Seven-armed candlestick (Essen)

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The seven-armed chandelier, in the background the Michael window of the west choir
The satyr holding the “Aquilo” tape
Detailed drawings of the knobs by Georg Humann
The chandelier from a different perspective

The seven-armed chandelier is a large candlestick from the Essen Cathedral Treasury . Today it stands on the ground floor of the westwork of Essen Cathedral . The candlestick, dated around the year 1000, is an important work of bronze art from the early Middle Ages and the oldest surviving seven-armed church chandelier ever.

description

The chandelier is 2.26 meters high and has a span of 1.88 meters. It is made of bronze in the slush molding manufactured and consists of 46 items, the inside of an iron frame to be stabilized. It stands on an approximately 60 cm high square stone base, which is probably a Roman spoil , originally a pedestal or an altar of consecration. The chandelier has a square base with sloping walls and a tent-shaped roof that rests on four three-toed lion claws. On the corners of the foot sat four small bronze figures depicting satyrs, representing the cardinal points . Only the figure inscribed Aquilo (north) is completely preserved. Two other figures are partially preserved, the remains are labeled Oriens (east) and Occidens (west). The fourth figure was probably labeled Meridies (south). The foot, richly articulated with ribbons and rivets in the form of small devil masks, closes at the top with a balustrade-shaped body from which the trunk of the chandelier grows. On this end of the foot there is a horizontal band with the inscription Mathild abatissa me fieri jussit et Christo consecravit ( Abbess Mathild commissioned me and consecrated me to Christ ). This inscription allows the candlestick to be dated, as Mathilde was abbess of the women's monastery in Essen from 973 to 1011 . The trunk of the chandelier is made up of vertical tendril fields, each interrupted in the middle by a spherical knob. The three pairs of arms branch off from three chalice-shaped connecting pieces, which are elliptically curved upwards and end at the same height as the candle plate that closes the trunk. The arms of the chandelier are smooth-walled, they are decorated in regular sections with alternating spherical and polygonal knobs, which are designed with stylized leaf ornaments and inserted gemstones ( heliotropes , smoky quartz , various agates , amethysts , malachites , jaspers and rock crystals ). The entire chandelier was probably originally gilded.

Since both Byzantine elements in the ornaments and Lower Saxon influences can be determined, it is assumed that the chandelier was made in northwest Germany, possibly in Hildesheim , where a little later, with the Bernward door and Christ column, other important bronze works of art were created; However, the place of manufacture is not certain. Production in Essen itself is being considered; Klaus Gereon Beuckers has proven that the Marsus shrine and the cross with the large sinkholes , which were built around the same time as the candlestick, were made in Essen. What speaks in favor of Essen is that the client had to provide the material and was able to monitor its use during production on site.

interpretation

The shape of the seven-armed candlestick in Essen Cathedral corresponds to the Jewish menorah and is derived from the same Old Testament Bible passage in Exodus 37, 17-24. In early Christianity the "seven" symbolized the unity of the divine and the earthly, since it united the "three" of the trinity and the "four" of the earthly cardinal points. At the same time, the number seven stood for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit , while the candlestick stood for Christ himself. The Essen candlestick also symbolizes the light of the world, which shines in all four wind directions represented by the bronze figures of the foot, in order to bring all people home to Christ at the end of the day. This reference to the final judgment over all people and the resurrection from the dead allows the interpretation that the Abbess Mathilde had it made as her memorial candlestick.

history

The choir of the cathedral church in 1904, recognizable the candlestick in the choir and the Altfrid grave in the foreground

The original location of the chandelier is unknown. As a memorial chandelier for Mathilde, it may have been in a location related to Mathilde's grave, which is believed to be in the crypt of the collegiate church. When the church was redecorated, the candlestick changed its location several times: in the 14th century, when the sacred processes of the services were recorded in the pen in the liber ordinarius , it stood in the central nave near the crossing and thus near the cross altar; later it stood temporarily in the Choir room. It was given its current location in the westwork in 1958, when space had to be created to accommodate the bishopric due to the redesign of the choir.

