Boniface window

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The choir of the Erfurt Cathedral

The Bonifatius window is one of the fifteen choir windows in Erfurt Cathedral and is part of the so-called large-figure group. It is dated to 1410, although restoration work was carried out in the years after 1416 after a fire. The window is in the north half of the choir.

Dimensions and division

The window consists of 4 lanes and 22 lines. Overall, the Boniface window consists of 88 individual fields. The dimensions are 18.25 m in height and 1.93 m in width.

Technology and colors

The modeling was done with water clay and the contours with black solder . The painting surface is made of a soft, alkaline glass with a low melting point, as was used until the 15th century. The predominant colors of the Boniface window are red, green and yellow.

description

A total of six scenes from the life of St. Boniface are depicted on the window . They cover the years 716 up to his death in the mid-750s in chronological order and relate to his missionary work in Thuringia, Hesse and Friesland. The display begins at the bottom of the window. The Erfurt image series is probably an independent creation of the glass painting workshop in question and is unprecedented in terms of art history.

The individual pictures

  1. The first picture shows the arrival of Boniface in Friesland by ship. On the right edge of the picture are friezes who seem to receive Boniface.
  2. The second picture shows the episcopal ordination of Boniface by Pope Gregory II. He presented Boniface with a scroll with a seal. Cardinals stand to the left of the Pope, bishops and other companions to the right.
  3. The third picture shows the so-called fish miracle. A pigeon offers Boniface and his companions, including Adolar and Eoban , a fish. Boniface, Adolar and Eoban are on the right-hand side of the picture.
  4. The fourth picture shows only architecture and no people.
  5. The fifth picture shows the enthronement of Boniface on his third trip to Rome by Pope Gregory III. You can see how bishops put the archbishop's miter on Boniface , put the pallium on him and hand over the cross staff.
  6. The sixth picture shows the consecration of a cathedral, probably the Erfurt cathedral, by Boniface. Unlike the previous pictures, which each have two registers, this picture extends over five registers. The bottom two show Boniface with Adolar removing his miter . Behind it, companions and spectators can be seen. Architecture is shown on the following three tabs.
  7. The seventh picture shows the murder of Boniface by the Frisians. To the left of Boniface are his companions Adolar and Eoban, as well as a third bishop. On the right side is the partly mounted group of the Frisians.
  8. The eighth picture shows the burial of Boniface and his companions. Inside a three-aisled hall they rest in sarcophagi and are sprinkled with holy water. Behind them stand kings and bishops. There is a tower-like architectural structure above the hall that extends into the clover leaf arch fields.

The top line of the Boniface window shows a center circle around which round-arched three- and pointed - arched four-passages are grouped. These contain leaf ornaments.

conservation

Despite all the adversities over the centuries, the window retained 84% of its medieval panes. The rest was supplemented by the Linnemann workshop in the years 1909–1911. On the original parts, areas with gray-green weathered fittings stand out. In the upper parts, some areas show a floury, yellowish-white decomposition.

literature

  • E. Drachenberg: The medieval stained glass in Erfurt Cathedral . Berlin 1983.
  • E. Drachenberg: The medieval stained glass in Erfurt Cathedral. Figure tape. In: Institute for the Preservation of Monuments in the GDR (Ed.): Corpus vitrarum medii aevi. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1983.
  • E. Lehmann / E. Schubert: Cathedral and Severikirche in Erfurt. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1991.

Coordinates: 50 ° 58 '33.3 "  N , 11 ° 1' 25.7"  E