Rational (insignia)

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Cracow Superhumerale, donated by Queen Hedwig of Poland in 1384/85
Pope Clement II's grave figure with a rationale - in its actual form as a breastplate - on the northern choir screen of Bamberg Cathedral
Sculpture of Willibald von Eichstätt with superhumers in Eichstätter Cathedral

The Rationale ( Pl. Rationalien ), also Superhumerale (Pl. Superhumeralien ), is a medieval textile sign of dignity , which belonged to the regalia of popes and bishops and is only rarely used today.

Name origin

The terms rationale and superhumeral originally had different meanings: The term rationale used in the Vulgate comes from the Latin translation of the ancient Greek λόγιον logion "[from] saying, proverb, saying" for Hebrew חֹשֶׁן hoshen , the name of the breastplate wornby the Israelite high priest in the Old Testament , replaced by St. Jerome here. However, the Greek name λογείον logeίon and correspondingly Latin oraculum "oracle [saying], prophecy, prophecy" would be more appropriate with reference to the loose bag, which was sewn onto the breast shield consisting of twelve precious stones and which contained the two oracle stones Urim and Thummim . With these, the high priestshould determine YHWH's lottery for special decisions. Hieronymus explains the derivation of the term rationale in a letter to the Roman matrona Fabiola , who asked himto reporton Aaron's robes, on the rational as a breast ornament:

“ Hebraice vocatur, hosen ' [sic!] , Graece λόγιον [ logion ] , nos rationale possumus appellare, ut ex ipso statim nomine scias mysticum esse, quod dicitur. "

"In Hebrew it means 'hosen', in Greek λόγιον [ logion ], we can call it rational, so that one can recognize from the name that it is something mystical."

Jerome also explains:

“[...] ratione enim cuncta sunt plena et terrena haerent caelestibus [...] ; unde et rationale cum ephod fortius stringitur. "

“[...] everything participates in ratio , and the earthly depends on the heavenly [...]; therefore the rational is also firmly connected with the efod . "

The term superhumerale (from Latin super “over” and humeralis ( m. / F. ), Humerale ( n. ) “ Belonging to the shoulder, shoulder-”; thus about “shoulder throw”), however, coined Hieronymus in the Vulgate as a translation for the ancient Greek ἐπωμίδων epomidion to Hebrew אֵפוֹד ephod , which denotes the high priest's shoulder robe (for the exact delimitation from the rational see under historical development ).

In Germany, the shoulder jewelry is usually also referred to as rationale in the literature , while in France one sticks to the distinction of terms.

Historical development

In its original form, the rational goes back to the Hoshen , part of the official costume of the Israelite high priests in the Old Testament in the form of a splendid breast ornament, consisting of the loose pocket set with twelve precious stones . These stones symbolized the twelve tribes of Israel . The rational came up in the 6th century as an episcopal insignia and, in its design as a breastplate adorned with twelve precious stones, was in the direct tradition of the Hoshen - probably also based on Ex 28.30  EU , according to which Aaron “made the arbitration for the Israelites [with the Hoshen] over his heart constantly before the Lord. At the same time, it most likely represents a further development of the phylactery , an early Christian relic capsule worn as an amulet . Later the pectoral and artistic forms of the choir cloak developed from the rational . In the form of the breastplate there is no longer any rationality.

A distinction must be made between this and the superhumerale, a textile shoulder ornament with chest and back worn over the chasuble , most likely modeled on the efod of the high priest , which has been proven to be granted to numerous bishops and their successors as a papal privilege from the middle of the tenth century, sometimes as a papal privilege: by decree Bishop Bernhard von Halberstadt was granted the superhumeral for the first time by Pope Agapitus II . A papal certificate of privilege dated June 5, 1133 exists for Paderborn; However, the Paderborn bishop was only allowed to wear the superhumeral during church services on certain festive days. However, the award of this insignia by the Pope seems to have been the exception; In many dioceses the superhumeral was worn without any papal awards being known. In addition, as early as 581, the Synod of Mâcon emphasized that no bishop should celebrate the Eucharist without a pallium . The fact that this must actually be an early superhumeral comes from the liturgical work " Brief Explanation of the Ancient Gallic Liturgy " from the 7th century, which mentions a pallium reaching from the neck to the chest, called Rationale in the Old Testament .

In the twelfth century the superhumeral seems to have belonged to the usual pontifical clothing, at least in the areas of today's Germany and France. The sometimes rumored claim that the superhumeral was introduced because of the vanity of the suffragan bishops as a substitute for the pallium reserved for the archbishops cannot stand up to scientific consideration: all surviving specimens have a shape that corresponds to that of the biblical ephod and are made of precious Materials made. In addition, written sources and artistic representations - primarily the sculptures at Reims Cathedral - have shown that popes and archbishops also carried the rational and / or superhumeral in addition to the pallium.

Significance for the present

Although the superhumeral was widespread in the Middle Ages, today only the archbishops of Paderborn and Krakow carry it in liturgical celebrations - due to their position as metropolitan seats together with the pallium - and the bishops of Eichstätt and Nancy-Toul - here as a right of the former Diocese of Toul. The forms vary within these dioceses. Today, apart from the places mentioned, there is only one copy from the 11th century in the Bamberg Cathedral Treasure and one from the first quarter of the 14th century in Regensburg . In addition, there is a replica of the Regensburg Superhumerale in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich and in Würzburg the end pieces of another textile rationale (around 1200) discovered during excavations in the cathedral in 1965 in the form of embossed metal plates with the symbols of the four evangelists . In the Vatican Library there is also a drawing from 1666 of the old Paderborn Superhumerale from 1133, the year of papal approval.

