Gilbert von Laach
Giselbert von Laach , actually Giselbert von Affligem (* around 1075; † August 6, 1152 in Laach ), briefly called Gilbert von Laach , was a Brabant Benedictine monk and fourth prior of Laach of the Cluniac monastery, Affligem Abbey, founded in 1062 in the county of Brabant , today Belgium . In 1127 he was appointed the first abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Laach ( Abbatia ad Lacum ) in the Eifel , founded in 1093 . With the independence of Laach Abbey in 1138, he was also the first abbot of the now independent monastery. Church construction made progress during his tenure ( nave , crossing tower , west choir).
Funerary mosaic
His grave with the tombstone made by Lombard sculptors was repeatedly forgotten over the centuries. The burial place was last rediscovered without a mosaic during the major renovation of the crypt in 1936. His bones are still buried in Gilbert's grave (a tuff coffin ) in the floor of the crypt of the Laacher church. The sarcophagus lid with the famous Gilbert mosaic was located above the grave until 1816 , an absolute rarity in terms of design and occurrence from this time, in which even imperial graves were made without a copy. The original lid has been in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn since 1823 and can be viewed there. The lid, made of light sandstone, is set in a black, grooved and polished basalt frame, the framed, free-standing lid surface of which is occupied by the mosaic, which is flush with the frame at the top (dimensions: 115 cm × 72 cm). The lower part of the frame (approx. 30 cm in length) is missing across the entire width, as is the lower part (approx. A third) of the mosaic with the grave inscription, revealing the light top of the lid. Six lines of the ten-line epitaph have been broken off with the exception of one end of the line. Since the text was handed down in a script in the Nuremberg Germanic National Museum , the mosaic text could be added true to the original.
The mosaic shows the abbot as a half-length figure in alb and red cope with the official attribute of the abbot's staff in his right hand, the left hand raised in a cross stroke. His head shows side hairlines (tonsure and age-related hair loss on the forehead), his clear and noble facial features indicate a knightly descent. With this mosaic, an image of the first abbot has come down to us, the only one among the first abbots.
From analogies to similar grave mosaics, there are indications that the plate must have been longer, that is, that a piece of the cover was also cut off. Below the text area, the lower hem of the robe, the end of the staff and the abbot's shoes should be shown as a complete reclining figure. The mosaic copy was made by P. Rodbod Commandeur (1937), who repeatedly rendered outstanding services to the monastery in architectural terms (including the creation of the lion fountain ), and had the lower part of the text that was missing in the original supplemented. This copy covers the grave set in the crypt floor (contrary to the practice of admitting the plate facing east, it was inserted the wrong way round because of the inscription). The original and translated grave text reads:
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The passage “IDIBUS • OCTONIS” in the Roman calendar means the “eighth of the Ides ” (= the 8th day before the Ides, that is the 13th of January, February, Junius, Sextilis (Augustus), September, November, December , the 6th of the month), the reign of the sun in Leo is “August”. The letters "H • M • P" in the upper right corner of the mosaic in downward script can indicate with the meaning "Hic monumentum posuit" (who created the tomb) that his monks found him in the crypt of the abbey church just below the Bury high altar. Another interpretation with the preceding name and title indicates his quality as the first abbot: "GILBERT • ABB • H • M • P •" = "GILBERT ABBAS H [UIUS] M [ONASTERII] P [RIMUS]": "Gilbert - this monastery first abbot ”.
Gilberts von Laach is commemorated on August 6th . - Because since 1863 Abbey Laach by the Jesuits in Maria Laach abbey was renamed, you will also find the name "Gilbert of Khajuraho".
Individual evidence
- ^ Dethard von Winterfeld: The Maria Laach Abbey Church . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, 2004, p. 107 ff.
literature
- P. Basilius Sandner OSB and Karl-Heinz Schumacher: The monastery church Maria Laach . Sutton Verlag, Erfurt 2007; ISBN 3-86680-124-6
- Dethard von Winterfeld : The Abbey Church Maria Laach . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, 2004; ISBN 3-7954-1681-7
Web links
- Public domain image of the restored tombstone Giselbert
- Gilbert von Laach, freely naming Jörn
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gilbert von Laach |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Giselbert van Afflighem; Giselbert von Affligem; Giselbert von Laach; Gilbert by Maria Laach |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | first abbot of the Benedictine monastery Laach in the Eifel |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1075 |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 6, 1152 |
| Place of death | Laach Abbey |