Arm reliquary of St. Elisabeth
The arm reliquary of St. Elisabeth is a reliquary in the form of a vertical arm that contains a relic of St. Elisabeth of Thuringia .
history
On May 1st, 1236, less than five years after her death, Elisabeth's bones were raised in the presence of Emperor Friedrich II in the Marburg hospital chapel and placed in a precious shrine . The arm relic may have reached Altenberg an der Lahn soon afterwards. Gertrud von Altenberg , the daughter of the saint, who was born in 1227, belonged to the Premonstratensian Abbey of Altenberg Monastery since her earliest childhood, since 1248 as abbess . The reliquary, created around 1240, remained in the monastery treasure for centuries.
After the abolition of Altenberg monastery in 1803, the last prioress Ludovica Norbertina von Bode gave the reliquary to her relative, Count Boos von Waldeck in Sayn, who kept it in the castle chapel . His grandson bequeathed the reliquary to Princess Leonilla zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn , a direct descendant of St. Elisabeth. Since then, the precious goldsmith's work has been owned by the Sayner royal family. The reliquary was exhibited in the high altar of Sayn Abbey for several years .
description
The hand is stretched out in blessing, the arm is clad in two robes, the borders of which are decorated with filigree work and precious stones. While the upper sleeve is decorated with a punched diamond pattern, a framed agate plate dominates the close-fitting sleeve . On the opposite back, the undergarment has a lockable tracery window, behind which the relic can be seen. A second access to the relic is on the underside of the arm, because the base plate can also be opened.
Arm-shaped reliquaries have been attested since the 11th century, they belong to the group of so-called "speaking reliquaries". These reliquaries, which include all those made in the form of human body parts (e.g. busts, heads, feet, fingers), are so called because their external shape often suggests that of the relic. Accordingly, a head reliquary can contain a skull, an arm reliquary an arm relic. Inside the Elizabeth's reliquary there is a fabric-wrapped bone der ( ulna ), which is provided with two younger seals.
The arm reliquary of St. Elisabeth is one of the most outstanding goldsmith works from the middle of the 13th century. The work already reveals Gothic trends in the stylistic features . The naturalistic modeling of the hand, the striving for organic body formation, is striking. The high claw settings between the filigree tendrils are also reminiscent of stone mountings of the high Gothic goldsmith's art. In addition, there is the lancet window cut into the back of the sleeve with inscribed tracery, a motif that is derived from the Gothic monumental architecture.
literature
- Martina Junghans: The arm reliquaries in Germany from the 11th to the middle of the 13th century : Dissertation University of Bonn 2002, pp. 185–190.