Chrodoara sarcophagus
Coordinates: 50 ° 32 ′ 55.8 " N , 5 ° 19 ′ 4.3" E
The empty sarcophagus of Chrodoara , also Oda von Amay , was found in 1977 in the small Belgian town of Amay on the Meuse not far from Liège during archaeological excavations in the choir of the Romanesque collegiate church of Saint-Georges at a depth of about three meters. The trapezoidal sarcophagus made of sandstone with a simple body and a richly decorated lid, according to experts, dates from the 6th to 8th centuries AD and is considered an important work of art of the Merovingian era.
The sarcophagus measures 1.84 m in length. In width it tapers from 60 cm at the head section to 30 cm at the foot section. It also tapers in height from 40 cm at the head section to 20 cm at the foot section. The lid of the sarcophagus shows, amidst rich ornaments, the portrait of a woman who, according to the inscription on the headboard SCA CHRODOARA (translation: St. Chrodoara), is Chrodoara. She is shown as an abbess with an abbot's staff in her hand. The sides of the sarcophagus lid are decorated with ornaments. A more detailed inscription on the back of the head of the lid describes the buried lady in more detail:
"+ CHRODOARA NUBELIS
MAGNA ET INCLITIS
EX SUA SUBSTANCIA
DICTAVIT SANCTOARIA +"
"Chrodoara the nobleman
generously and cheaply
from her own fortune
donated shrines."
The discovery prompted a careful review of the sources available for this family:
- In the will of Adalgisel Grimo , written on December 30, 634, this nobleman mentions that his aunt, whose name is not mentioned, was buried in the church of Saint-Georges de Amay. It is the oldest mention of the church of Saint-Georges in Amay and a noble lady buried in it.
- In the world chronicle of Sigebert von Gembloux from the beginning of the 12th century, the wife of Duke Boggis of Aquitaine, St. Oda by Amay, commemorated 711. The year 711 at Sigebert is, however, set far too late, as a comparison with other news about Boggis and Oda shows.
- A more detailed source, the Vita Landiberti episcopi Traiectensis (Vita of Bishop Lambert of Maastricht ) by Canon Nicholas from the 12th century, describes Duke Boggis of Aquitaine and his widow Oda of Amay more closely, Oda than amita , d. H. as Lambert's aunt on his father's side, who donated churches from her property.
- The Vita sanctae Odae vidua (the life of the holy widow Oda) , written around 1245, also tells us that she was the wife of Duke Boggis of Aquitaine. After the early death of her husband, she took off her veil and, as a widow, donated several churches from her property on her property, including the collegiate church of Saint-Georges in Amay, where she was buried after her death and was particularly venerated.
At the point where the sarcophagus was found, the donor's grave was expected. The investigations suggest an identity of the Chrodoara with Oda von Amay. The saint would then have been venerated under a nickname for centuries and her actual proper name would have been forgotten. For her husband, Duke Boggis, the correct Merovingian proper name is used as Bodogisel. The summary results in the following vita of the Chrodoara:
Chrodoara was born around the year 560. She married Duke Bodogisel of Aquitaine , a son of Mummolinus of Soissons . In 589 she was widowed after a short marriage, took the veil and led a pious life. She died before 634 after a long widowhood.
Trapezoidal sarcophagi often appear undecorated on the upper Meuse and the Moselle in the 8th and 9th centuries, but sometimes also decorated, such as the Willibrord sarcophagus from Echternach and the grave slab from Faha , a district of Mettlach in Saarland, which is decorated with a stylized image of man .
The bones of St. Oda were raised and reburied in a precious reliquary around 1250, which is one of the important art treasures of the collegiate church of Saint-Georges in Amay and contains a semi-sculptural image of St. Oda in silver shows. It too is empty today and the bones are lost.
literature
- J. Willems: Le Sarcophage de Sancta Chrodoara en l'eglise collegiale Saint-Georges d'Amay . Amay 1978 (Cercle Archéologique Hesbaye-Condroz, 15).
- Jacques Stiennon, Le sarcopharge de Sancta Chrodoara à Saint-Georges d'Amay. Essai d'interprétation d'une découverte exceptionnelle . In: Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 123e année, N. 1, 1979, 10-31. [2]
- Alain Dierkens (cond.), Le sarcophage de Sancta Chrodoara. 20 ans après sa découverte exceptionnelle. Actes du colloque international d'Amay 30 août 1997 . Amay 2006 (Cercle Archéologique Hesbaye-Condroz 25, 2000-2001).
Web links
- Amay: Sancta Chrodoara (French)
- Sarcophagus of the Chrodoara (English)
supporting documents
- ↑ “Sancta Oda, uxor Boggis ducis Aquitanorum, sanctitate claret in Gallia, quae aecclesias Dei sua ditavit munificentia, et moriens in Leodicensi quievit parochia”
- ↑ "Oda ... Bohggis Aquitanorum ducis recens defuncti vidua"
- ^ Jacques Willems: Le Sarcophage de Sancta Chrodoara en l'eglise collegiale Saint-Georges d'Amay . Amay 1978 (Cercle Archéologique Hesbaye-Condroz, 15).
- ↑ Jacques Stiennon, Le sarcopharge de St Chrodoara in Saint-Georges d'Amay. Essai d'interprétation d'une découverte exceptionnelle . In: Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 123e année, N. 1, 1979, 10-31. [1]