Citation link:
https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/bhs1987/0113
GOTYCKA PŁASKORZEŹBA ALABASTROWA Z BRODNICY
568. Ks. Prof. Anastazemu Nadolnemu, Dyrektorowi Archiwum, serdecznie
dziękuję za ułatwienia w korzystaniu z tych materiałów. Por. A. CHU-
DZIŃSKI, Brodnica w XVIII wieku, „Wisła" XVII, 1903, s. 29.
108 Wizytacja generalna bp. Karola J. Hohenzollerna (1785), Pelplin,
Archiwum Diecezji Chełmińskiej, sygn. C 69, k. 25r.
109 Wizytacja dekanalna bp. Karola J. Hohenzollerna (1790), Pelplin,
Archiwum Diecezji Chełmińskiej, syg. C 69, k. 50r.
GOTHIC ALABASTER RELIEF FROM BRODNICA
In the Diocesan Museum in Pelplin there are two frag-
ments of an alabaster relief which were excavated from the
debris in one of the towers of the parish church in Brodnica
(Toruń voivodship) in the early 1970's. The panel belongs to
a series of horizontal reliefs representing the scene of the
Adoration of the Magi with Mary on a bed. Three events in
the life of Jesus Christ have been combined in these works:
the Nativity, the episode witli the midwives, and the Adoration
of the Magi. The iconographic type of the Adoration of the
Magi in question started in the 6th century A.D. in Palestine
and was frequent in Byzantine art. In Western art it occurred
sporadieally. Scenes with the Adoration of the Magi and
Mary resting on a bed gained a certain popularity in the
West in the second half of the 14th century.
The portrayal of Mary's confinement shows her immediate
participation in the incarnation of the Word of God. In the
Brodnica scene this state of the Mother of God seems to have
been further emphasized by representing her with breasts
and abdomen uncovered, probably in reference to the words
of the Evangelist (Luke XI, 27). Christ's assumption of
human nature has thus been pointed out, an event which
marked the beginning of his life on eartli and the beginning
of Salvation. In the Brodnica relief, Mary was presented not
only as the Mother of God, but also as a Queen, which is
certified by the crown on her head.
In the group of reliefs boing discussed, the Infant Christ
stands or sits on Mary's lap, which in the Middle Ages was
compared to Christ's Tomb. Jesus was represented as the
Saviour emerging from the Tomb. In the Long Melford
relief he is portrayed with shins uncovered and in the panels
from Brodnica, Bottenbroich, Kónigsberg (now Kaliningrad)
and Paderborn with the characteristic forward position of the
leg. The conneetion between Christ's Childhood and his
Passion is illustrated in this way. The correspondence is
underlined by the apple (a symbol of Salvation) held by the
standing Infant.
The women present at the Adoration of the Magi are
midwives. Their presence confirms Mary's Immaculate
Motherhood. The transcendence of God's Son who while
becoming a man has not ceased being God, is thus shown.
Mary, as the sign of this miracle, while becoming a mother
remained a virgin. The motif of the canopies held by the
midwives, which appears in the panels from Bottenbroich,
Kónigsberg and Stonyhurst College, could have been adopted
from the Officium Stellae Mystery, presented on the day of
the Epiphany or included in the cycle of plays performed on
Corpus Christi. The canopies, referring to the exegesis of the
symbols of velum and tabernaculum, probably reprosent the
tabernacle-veil, God's dwelling, heaven.
The way St. Joseph has been represented in the reliefs in
question (as a guardian, with open eyes), seems to illustrate
the interpretation popularized by the Golden Legend. St.
Joseph guarding Mary after the birth of Christ is one of the
signs of her Immaculate Motherhood. St. Joseph's Old Testa-
ment headdress may imply that he appears as a representative
of the Old Testament. His presence would thus also portray
the idea of God manifesting himself to the chosen nation or
be a proof of Christ's genealogy from David.
In the Middle Ages the symbolic meaning of the Magi's
gifts brought for Jesus and Mary was universally recognized.
Gold stood for Christ as king and man, frankincense represent-
ed his Divine Nature and his Resurrection and myrrh his
death and healing power, i.e. Salvation.
In the panels from Brodnica, Paderborn, Kónigsberg and
Stonyhurst College, the manger, in the form of a polygonal
pillar, was placed near the Christ Child. It may therefore be
assumed that the pillar-manger had a specific symbolic
meaning. The pillar in the scenes of Christ's Nativity combined
with the Adoration of the Magi may be described as the
nativity column, referring to Pseudo-Bonaventure's text,
or as a whipping pillar, referring to the principle of connecting
the events from Christ's Childhood and his Passion. In the
scenes being discussed, the pillar-manger should be inter-
preted as a whipping pillar, and similarly to Jesus' pose and
the apple in his hand, treated as an illustration of the idea of
connecting the Incarnation, the Epiphany and the Redemp-
tion. Some representations of the manger may be interpreted
as standing for the altar, which had once been in the Nativity
Basilica in Bethlehem, or with the mensa — the place of
celebrating the Eucharist. The genesis and development of
the idea about the correspondence between the Epiphany and
the Eucharist and ways in which it has been presented in art
were discussed by Ursula Nilgen.
