Korneliushorn from St. Severin

Lateral view of the Kornelius horn from St. Severin

The Korneliushorn from St. Severin (also: Corneliushorn, Horn of St. Cornelius ) is a high quality decorated buffalo horn that has been used as a reliquary in the St. Severin Church in Cologne since around 1500. It is part of the church treasury of the Romanesque basilica .

context

The horn is the iconographic saint attribute of Pope Cornelius , which goes back to a misinterpretation of the name "Cornelius" from the Latin "cornu" (horn) and led to his role as patron of the "horned cattle". The center of his veneration is the Rhine-Maas area , after the relics of the saint came to the region in the 9th century. In the Aachen Abbey Church of St. Kornelius , formerly the monastery church of the Imperial Abbey of Kornelimünster , a relic is venerated as the head of the saint.

According to legend, Cornelius related to the horn because the saint received the claw of a griffin as a gift after he had cured him of epilepsy through prayers . Then he used the claw as a drinking vessel. Accordingly, the term “griffin claw” for such a horn, regardless of its use, is associated with Cornelius.

description

Detail of the upper tire with coat of arms and precious stones

The horn - a "griffin claw" - is a brown-gray buffalo horn framed with goldsmith's work , as it was used in aristocratic circles as a drinking vessel or as a hunting horn .

According to a description by Franz Bock from 1858, the horn has a wingspan of 28 centimeters and a diameter of 10 centimeters at its opening. It is lined lengthwise with three narrow ribbons. In addition, there are two wider, profiled and silver-gold-plated metal bands at the mouth and in the middle, which are alternately set with 23 coats of arms, some of which are duplicated, as well as amethysts , rubies and other precious stones and bordered with leaf friezes . A silver-gold-plated cap with a shaft adorned with gemstones is attached to the horn tip, which ends in a small knob with tiny quatrefoil roses and a hanging oak leaf wreath at the tip . Franz Bock interpreted this degree as a mouthpiece and horn accordingly not as a drinking vessel, but as a hunting horn (horn) as of knights and princes in falconry had been used.

At the lower curve of the horn, near the mouth, another, larger coat of arms with a plant ornament is applied on a golden plate, next to which the text “mitz willen” is engraved on a banner in Gothic minuscule font.

Grating to protect the relics

A grating attached to the opening around 1500 when it was rededicated as a reliquary allows the believers to see the relics.

An ornate and inscribed base of the parish of St. Severin dates from 1937 and had it made by Fritz Zehgruber for the 700th anniversary of the consecration and high choir of the church. It contains another holder which, when installed in the church, normally holds the relic, a silver-driven bishop's staff with a wooden core, which is venerated as the Severinus staff .

Origin and dating

The silver-gilt edging of this Kornelius horn was probably made in the second half of the 14th century or later, as indicated by the coats of arms, silver-gilt ribbons and precious stones of the decoration. The coats of arms refer to an origin outside the Rhineland, according to Franz Bock (1858) and Herbert Rode (1951) they indicate a. a. towards Bohemian, Bavarian and French noble houses.

The rededication as a reliquary can be determined by a written dating of the attached notes (cedulae) to the time around 1500. Since then, the horn has been used as a reliquary and thus as a Kornelius horn and, in addition to the “physical remains” of Cornelius, those of Cyprianus , Hubert , Elisabeth and relics of the 11,000 Ursuline virgins are kept in it. In 1737 the reliquary was listed in the treasury register of St. Severin; in 1829 relics of St. Severin were added.

Due to the spatial affiliation of the two saints Cornelius - already one of the patrons of Severin's Church in the Middle Ages - and Ursula , the city patroness of Cologne, it can be assumed that the horn was reworked as a reliquary for Cologne or even especially for St. Severin.

