Beast pillar

Beast column in the crypt of the Freising Cathedral

A beast column (often beast pillar ) is a column or a pillar with a plastic representation fighting humans and animals on the shaft . The most important feature is that the support itself is completely retreated from the people and animals placed one above the other and next to one another. The beast column is a rare column shape of Romanesque architecture , it was already considered to be very valuable at the time of its creation, as its design requires the highest sculptural skill.

Examples

The only German example can be found in the crypt of the Freising Cathedral . It is noticeable here that on three sides men in knightly armor with beasts that resemble crocodiles, but are supposed to represent dragons, fight a life and death battle: Here a knight stabs a dragon, there one of the beasts has a human in its mouth and half eaten up - only the upper body can be seen. On the east side of the Freising Beast Column there is a picture of a beautiful woman who, unhindered by the beasts, awaits the light from the east - the light that Jesus Christ brings as Redeemer.

Other pillars of beasts can be found at the former abbey churches of Moissac and Souillac in France and in Lucca in Italy. While the different types of beasts bite each other in Souillac, this motif has been modified in Moissac to cross over and evenly stack the six similar animals.

Beast capitals

Even on Romanesque capitals (preferably in the area of portals) there are intertwined and mutually devouring monsters.

meaning

In the absence of written documents on these medieval forms of design, it can be assumed that beasts in the medieval world of imagination are closely linked to the animal, demonic, evil or diabolical par excellence and symbolize the ongoing threat to (Christian) people from such forces. Added to this is the idea of a threat to Christianity from the pagan world of gods that preceded it and which preceded this time. This should be distributed by their reflection on columns, or generally on Romanesque capitals and portals.