Much more frequently than preserved original pieces, on the other hand, are representations of bishops with rationalities in both forms on seals, sculptures or gravestones. This is demonstrated particularly impressively by the Eichstätter Gundekarianum , a work commissioned by Bishop Gundekar II with, among other things, images of the Eichstätt chief shepherds, who have always worn the superhumeral from the end of the 12th century until today. The sculptures of the bishops of the cathedrals in Reims , Chartres and Paris are also significant contemporary testimonies . Holy patrons were also depicted with the superhumerale: In the Eichstätter tradition, the diocese founder, the Benedictine monk Willibald von Eichstätt , is depicted ahistorically in various forms with the superhumerale; This attribute of saints can also be found in Lambert von Lüttich .

  • Three models in comparison

  • Superhumeral in a high medieval shape with a chest, back (not visible here) and two shoulder stripes

  • Cracow superhumerale (late 14th century) with two crossed stripes on the chest and back and one decorative disc in the center

  • Eichstätter Superhumerale (late 15th century) with two stripes on the chest and two backs and bells on them, decorative discs on the shoulders

literature

  • Franz Bock : History of the liturgical vestments of the Middle Ages . 3 volumes, Bonn 1859–71 (reprint: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1964).
  • The Westphalian Seal of the Middle Ages , ed. from the Association for the History and Archeology of Westphalia, Volume 2, 1st section: The seals of the bishops , edited by G. Tümbält, Münster 1885.
  • Ludwig Eisenhofer: The Episcopal Rationale, Its Origin and Development , Munich 1904.
  • Joseph Braun : Das Rationale , in: Journal for Christian Art , Vol. 16 (1903), Col. 97–124.
  • Joseph Braun: The liturgical garment in Occident and Orient according to origin and development, use and symbolism , Herder, Freiburg i. Br. 1907.
  • Joseph Braun: Liturgisches Handlexikon , Regensburg 1922.
  • Joseph Braun: The liturgical paraments in the present and past , Freiburg 1924.
  • Joseph Braun: Misinterpreted representations in the Patrokli-Dom , in: Westfalen , Bd. 25 (1940), p. 17f. (Representation of Aarons with Rationale)
  • Joseph Braun: Costume and Attributes of the Saints in German Art , Stuttgart 1943.
  • Joseph Braun: The Liturgical Paraments in the Present and Past. Reprographic reprint of the second, improved edition, Verlag nova & vetera, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-936741-07-7 , pp. 151-153.
  • Beda Kleinschmidt : The Rationale of Toul , in: Journal for Christian Art , Vol. 16 (1903), Sp. 273-280.
  • Beda Kleinschmidt: The Rationale in the Occidental Church , in: Archive for Christian Art , year 1904, pp. 9–11, 22–27, 39–42, 52–56, 64–68, 78–80, 88–92 .
  • Beda Kleinschmidt: The rational in the cathedral treasure of Regensburg , in: Kirchenschmuck , Graz 1904.
  • Beda Kleinschmidt: The Rationale zu Paderborn , in: Journal for Christian Art , Vol. 18 (1905), Col. 235-252.
  • Beda Kleinschmidt: The rational. A liturgical decoration of honor by the Bishop of Paderborn , in: Der Catholic Seelsorger , Vol. 20 (1908), pp. 131-136.
  • Gertrud Lüke: Precious embroidery of the Middle Ages. The Paderborn Rationale of 1133 , in: Die Warte , Jg. 1975, no. 2, pp. 24-26.
  • Otto Schmidt : Breastplate (Rationale) , in: Reallexikon zur Deutschen Kunstgeschichte , Vol. 2 (1947), Sp. 1324-1326.
  • Klemens Honselmann : The Rationale of the Bishops , Association for the History and Antiquity of Westphalia, Paderborn Department, Paderborn 1975.
  • Klemens Honselmann: The Paderborn Rationale of the 12th Century , in: Festgabe für Alois Fuchs for his 70th birthday, ed. by W. Tack, Paderborn 1950, pp. 53-68.

Web links

Wiktionary: Rationale  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Remarks

  1. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 11.
  2. ^ Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum ( CSEL ) 54 (1910), p. 600 ff .; Ep. 64, cap. 16.
  3. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , pp. 20-21.
  4. ↑ CSEL 54 (1910), p. 600 ff .; Ep. 64, cap. 18th
  5. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 21.
  6. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 64.
  7. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , pp. 11-12.
  8. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 30.
  9. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 37.
  10. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 12.
  11. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 26.
  12. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 119.
  13. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 28.
  14. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 14.
  15. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 28.
  16. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , pp. 14-15.
  17. ↑ Renate Baumgärtel-Fleischmann : Das Bamberger Rationale , in: Sabine Martius, Sibylle Ruß (Ed.): Historische Textilien , Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg 2002, pp. 207–222.
  18. ^ Regensburg Rationale on the pages of the Diözesanmuseum Regensburg.
  19. ↑ Klemens Honselmann: Das Rationale der Bischöfe , p. 12.