Marienaltar (Braunschweig)
The Marien Altar is one of the most important pieces of equipment in Braunschweig Cathedral . It was donated in 1188 by Duke Heinrich the Lion and his second wife Mathilde and consecrated in the cathedral on September 8, 1188 by Bishop Adelogs von Hildesheim . The Marienaltar is the only altar that has survived the 800-year history of the cathedral.
description
The Marienaltar consists of a 450 kg polished canteen (168.5 cm × 89 cm) made of gray-black so-called Belgian granite , a limestone that rests on five cast bronze hollow columns (height 95 cm). The four corner pillars are decorated with eagles on their capitals . The capital of the middle, thicker column, on the other hand, is decorated with lily leaves. An analysis of the column material showed a relationship between the metal alloy and the neighboring seven-armed chandelier . The Belgian granite used for the cafeteria comes from what is now the Belgian Hainaut around Tournai .
The inscription of the relic capsule
According to the medieval church regulations, relics were also placed in the Marien Altar, which did not necessarily have to be identical with the altar title. In 1966 a corresponding altar pulchrum in the form of a conical lead vessel was found in the central column capital. The lid, which has a diameter of 21 cm, bears the following incised Latin inscription:
- + ANNO. D [OMI] NI. MC LXXX. VIII. DEDICATV [M]. EST. HOC. ALTAR IN. HONORS. BEATE. THE. GENETRICIS. MARIE. / + AB. ADELOGO. VENERABILI. EP [ISCOP] O. HILDELSEM [EN] SI. FVNDANTE. AC. PROMOVE [N] TE. ILLVSTRI. DVCE. HENRICO. / + FILIO. FILIE. LOTHARII. INPERATORIS. ET RELIGIOSISSIMA. EIVS. CONSORTE. MATHILDI. / + FILIA. HENRICI. SECVNDI. REGIS ANGLOR [UM]. FILII. MATHILDIS. I [M] P [ER] AT [RI] CIS. ROMANOR [UM].
- Translated: “In the year of the Lord in 1188 this altar was consecrated in honor of the Blessed Mother of God Maria by Adelog, the venerable Bishop of Hildesheim through a foundation and at the instigation of the illustrious Duke Heinrich, the son of the daughter of Emperor Lothar, and his very pious wife Mathilde, the daughter of Henry II, the English king, the son of the Roman Empress Mathilde. "
The vessel contained several relics and the seal of Bishop Adelog of Hildesheim († 1190).
history
Bishop Adelog von Hildesheim consecrated the altar on September 8, 1188, the day of Mary's birth . Its first location was in the crossing area of the collegiate church of St. Blasius - in medio choro beati Blasii - around the current location of the seven-armed chandelier. The duke couple Heinrich the Lion and Mathilde are named in the dedicatory inscription as donors. Between 1175 and 1188, the precious Gospels of Henry the Lion was created as a foundation for the Marien Altar.
Investigations of the middle capital are documented for the years 1686, 1709 and 1881. During the opening in 1709, 43 inlaid relic particles were handed over to the abbot of Corvey Monastery . The donation was made in Salzdahlum Castle at the instigation of Duke Anton Ulrich, who converted to Catholicism in the same year . In 1966 the Marien Altar was moved to its current position in the first yoke of the nave. It stands a few meters west of its original location. On December 1, 1966, the central column capital was opened and the lead reliquary was found again. Due to cracks in the columns, the Marien Altar was last restored in 2000. It still contains the remains of the medieval reliquary.
literature
- Monika Soffner: The Braunschweiger Dom , Passau 1999, ISBN 3896434993
- Jochen Luckhardt , Franz Niehoff (ed.): Heinrich the lion and his time. Rule and Representation of the Welfs 1125-1235 , Volume 1, Catalog, pp. 192-195, Braunschweig 1995, ISBN 3777469009
Coordinates: 52 ° 15 ′ 51.4 " N , 10 ° 31 ′ 26.8" E