Due to the rather low material value, the chandelier was less threatened by looting than the other art treasures in the cathedral treasure. While the precious gold and silver treasures like the Golden Madonna or the Cross of Otto and Mathilde in the Thirty Years' War , during the First Coalition War and during the Ruhr uprising were spent or hidden, was the seven-branched candlestick only in the Second World War, dismantled and outsourced. As a result, he survived the destruction of the Essen Minster by an air raid on the night of March 5th to 6th, 1943.

The chandelier has been restored several times, most recently in 1987. The chandelier was previously measured photogrammatically in all details, so that today it would be possible to make an exact copy. As early as 1873, two copies of the seven-armed candlestick in Essen were made, one for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the other for the Berlin museums.

use

Little is known about the historical use of the chandelier. The liber ordinarius reproduces the liturgical situation in Essen monastery almost four hundred years after the candlestick was built. Although the manuscript is probably based on older models, the extent to which the scribes took over from these models is not known. The candlestick is rarely mentioned in the liber ordinarius . At Pentecost , however, he was the focus of the liturgy: the candles were lit, the scholars knelt around him and sang a hymn to the risen Christ.

Nowadays the candles of the seven-armed candlestick are lit at high feasts as well as on particularly important occasions such as the appointments of bishops.

literature

  • Peter Bloch : Seven-armed candlesticks in Christian churches . In: Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 23, 1961, pp. 55–190.
  • Peter Bloch: The style of the Essen chandelier . In: The first millennium , 2nd text volume 1, Schwann, Düsseldorf 1962, pp. 534–548.
  • Vera Henkelmann: The seven-armed candlestick of the Essen cathedral and the memoria of Abbess Mathilde . In: Birgitta Falk , Thomas Schilp , Michael Schlagheck (eds.): ... how the gold shines in the eyes. Treasures from the Essen women's monastery. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89861-786-4 , pp. 151-167.
  • Georg Humann : The works of art of the cathedral church to eat . Düsseldorf 1904, pp.? - ?.
  • Leonhard Küppers : The Essen Minster . Fredebeul & Koenen, Essen 1963, pp.? - ?.
  • Leonhard Küppers, Paul Mikat : The Essen Minster Treasure . Fredebeul & Koenen, Essen 1963, pp. 48-52.
  • Alfred Pothmann: The Essen church treasure from the early days of the monastery history . In: Günther Berghaus, Thomas Schilp (Hrsg.): Dominion, education and prayer. Foundation and beginnings of the Essen women's monastery. Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2000, ISBN 3-88474-907-2 , pp. 135-153.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Georg Humann: The works of art of the Münsterkirche to Essen. Düsseldorf 1904, p. 194.
  2. ↑ Georg Humann: The works of art of the Münsterkirche to Essen. Düsseldorf 1904, p. 193.
  3. ↑ Pothmann p. 140, cf. also Exodus 37, 17–24.
  4. ↑ Georg Humann: The works of art of the Münsterkirche to Essen. Düsseldorf 1904, p. 205 expressly rejected Hildesheim and spoke out in favor of Byzantium. Without further justification, Pothmann accepts Essen as the place of manufacture.
  5. ↑ a b c Pothmann p. 140.
  6. ↑ Heinz Dohmen : Münsterbaubericht 1986. In: Das Münster am Hellweg. Bulletin of the Association for the Preservation of the Essen Minster. 40, 1987, pp. 158-161.
  7. ↑ Jürgen Bärsch: The Essen cathedral church as a place of worship. To celebrate the liturgy in the medieval Essen Abbey. In: Günther Berghaus, Thomas Schilp (Hrsg.): Dominion, education and prayer. Foundation and beginnings of the Essen women's monastery. Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2000, p. 80.
  8. ↑ Jürgen Bärsch: The Essen cathedral church as a place of worship. To celebrate the liturgy in the medieval Essen Abbey. In: Günther Berghaus, Thomas Schilp (Hrsg.): Dominion, education and prayer. Foundation and beginnings of the Essen women's monastery. Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2000, p. 85.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on May 2, 2007 .