Todays use

Usually the valuable vessel is kept locked in the reliquary cabinet on the north wall of the choir of St. Severin. Once a week, however, it is shown together with the Severinus staff at a service - the "croissant mass" - in the parish church of St. Severin. In 2010 it was part of the Hidden Treasures exhibition . Masterpieces of Gothic goldsmithing from Cologne in the treasure chamber of Cologne Cathedral . During a renovation measure in St. Severin in March 2016, the horn will be outsourced to the Museum Schnütgen for a period of two months , where it will complement the current special presentation In the footsteps of relics and saints . The croissant fair is therefore also taking place once in the museum, which is located in the former but not profaned collegiate church of St. Cäcilien .

literature

Paul Clemen : The art monuments of the city of Cologne. The church monuments of the city of Cologne. (= Die Kunstdenkmäler der Rheinprovinz. Seventh Volume, II. Section ), Schwann, Düsseldorf 1929, pp. 718–719
Sabine Czymmek: The Cologne Romanesque Churches. Treasure art in: Colonia Romanica. Yearbook of the Förderverein Romanische Kirchen XXIII Förderverein Romanische Kirchen Köln eV, Cologne 2008. ISBN 978-3-7743-0422-2 ; Pp. 216-217.
Herbert Rode: St. Severin in Cologne. Greven Verlag, Cologne 1951, p. 32

Web links

Commons : Korneliushorn from St. Severin - collection of images, videos and audio files

The "croissant" from St. Severin. Catholic parish of St. Severin, Cologne

Individual evidence

↑ Joachim Oepen: Horn of St. Cornelius . In: Leonie Becks (Ed.): Hidden Treasures. Masterpieces of Gothic goldsmithing from Cologne. Exhibition in the treasury of Cologne Cathedral, December 3, 2010 to April 3, 2011 . Cologne 2010, p. 54 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Franz Bock: St. Severin . In: The Holy Cologne: Description of the medieval art treasures in its churches and sacristies from the areas of goldsmithing and parament . Leipzig 1858, p. 6–8 (No. 115) ( digitized from digital-sammlungen.de , p. 503ff).
↑ The "croissant" from St. Severin :. Katholische Kirchengemeinde St. Severin, Cologne, accessed on March 19, 2016 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Sabine Czymmek: The Cologne Roman churches. Treasure art in: Colonia Romanica. Yearbook of the Förderverein Romanische Kirchen XXIII Förderverein Romanische Kirchen Köln eV, Cologne 2008. ISBN 978-3-7743-0422-2 ; Pp. 216-217.
^ Herbert Rode: St. Severin in Cologne . Greven Verlag, Cologne 1951, p. 32 .
↑ ^a ^b The Korneliushorn from St. Severin visits the Schnütgen Museum. Museum Schnütgen, accessed on March 18, 2016 .

[1] Joachim Oepen: Horn of St. Cornelius . In: Leonie Becks (Ed.): Hidden Treasures. Masterpieces of Gothic goldsmithing from Cologne. Exhibition in the treasury of Cologne Cathedral, December 3, 2010 to April 3, 2011 . Cologne 2010, p. 54 .

[:1-2] Franz Bock: St. Severin . In: The Holy Cologne: Description of the medieval art treasures in its churches and sacristies from the areas of goldsmithing and parament . Leipzig 1858, p. 6–8 (No. 115) ( digitized from digital-sammlungen.de , p. 503ff).

[3] The "croissant" from St. Severin :. Katholische Kirchengemeinde St. Severin, Cologne, accessed on March 19, 2016 .

[czymmek-4] Sabine Czymmek: The Cologne Roman churches. Treasure art in: Colonia Romanica. Yearbook of the Förderverein Romanische Kirchen XXIII Förderverein Romanische Kirchen Köln eV, Cologne 2008. ISBN 978-3-7743-0422-2 ; Pp. 216-217.

[5] Herbert Rode: St. Severin in Cologne . Greven Verlag, Cologne 1951, p. 32 .

[:0-6] The Korneliushorn from St. Severin visits the Schnütgen Museum. Museum Schnütgen, accessed on March 18, 2016 .