Bremen baptismal font

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The baptismal font in the west crypt of Bremen Cathedral

The Bremer fonts (also called Bremer baptismal font called) is a late Romanesque baptismal font from bronze in Bremen Cathedral , which in the 13th century under Archbishop Gerhard II. Has been made. It is one of the oldest church treasures in the cathedral and is an important work of art in Northern Germany.

history

The baptismal font was probably made around 1230 by a Bremen bell founder . This makes it one of the oldest preserved pieces of equipment in the St. Petri Cathedral, as all older church treasures were destroyed in the Bremen fire in 1041.

The oldest mention of the baptismal font can be found in the chronicle of Rinesberch and Schene : During a procession on October 10, 1311, St. Victor is said to have appeared to the cathedral dean Boge in the nave on the other side of the baptism . The location of the baptismal font has been changed several times over the course of history. In the 17th century it stood in front of the second window from the west in the north aisle; In 1811 the baptistery was set up in the easternmost side chapel of the south aisle and in 1959 it was moved to its current location in the west crypt, the oldest preserved room in Bremen. Baptism has been there ever since and is still in use today.

description

The basin has a height of 87 cm (without a stone base)  and a diameter of 95 cm with a wall thickness of 2-4 cm. Its capacity is 216.5  liters , which corresponds to 1  Oxhoft or 1½  ohms of wine or 3 Bremen cereal bushels of around 72.5 liters each.

The baptism was made using the lost wax technique . The material used corresponds to the bell bronze customary in the Middle Ages according to the specifications of Theophilus Presbyter . The basin has a symmetrical structure and is divided into two areas: a base zone with four sculptural support figures and a basin zone with surrounding embellishments in relief . Figures and basins come from different artists. The figures may be older than the actual pool and date from the 12th century.

The original lid of the basin has not been preserved. A drawing from 1690 in Adam Storck's Views of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and its surroundings still exists of a baroque lid that was added later . This cover, carved from wood, was made around 1640 under Vicar Andreas von Mandelsloh or Archbishop Friedrich II .

Image program

The lion riders

The lion riders

A striking feature of the Bremen baptismal font are the four lion riders as portrayals. They cannot be found in any earlier example, which is why they were also referred to as the Bremen lion rider type. The lion riders are divided into two groups: two bearded figures (in the north and south) put their hands on their hips, two beardless figures (in the west and east) hold the lions by their ears. The figures have large heads and delicate bodies and - unlike the related, widely used atlas motif  - seem to carry the pelvis effortlessly on their shoulders.

The lions lie quietly under the figures. They have manes with a teardrop-shaped pattern, which are interrupted around the head by a kind of “collar” or “bib”. The erect heads with erect ears appear alert. The mouths are slightly open and show the tongue and teeth.

Samson Aquamanile from Lower Saxony, 2nd quarter of the 12th century

A small figure kneels in the mouth of the southern lion and holds onto the lion's nose with its arms, but the head and legs broke off at some point and are now missing. This representation can be understood as a reference to the danger that threatens sinners , as it is mentioned in Psalm 22, 22 : Libera me ex ore leonis ('Save me from the jaws of the lion'). On the other hand, the lion as a bearer or mount symbolizes the conquered power of evil. It is probably a Samson motif , as it appears in contemporary small bronze works such as aquamaniles (a liturgical water vessel) or candlesticks.

Door puller on the right portal of the Bremen Cathedral

Stylistically, the lions in the baptismal font are related to the lion heads of the door pullers on the bronze portals of the cathedral and to some stone carvings on the building itself. In addition, a striking resemblance to the stone lions in the baptismal font in Halberstadt Cathedral can be ascertained.

The basin

The actual baptismal font is decorated with two rows of arcades in relief, which are bordered by ornamental bands. The upper row with 26 arcades shows just as many standing full-length figures, the lower row with 20 arcades shows 12 half-figures . Two arcades in the lower row directly above the lions' heads remain empty.

Only three figures standing close together in the top row can be identified by their individual characteristics: Christ with a cross nimbus and a cross with a flag of victory, Peter , the Dompatron with a disproportionately large key and Paul with a sword. The figure of Christ is the only one that has no standing surface, but "floats" freely. The other 23 figures correspond to two basic models and show unspecified apostles and saints holding books or banners (with no recognizable inscription). The half-figures in the lower row are all based on a model and have no individual characteristics.

The three ornamental bands consist of a palmette pattern , which was widespread in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries and is considered a stylized representation of the tree of paradise . The ornamental band at the upper edge of the basin is interrupted at two points, where two protruding mask-like heads are attached, the faces of which are very similar to those of the lion riders. The heads probably originally served as a holder for the lid of the basin.

classification

Together with the Hildesheim bronze baptism , which was created at the same time, the Bremen baptismal font is one of the oldest bronze baptismal fonts worn by figures in Germany, even if the elements of the Bremen basin show a less sophisticated and artful style than those of the Hildesheim basin. Formally, it is a particularly rare mixed form of the atlas motif, known since the Krodo altar from the late 11th century, and the lion motif common in stone and metal baptisms - in the combination of both elements here with reference to the Samson theme. Only two later examples of this lion rider type are known: the baptismal font cast by Nikolaus von Stettin in 1392 in the St. Blasius Church in Münden and the bronze baptism cast by Gottfried Klinghe in 1498 in the Dionysius Church in Debstedt .

literature

  • Hermann Alexander Müller: The baptismal font of the cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . Volume 6, 1871, pp. 26-34 ( digitized version ).
  • Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in Bremen's St. Petri Cathedral . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . Volume 74/75, 1995/96, pp. 29-66 ( digitized version ).
  • Johann Christian Bosse, Hans Henry Lamotte : The Bremen Cathedral . Recordings by Lothar Klimek . 2nd revised edition. 1998, ISBN 3-7845-4231-X .

Web links

Commons : Bremen baptismal font  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Hermann Alexander Müller: The baptismal font of the cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 6 , 1872, p. 26 .
  2. ↑ a b Herbert Schwarzwälder : The Great Bremen Lexicon . Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X , p.  203 .
  3. ^ Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 74/75 (1995/96) , pp. 61 .
  4. ↑ Gerd Rinesberch , Herbord Schene , Johann Hemeling : The Bremen Chronicle of Rienesberch, Schene and Hemeling . In: The Chronicles of the German Cities . tape  37 . Bremen, S. 116 (1968/96).
  5. ↑ West crypt. St. Petri Dom Bremen, accessed on February 12, 2013 .
  6. ↑ Reinhold Spichal: Were medieval bronze baptismal fonts also embodied spatial dimensions? Eichamt Bremen, accessed on February 12, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Drawing of the baroque lid (1690). The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen, accessed on February 12, 2013 .
  8. ^ Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 74/75 (1995/96) , pp. 40 .
  9. ^ Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 74/75 (1995/96) , pp. 63 .
  10. ^ Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 74/75 (1995/96) , pp. 49 .
  11. ↑ cf. Bremen coat of arms
  12. ^ Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 74/75 (1995/96) , pp. 50 .
  13. ^ Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 74/75 (1995/96) , pp. 29 .
  14. ^ Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 74/75 (1995/96) , pp. 58 .
  15. ^ Silvia Schlegel: The bronze baptismal font in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape 74/75 (1995/96) , pp. 65 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 4 ′ 31.5 ″  N , 8 ° 48 ′ 32 ″  E