DOI issue:
Nr. 1-2
DOI article:Morka, Mieczysław: Kaplica Zygmuntowska: król Salomon - princeps fundator
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49519#0101
The Sigismund Chapel. King Solomon, princeps fundator
95
The author comes to the conclusion that the rul-
ing monarch had two chief functions. While during
times of war, as invictissimus he was supposed to
overcome enemies threatening the safety of his sub-
jects, and thus guarantee peace and the economic
growth and civil prosperity it ensures, in peacetime
the king should be occupied with creating and the
practising of law; i.e. in accordance with Cicero's
words, he is to carry out the postulations of justice,
ensuring that each receives a just comeuppance in
line with the law. The military and triumphal ele-
ments of the chapel's interior decoration (ills. 4, 5, 6
and 16) have been subject to analysis by Jerzy
Kowalczyk (ftn. no. 5). The symbols of peace are
garlands of fruit, sometimes eaten by birds, as well
as the personification of abundance in the decora-
tion of the wall arch (ill. 17). The ideology of the
Christian ruler developed under Pepin and Charle-
magne was expounded by kings David and Solomon
as described in the Old Testament. Reference to this
popular theme is clearly made in the tondo of king
Solomon, whose facial features match those of
Sigismund I. The significance of the figure of John
the Baptist placed beneath the Solomon tondo has
remained unexplained in this context until now. It
seems that the leading theme in this wall (ill. 10) re-
lates to monarchical rule being descended directly
from God (Dei gratia), as well as its inheritance in
relation to the Jagiellonian dynasty. During the reign
of Pepin a form of solemnity was introduced to the
sacred rites of royal coronation which alongside
baptism was combined into one symbolic whole.
The connecting of baptism in the River Jordan with
the ruler's epiphany was not only known to the Byz-
antine empire but also in Western Europe, both in
the Middle Ages and early-modern era. The baptis-
ing of prince Filippo de'Medici in 1577 may serve
as one such example. The scene depicting the bap-
tism of Christ and conveying of authority is to be
seen in the coronation of monarchs among others in
the church at Fredriksborg from 1615 in Denmark.
In the Cracow chapel the parallel of baptism and
anointment is limited to the two monarchs of the Old
Testament depicted in tondos and the figure of John
the Baptist.
As a private building, the Chapel also served as a
place of prayer during moments when the state's se-
curity was under threat. The sovereign as the 'New
David' addressed God (ill. 24) from the favour of
the wielder of authority, with the plea that the mis-
fortune threatening the monarchy might be repulsed.
The Chapel's exteriors (ill. 15) featured inscriptions
declaring it had been raised to the glory of God. An
important element is also presented by the double
crown, the earthly one growing out of the divine
crown of the universal ruler. Originally, statues of
David and Judith would have formed a part of the
exterior decoration. Kalinowski recognised these
figures as having an exclusively mediaeval expres-
sion in their reference to the victory of good over
evil. In the author's opinion, the secular explanation
of David personifying Fortitudo and Judith lustitia
may be dismissed, since it is rather an illustration of
the functions of a monarch in war and peace. The
Chapel was also treated in a propagandist context, as
a symbol comparable to the tempie of Solomon
whose image with the features of Sigismund I was
placed in a tondo. Wishing to comprehend not only
the religious-cum-eschatological content, it should
be borne in mind that Christian political thinking
was dominated by the contemporaneous structure of
power. The rulers, however, included within this
structure propandist motifs to create their own spe-
cific mixture. One of the most important prerequi-
sites was magnificentia, which all European rulers
manifested. In this case, they proved this magnifi-
cence by decorating the interiors of the Sigismund
Chapel with bas-reliefs and a considerable amount
of silver (ills. 9 and 15) and gold for the interior or-
namentation. The second important aspect is con-
nected with the fact that the commissioner was the
most important person to analyse and confirm all ar-
tistic questions connected with each building he was
funding. It was thus Sigismund I himself, being well
informed on the principles of monarchical ideology
and contents of the psalms, who decided which of
these motifs was to be inscribed, while changing the
expression of selected themes to suit his own per-
sonal ambitions.
