs can be assigned to the first master:

A second master created the reliefs of the

Due to the stylistic differences, it is also assumed that the reliefs were created one after the other over a period of several decades.

Capitals and relief panels on the corner pillars impress with their diversity and expressiveness. They are masterpieces of Romanesque art. There is nothing else like it in the region. They are closely related to the work in the cloister of Saint-Pierre Abbey in Moissac and to work on Chichester Cathedral .

Carrying cenotaph of Saint Domingo

Noteworthy in the west wing of the cloister is the cenotaph of the holy grave, which is carried by three lions. The first burial place of Saint Domingo de Silos was located here. As the stream of pilgrims not with life in the cloistered adjourned to the cloister heard Domingo was reburied for three years after his death in the church, but continue to revere the first burial place. The grave slab of the cenotaph dates from the beginning of the 13th century. Also noteworthy is the Mudejar coffered ceiling , richly decorated with almost 700 figures and scenes from Castile in the 14th century. It was built after fire damage in 1384. A lack of money saved the cloister from being demolished in the 17th and 18th centuries and from being replaced by a new building. In the cloister there are also two noteworthy, fully plastic figures: the polychrome depictions of Nuestra Señora de Marzo and a Santa Ana con Santa María y El Niño Jesús ( Anna Selbdritt ).

Monument protection

The complex has been a cultural monument ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) under Spanish monument law since June 3, 1931 . It is registered in the list of immobile cultural assets under the number RI - 51-0000467.

Bells

The bells were designed according to the artistic specifications of the order and cast on April 16, 1999 by the Bachert bell foundry in the Heilbronn plant .

Technical specifications
Nominal cis' e ' fis' g sharp ' H' cis ''
Weight kg 1889 1311 1137 766 482 331
lower ø mm 1495 1286 1180 1045 891 777

Further noteworthy

A tympanum from one of the doors of the demolished Romanesque church is kept in the monastery museum.

meaning

Library and scriptorium

The Church of Ephesus in the Beatus manuscript from Silos

The abbey was a major center of medieval scholarship. The library and scriptorium achieved fame throughout Europe. The library now has around 160,000 volumes. Significant works include a .:

The library is only accessible to researchers.

Gregorian chant

The monastery also gained international fame through its cultivation of Gregorian chant . Several recordings of it, produced since the 1960s, have been released. The CD Chant was in the US Billboard Hot 100 for 53 weeks in 1994 - much to the astonishment of music experts and the monks themselves, especially since it was a re-release of older recordings from 1973. The album went platinum three times , meaning a circulation of at least three million copies, and is considered the best-selling Gregorian chant album in history. In 1995 the record company released the follow-up album Chant II . In Europe recordings of the Choralschola were released on double CD under the title Canto Gregoriano .

Worth knowing

The monastery pharmacy was founded in 1705. It had its own botanical garden, a pharmaceutical laboratory and a specialist library. Around 400 volumes of pharmaceutical publications that appeared between the 16th and 19th centuries have been preserved. There are also several hundred earthenware vessels that have been used as containers for medicines.

The monastery museum contains a collection of works of art related to the monastery, painting, goldsmithing, sculpture and enamel work. Among them is also a chalice and a paten from the 11th century, which are said to come from the possession of St. Domingo de Silos. The chalice has a corresponding inscription. The paten, however, is only dated to the time after the saint's death. The museum's holdings are only a remnant of the original furnishings. So are z. For example, a number of ivory carvings from the monastery can now be seen in the museum in Burgos .

See also

literature

  • Dietrich Höllhuber and Werner Schäfke: The Spanish Way of St. James. History and art on the way to Santiago de Compostela . DuMont, [Cologne] 1999. ISBN 3-7701-4862-2
  • Pedro de Palol et al. Max Hirmer: Spain. Art of the early Middle Ages from the Visigoth Empire to the end of the Romanesque period . Hirmer, Munich 1965.
  • Kingsley Porter: Romanesque Sculpture of the Pilgrimage Roads . 3 volumes. Hacker Arts Books, New York, reprinted 1969.
  • Werner Schäfke: Northwest Spain. Landscape, history and art on the way to Santiago de Compostela . DuMont, Cologne 1987. ISBN 3-7701-1589-9
  • Pierre Tisné et al. a .: Spain. Pictorial Atlas of Spanish Art . DuMont Schauberg, Cologne 1968. ISBN 3-7701-4461-9

Web links

Commons : Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 136, considers it possible that the work took place between 1125 and 1150.
  2. ^ So: Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 139.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 135.
  2. ↑ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 142.
  3. ^ Palol: Spain , p. 75.
  4. ↑ Reconstructing floor plan at Palol: Spain , p. 75.
  5. ^ Palol: Spain , p. 75.
  6. ^ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 143.
  7. ↑ Placidus Heider: Domingo de Silos . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 3 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1995, Sp. 323 .
  8. ^ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 144.
  9. ^ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 144.
  10. ^ Palol: Spain , p. 77.
  11. ^ Porter: Romanesque Sculpture , p. 44.
  12. ↑ Tisné: Spain , p 118; Palol: Spain , p. 76.
  13. ^ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 144.
  14. ^ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 169.
  15. ^ Palol: Spain , p. 76.
  16. ↑ Tisné: Spain , S. 118th
  17. ^ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 169.
  18. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 139.
  19. ↑ See Palol: Spanien , p. 76.
  20. ↑ Negative: Tisné: Spain , S. 118th
  21. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 136f.
  22. ↑ Tisné: Spain , S. 118th
  23. ^ Porter: Romanesque Sculpture , p. 45.
  24. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 138; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 173.
  25. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 138; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 172f.
  26. ↑ See Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 137f; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 173.
  27. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 138; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 171.
  28. ↑ Tisné: Spain , p 118; Palol: Spain , p. 77: After the middle of the 12th century.
  29. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 139.
  30. ↑ Tisné: Spain , S. 118th
  31. ↑ Porter: Romanesque Sculpture , pp. 53f; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 171; Tisné: Spain , p. 118.
  32. ↑ Porter: Romanesque Sculpture , pp. 55f.
  33. ↑ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 170.
  34. ^ Porter: Romanesque Sculpture , p. 44.
  35. ↑ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 170.
  36. ↑  ; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 173.
  37. ↑ Tisné: Spain , S. 118th
  38. ↑ Proof in the list of immobile cultural assets in Spain .
  39. ↑ Signature: Add MS 11695.
  40. ↑ Miguel C. Vivancos and Angélica Franco: Beato de Liebana. Codice del Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos . Moleiro, Barcelona 2003, ISBN 84-88526-76-8 (Spanish)
  41. ^ The Billboard 200
  42. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 139; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 174.
  43. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 139; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 174.
  44. ^ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 175.
  45. ↑ Tisné: Spain , S. 118th

Coordinates: 41 ° 57 '43 "  N , 3 ° 25' 9"  W.