Paradise (architecture)
Paradise is a name given to certain vestibules on medieval churches.
historical development
In the St. Gallen monastery plan , around 820, courtyards around the two apses are named as plana paradisi and campus paradisiacus . Churches of the Cluniacens in Burgundy ( Cluny III (1135), Paray-le-Monial (11th century)) had extensive vestibules, while the Cistercians ( Pontigny , around 1170; Maulbronn , end of the 12th century) had larger vestibules. ), and on the domes of Mainz, Strasbourg, Merseburg or Fritzlar.
Their construction and function were varied. Early complexes were in the form of atrium-like forecourt (as in Maria Laach , 13th century). They were used for processions, as burial sites and offered asylum seekers a place of refuge. In Grimm's dictionary it is noted: " The forecourt of a church, which is sometimes provided with gardens (also for the burial place of the clergy), as well as the monastery garden and the burial place for the clergymen hiesz mlat. Paradisus and then German paradies. "
In the Gothic period, paradise vestibules often emerged before the entrances on the sides of the nave, where they preferably led to Marian portals (cathedrals in Magdeburg, Münster , Paderborn, Lübeck, Hildesheim). Some are still referred to as bridal portals , which is due to the fact that the vestibules were used as a place for church weddings until the Reformation and sometimes beyond.
In the post-medieval period, especially in smaller churches, instead of the paradise porches, only small porches covered with gable roofs were placed in front of the main entrances.
Related terms
Sometimes, but not always, “paradise” is synonymous with atrium, narthex or Galilee. The narthex is an inner vestibule, especially in Byzantine and early Christian churches, while the atrium is the courtyard that is usually in front of the west and is enclosed by a colonnade. Galilee is a name for porches from the Romanesque period in France ( galilée ) and England ( galilee ), examples: Vezelay, Tournus, Lincoln.
literature
- Lexicon for Theology and Church, Article Paradise , Vol. 8, p. 73.
- Ludwig Joutz: The medieval church forecourt in Germany, Berlin 1936.
- Grimm, German Dictionary, Vol. 13, Sp. 1456.
- Hans Reinhardt: Atrium, Paradise (forecourt), Galilaea (forechurch), vestibule (narthex, vestibule) . In: Real Lexicon on German Art History . tape 1 , 1937, p. 1197–1205 ( RDK Labor [accessed January 28, 2020]).