Regardless of the consideration whether the battlement,
which probably had been at the top of the Brodnica panel,
and the almost monochromatic polychromy (with red as the
dominant colour) had a symbolic meaning, it is beyond
doubt that this representation of the Adoration of the Magi,
107
568. Ks. Prof. Anastazemu Nadolnemu, Dyrektorowi Archiwum, serdecznie
dziękuję za ułatwienia w korzystaniu z tych materiałów. Por. A. CHU-
DZIŃSKI, Brodnica w XVIII wieku, „Wisła" XVII, 1903, s. 29.
108 Wizytacja generalna bp. Karola J. Hohenzollerna (1785), Pelplin,
Archiwum Diecezji Chełmińskiej, sygn. C 69, k. 25r.
109 Wizytacja dekanalna bp. Karola J. Hohenzollerna (1790), Pelplin,
Archiwum Diecezji Chełmińskiej, syg. C 69, k. 50r.
GOTHIC ALABASTER RELIEF FROM BRODNICA
In the Diocesan Museum in Pelplin there are two frag-
ments of an alabaster relief which were excavated from the
debris in one of the towers of the parish church in Brodnica
(Toruń voivodship) in the early 1970's. The panel belongs to
a series of horizontal reliefs representing the scene of the
Adoration of the Magi with Mary on a bed. Three events in
the life of Jesus Christ have been combined in these works:
the Nativity, the episode witli the midwives, and the Adoration
of the Magi. The iconographic type of the Adoration of the
Magi in question started in the 6th century A.D. in Palestine
and was frequent in Byzantine art. In Western art it occurred
sporadieally. Scenes with the Adoration of the Magi and
Mary resting on a bed gained a certain popularity in the
West in the second half of the 14th century.
The portrayal of Mary's confinement shows her immediate
participation in the incarnation of the Word of God. In the
Brodnica scene this state of the Mother of God seems to have
been further emphasized by representing her with breasts
and abdomen uncovered, probably in reference to the words
of the Evangelist (Luke XI, 27). Christ's assumption of
human nature has thus been pointed out, an event which
marked the beginning of his life on eartli and the beginning
of Salvation. In the Brodnica relief, Mary was presented not
only as the Mother of God, but also as a Queen, which is
certified by the crown on her head.
In the group of reliefs boing discussed, the Infant Christ
stands or sits on Mary's lap, which in the Middle Ages was
compared to Christ's Tomb. Jesus was represented as the
Saviour emerging from the Tomb. In the Long Melford
relief he is portrayed with shins uncovered and in the panels
from Brodnica, Bottenbroich, Kónigsberg (now Kaliningrad)
and Paderborn with the characteristic forward position of the
leg. The conneetion between Christ's Childhood and his
Passion is illustrated in this way. The correspondence is
underlined by the apple (a symbol of Salvation) held by the
standing Infant.
The women present at the Adoration of the Magi are
midwives. Their presence confirms Mary's Immaculate
Motherhood. The transcendence of God's Son who while
becoming a man has not ceased being God, is thus shown.
Mary, as the sign of this miracle, while becoming a mother
remained a virgin. The motif of the canopies held by the
midwives, which appears in the panels from Bottenbroich,
Kónigsberg and Stonyhurst College, could have been adopted
from the Officium Stellae Mystery, presented on the day of
the Epiphany or included in the cycle of plays performed on
Corpus Christi. The canopies, referring to the exegesis of the
symbols of velum and tabernaculum, probably reprosent the
tabernacle-veil, God's dwelling, heaven.
The way St. Joseph has been represented in the reliefs in
question (as a guardian, with open eyes), seems to illustrate
the interpretation popularized by the Golden Legend. St.
Joseph guarding Mary after the birth of Christ is one of the
signs of her Immaculate Motherhood. St. Joseph's Old Testa-
ment headdress may imply that he appears as a representative
of the Old Testament. His presence would thus also portray
the idea of God manifesting himself to the chosen nation or
be a proof of Christ's genealogy from David.
In the Middle Ages the symbolic meaning of the Magi's
gifts brought for Jesus and Mary was universally recognized.
Gold stood for Christ as king and man, frankincense represent-
ed his Divine Nature and his Resurrection and myrrh his
death and healing power, i.e. Salvation.
In the panels from Brodnica, Paderborn, Kónigsberg and
Stonyhurst College, the manger, in the form of a polygonal
pillar, was placed near the Christ Child. It may therefore be
assumed that the pillar-manger had a specific symbolic
meaning. The pillar in the scenes of Christ's Nativity combined
with the Adoration of the Magi may be described as the
nativity column, referring to Pseudo-Bonaventure's text,
or as a whipping pillar, referring to the principle of connecting
the events from Christ's Childhood and his Passion. In the
scenes being discussed, the pillar-manger should be inter-
preted as a whipping pillar, and similarly to Jesus' pose and
the apple in his hand, treated as an illustration of the idea of
connecting the Incarnation, the Epiphany and the Redemp-
tion. Some representations of the manger may be interpreted
as standing for the altar, which had once been in the Nativity
Basilica in Bethlehem, or with the mensa — the place of
celebrating the Eucharist. The genesis and development of
the idea about the correspondence between the Epiphany and
the Eucharist and ways in which it has been presented in art
were discussed by Ursula Nilgen.
Regardless of the consideration whether the battlement,
which probably had been at the top of the Brodnica panel,
and the almost monochromatic polychromy (with red as the
dominant colour) had a symbolic meaning, it is beyond
doubt that this representation of the Adoration of the Magi,
107