Candlesticks

Seven-armed chandelier in Essen Minster, bronze, around 1000

Chandeliers , candelabra ( French candélabre , from Latin candelabrum "chandelier", to Latin candela "candle") and girandoles are stands for candles or lights that branch out over a base and a central column into several arms and thus accommodate several light elements enable. A light pole in the street space that does not necessarily have to be branched is also referred to as a candelabra .

Terms

The concept of the arm chandelier , as well as that almost synonymous with the girandole (table lamp with curved arms, since the middle of the 18th century), is limited to mobile devices, while a candelabra is also a monumental lighting element used outdoors to illuminate streets and bridges can be. The definition of terms is not uniform. Regarding the regional usage of the word: In Switzerland , partly also in Austria and southern Germany, the term candelabra is also used for single-flame street lamps.

history

Multi-armed candlesticks made of fired clay , forged or cast metal or wood have been known at least since ancient times , but at that time they were mainly equipped with oil or tallow lamps . Beeswax candles were reserved for higher ranks.

The menorah from the Jewish temple as part of the booty in the triumphal procession. Rome, Arch of Titus .

A type of candlestick with a historically long-lasting form is the menorah , the seven-armed candlestick of the Jerusalem temple from the 5th century BC BC, which became one of the most important symbols of Judaism .

The Paracas candelabra , a geoglyph on the Peruvian Pacific coast, was built around 200 BC. Created.

The Christian Middle Ages also used the type of seven-armed chandelier known from the biblical description of the temple . As large standing lights, they were placed in a prominent position in the church and have been traceable since Carolingian times. The oldest surviving example, the bronze chandelier in Essen Minster , was made around the year 1000. Floor- standing chandeliers with two to six arms, on the other hand, are rarer in the Middle Ages. Even the candlesticks, which are obligatory as an altar accessory, are still single- flame today.

In the secular household items, two-flame candle holders (table candlesticks ) made of bronze or brass - in Western culture - have appeared more frequently since the 15th century. In the modern era, brass is more commonly used for everyday items, while bronze is still used for elaborately modeled chandeliers. In the 17th and 18th centuries, series of single-candle chandeliers seem to be more common among the bourgeoisie than multi-armed girandoles. But since the late 18th century the candelabra has been a showpiece on the festive table, it is now made of silver as much as possible and its arms, which are surrounded by ornament and foliage, swing in more than two directions. The arms can often be removed from the shaft and replaced with a single nozzle. From the late 19th century similar showpieces - only significantly cheaper - were made in nickel silver for the aspiring middle class using modern industrial techniques . Multi-armed candlesticks made of porcelain or even other ceramic material are rarer than those made of metal, to which tin has been added since the late baroque era. In Italian handicrafts, the shafts of the candelabra were often made of marble.

Candelabra for street lighting appeared sporadically since the 18th century, with the advent of gas lighting in the 19th century more frequently. Since then, they have achieved great importance for public spaces. In the beginning they were forged, later more made of cast iron or bronze , especially if they were more elaborately designed.

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  Candelabra on the Lombard Bridge in Hamburg (designed by Carl Börner around 1864–1866)

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  Schupmann candelabra in Berlin , Unter den Linden

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  Martin Luther candelabra from 1894 on the church square in Ilmenau

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  Candelabra of the type "Val d'Osne" at a metro entrance in Paris

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  Silver table lamp by Heinrich Vogeler , 1901

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  Modern chandelier for 51 tea lights in the “ Maria Schnee ” chapel in Beyenburg

Swear word

The word armleuchter is also used as a slang swear word . Duden calls the meanings "stupid guy, fool" and " asshole ". The German dictionary of Bünting gives the meaning "stupid, stupid". It is a euphemism from the soldier's language to avoid the similarly obscene asshole .

A similar sloppy insult is the less commonly used armhole . It veils the swear word asshole or idiot .

Trivia

Klein Mahner's coat of arms shows a three-armed and three-legged candlestick. The depiction was taken from the coat of arms of the von Mander (Mahner) family, who had had the candlestick in their seal since 1330. The coat of arms was approved by the Braunschweig administration president in 1968.

See also

• chandelier
• Candlestick (liturgy)
• Candlestick (heraldry)

literature

• August Mau : Candelabrum . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Sp. 1461-1464.
• Gustav Barthel : Chandelier . In: Reallexikon zur Deutschen Kunstgeschichte Vol. 1, 1936, Sp. 1088–1106.

Web links

Commons : Chandelier  - Collection of Images

Wiktionary: Armleuchter  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Wiktionary: candelabra  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ^ Heyses Fremdwörterbuch, 18th edition, Hanover and Berlin, 1903, keyword "Kandelaber" (p. 410, right column).
2. ↑ Candelabra at Wissen.de, accessed on May 13, 2016
3. ↑ Occasionally, one-flame, but large floor-standing candlesticks are referred to as candelabra ( Lexikon der Kunst. Volume 2, Leipzig 1971, p. 524), while the Reallexikon zur Deutschen Kunstgeschichte in the article Armleuchter (Volume 1, Sp. 1088–1106) has a columnar central axis and sees arms protruding on all sides as the hallmark of the candelabra. In any case, hanging chandeliers are never meant. In English and Dutch usage, Girandole is more of a multi-armed sconce, also as an integrated part of a mirror frame (cf. e.g. Collins Encyclopedia of Antiques, London 1973, and recently also in German lexicons translated from English). German literature usually understands the girandole to mean the multi-armed table candlesticks of the 18th and 19th centuries.
4. ↑ For the history of the arm chandelier in handicrafts from the Middle Ages to the Baroque see G. Barthel: Article Armleuchter. In: Real Lexicon on German Art History . Volume 1, Col. 1088-1106.
5. ↑ Lichtblicke: On the history of artificial brightness in the 19th century. Hanser, Munich / Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-446-13793-9 . Paperback: Fischer-TB 16180, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 978-3-596-16180-5 .
6. ↑ Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon , 14th, completely revised edition in 16 volumes. Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna 1896, keyword “candelabra” (10th volume, p. 89).
7. ↑ See Armleuchter at Duden online.
8. ^ Karl-Dieter Bünting: German Dictionary , Chur / Switzerland, 1996, keyword "Armleuchter" (p. 88, left column).
9. ↑ ^{a b} Theodor Imme: The German soldier language of the present and their humor , Dortmund 1918, p. 85.
10. ↑ See armhole at Duden online.
11. ^ Karl-Dieter Bünting: German Dictionary , Chur / Switzerland, 1996, keyword "Armloch" (p. 88, middle column).