Edited and translated by Peter Martyn
7. Sigismund Chapel. Western elevation, drawing by
J. Polak
2. Sigismund Chapel. Southern elevation, drawing
by J. Polak
3. Grating, phot. S. Stępniewski
4. Entrance wall, interiors. Victoria, phot. S.
Stępniewski
5. Entrance wall, detail, phot. S. Stępniewski
6. Entrance wall, emperor 's triumph, phot. S.
Stępniewski
7. Entrance wall, genius-shielded warrior, phot. S.
Stępniewski
8. Entrance wall, general view, phot. S. Stępniewski
9. Wall with stall, phot. S. Stępniewski
95
The author comes to the conclusion that the rul-
ing monarch had two chief functions. While during
times of war, as invictissimus he was supposed to
overcome enemies threatening the safety of his sub-
jects, and thus guarantee peace and the economic
growth and civil prosperity it ensures, in peacetime
the king should be occupied with creating and the
practising of law; i.e. in accordance with Cicero's
words, he is to carry out the postulations of justice,
ensuring that each receives a just comeuppance in
line with the law. The military and triumphal ele-
ments of the chapel's interior decoration (ills. 4, 5, 6
and 16) have been subject to analysis by Jerzy
Kowalczyk (ftn. no. 5). The symbols of peace are
garlands of fruit, sometimes eaten by birds, as well
as the personification of abundance in the decora-
tion of the wall arch (ill. 17). The ideology of the
Christian ruler developed under Pepin and Charle-
magne was expounded by kings David and Solomon
as described in the Old Testament. Reference to this
popular theme is clearly made in the tondo of king
Solomon, whose facial features match those of
Sigismund I. The significance of the figure of John
the Baptist placed beneath the Solomon tondo has
remained unexplained in this context until now. It
seems that the leading theme in this wall (ill. 10) re-
lates to monarchical rule being descended directly
from God (Dei gratia), as well as its inheritance in
relation to the Jagiellonian dynasty. During the reign
of Pepin a form of solemnity was introduced to the
sacred rites of royal coronation which alongside
baptism was combined into one symbolic whole.
The connecting of baptism in the River Jordan with
the ruler's epiphany was not only known to the Byz-
antine empire but also in Western Europe, both in
the Middle Ages and early-modern era. The baptis-
ing of prince Filippo de'Medici in 1577 may serve
as one such example. The scene depicting the bap-
tism of Christ and conveying of authority is to be
seen in the coronation of monarchs among others in
the church at Fredriksborg from 1615 in Denmark.
In the Cracow chapel the parallel of baptism and
anointment is limited to the two monarchs of the Old
Testament depicted in tondos and the figure of John
the Baptist.
As a private building, the Chapel also served as a
place of prayer during moments when the state's se-
curity was under threat. The sovereign as the 'New
David' addressed God (ill. 24) from the favour of
the wielder of authority, with the plea that the mis-
fortune threatening the monarchy might be repulsed.
The Chapel's exteriors (ill. 15) featured inscriptions
declaring it had been raised to the glory of God. An
important element is also presented by the double
crown, the earthly one growing out of the divine
crown of the universal ruler. Originally, statues of
David and Judith would have formed a part of the
exterior decoration. Kalinowski recognised these
figures as having an exclusively mediaeval expres-
sion in their reference to the victory of good over
evil. In the author's opinion, the secular explanation
of David personifying Fortitudo and Judith lustitia
may be dismissed, since it is rather an illustration of
the functions of a monarch in war and peace. The
Chapel was also treated in a propagandist context, as
a symbol comparable to the tempie of Solomon
whose image with the features of Sigismund I was
placed in a tondo. Wishing to comprehend not only
the religious-cum-eschatological content, it should
be borne in mind that Christian political thinking
was dominated by the contemporaneous structure of
power. The rulers, however, included within this
structure propandist motifs to create their own spe-
cific mixture. One of the most important prerequi-
sites was magnificentia, which all European rulers
manifested. In this case, they proved this magnifi-
cence by decorating the interiors of the Sigismund
Chapel with bas-reliefs and a considerable amount
of silver (ills. 9 and 15) and gold for the interior or-
namentation. The second important aspect is con-
nected with the fact that the commissioner was the
most important person to analyse and confirm all ar-
tistic questions connected with each building he was
funding. It was thus Sigismund I himself, being well
informed on the principles of monarchical ideology
and contents of the psalms, who decided which of
these motifs was to be inscribed, while changing the
expression of selected themes to suit his own per-
sonal ambitions.
Edited and translated by Peter Martyn
7. Sigismund Chapel. Western elevation, drawing by
J. Polak
2. Sigismund Chapel. Southern elevation, drawing
by J. Polak
3. Grating, phot. S. Stępniewski
4. Entrance wall, interiors. Victoria, phot. S.
Stępniewski
5. Entrance wall, detail, phot. S. Stępniewski
6. Entrance wall, emperor 's triumph, phot. S.
Stępniewski
7. Entrance wall, genius-shielded warrior, phot. S.
Stępniewski
8. Entrance wall, general view, phot. S. Stępniewski
9. Wall with stall, phot. S. Stępniewski