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1. Einleitung 1.1. Allgemein R. I. ist im heutigen Verständnis die Lehre von den relig. Bildinhalten und, in Absetzung von der profanen Ikonographie, ein Sammelbegriff für eine inhaltsbezogene Auseinandersetzung mit Kunstwerken religiöser Thematik. Zugleich ist die R. I. die Methode zur Annäherung an relig. Bildinhalte, die sich im nzl. Europa v. a. im christl. Bereich finden (›christl. I.‹; vgl. aber auch Islamische Kunst und Architektur).In der Nz. erlebte die Kunst mit christl. Thematik tiefgreifende strukturelle Änderungen. Für den Bereich der Griechi…

1. DefinitionWie das sakrale Gebäude (Kirchenbau) ist auch die K. im nzl. Europa überall und durchgehend als christl. erkennbar. Die wichtigsten Stücke der K. sind der Altar (oder ein ihn ersetzender Tisch; vgl. Altarbaukunst), der Taufstein und die Kanzel bzw. ein Lesepult; dazu kam seit dem Spät-MA eine Orgel (zunächst in größeren Kirchen, im 19. Jh. auch in der kleinsten Dorfkirche; Orgelmusik), sowie ein bewegliches oder festes Gestühl, z. B. das Chorgestühl in Klosterkirchen oder das Gemeindegestühl v. a. in protest. Kirchen. An diesen g…

1. AllgemeinIm K. der Nz. blieben theologische und pastorale Bestimmungen wirksam, welche die christl. Sakralarchitektur seit ihren Anfängen geprägt hatten: Die Kirche war Versammlungsort der Gemeinde, welche selbst als eigentlicher Ort und Konstituierendes des Gottesdienstes zu gelten hatte; Raumform und Ausstattung sollten die liturgischen Abläufe unterstützen sowie ihre Inhalte erfahrbar machen. Vor diesem Hintergrund sorgten allerdings sich immer wieder verändernde kulturelle Parameter und gravierende rel…

1. Introduction 1.1. Concept and historical backgroundReligious iconography in the current sense is the study of the meanings of religious images and, as distinct from profane iconography, refers generally to engagement with the content of works of art on religious themes. It also denotes the method for studying the content of the religious images found in (mostly Christian) early modern Europe (“Christian iconography”; but see also Islamic art and architecture).Christian-themed art underwent profound structural changes in the early modern period. For the Greek …

1. DefinitionLike the sacral building itself (Church architecture), the church interiors in early modern Europe were all clearly recognizable as Christian. The most important features were the altar (or a table replacing it; see Altar design), font, and pulpit or lectern; from the late Middle Ages on, there was also an organ (initially in the larger churches, in the 19th century even in the smallest village churches; Organ music), as well as movable or permanent seating, e.g. choir stalls in mona…

1. Introduction Theological and pastoral concepts continued to define early modern Church architecture that had shaped Christian sacral architecture since its very earliest days. The church was a meeting-place for the congregation that had to fulfill a function as the real venue and crucible of the divine service (Worship). Spatial forms and fittings had to support liturgical procedures and make their content available to experience. Still, changing cultural parameters and profound religious and c…

[German Version] ( Jun 6, 1868, The Hague – Mar 5, 1932, Cologne), Dutch painter who studied in Munich and Cologne. Initially painting in the style of Naturalism (IV), he developed into an art nouveau painter and finally, under the influence of Henry van de ¶ Velde, an exponent of Freie Malerei (“free painting”). In 1898 he was appointed head of the Arts and Crafts academy in The Hague, but from 1904 on he lived in Germany and taught at various art schools in Krefeld, Hagen, Munich, Düsseldorf, and Cologne. He was also active in the German Werkbund. He developed an arabesque style with flow…

[German Version] (c. 1099 – Aug 12, 1158) was a Premonstratensian. He was from Lorraine and was in the diplomatic service of Emperors Lothar III, Conrad III and Frederick I. On their commission, Anselm was often in Constantinople. In 1129, Norbert of Xanten consecrated him bishop of Havelberg. He stayed there only in 1149/50, however. Anselm died as archbishop of Ravenna. Major works: three books of Dialogi. In dialogue with Benedictines (Canons regular), Anselm developed a new monastic ideal linking the vita activa and the vita passiva and thus grounded the pastoral care work of…

[German Version] (died 1270, Neuruppin) was a territorial noble of Brandenburg. His brother Gebhard had founded the town of Neuruppin in 1211. Wichmann joined the Premonstratensians in Magdeburg in 1199; he is mentioned as a canon in 1207. In 1224 he brought Dominicans to Magdeburg from Paris. In 1239 he himself joined the Dominicans. In 1246 he founded a Dominican convent on Ruppin Lake in Neuruppin and became its first prior. He is said to have been buried in the chapel. He became very popular. …

[German Version] Wilsnack, originally a simple village in the Prignitz district of Brandenburg, became an important site in 1383, following a miracle of the Precious Blood of Christ (II) in the aftermath of a conflagration that consumed the village and its church; in 1384 the miracle was confirmed officially by the bishops of Havelberg and Brandenburg and the archbishop of Magdeburg. Wilsnack quickly became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in Central Europe. Bishop Johann v. Wöpelitz expan…

[German Version] A German castle has existed on the narrow mountain ridge along the River Havel since 929. Emperor Otto the Great founded a bishopric here in 948, which was not permanently occupied until the mid-12th century. Premonstratensians constituted the cathedral chapter and began the construction of ¶ the cathedral, characterized by a broad westwork, in 1150. Anselm of Havelberg, the most important theologian from the bishopric, called it turris fortitudinis because the location of the cathedral chapter in the still pagan environment continued to be very p…

[German Version] I. Bishopric – II. State I. Bishopric Emperor Otto I established the bishopric of Brandenburg in 948, subordinating it in 968 to the new archbishopric of Magdeburg, which was meant to serve as a base for Christianizing the Polabian Slavs. The great uprising of the Slavs in 983 put an end to the bishopric. Not until the 12th century could it be occupied once more, thanks to t…

[German Version] (the Elder), Duke of Prussia (May 17, 1490, Ansbach – Mar 20, 1568, Tapiau), third son of Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach, of the Frankish line of the Hohenzollern. In 1511, he was chosen to be grand master of the Teutonic Order. Since the principality had to be restructured, from the outset, Albert sought to free the order from Polish suzerainty. Albert began to support the Reformation and he became a friend of Luther, whose counsel he requested. In 1522, he met A. Osiander in Nuremberg. In 1523, Luther published his tract An die Herren Deutschen Ordens, in which he urge…

[German Version] (Biblical Scholarship, Hermeneutics, Interpretation) I. Religious Studies – II. History of Religions – III. Greco Roman Antiquity – IV. Bible – V. Church History – VI. Practical Theology – VII. Biblical Scenes in Art – VIII. Judaism – IX. Islam I. Religious Studies Exegesis (for etymology see III below) is the explanation, interpretation, or analysis of sacred or otherwise religiously central documents by experts; it enables and encourages the access of a …

[German Version] (died 1160), Premonstratensian from Cappenberg. As provost of the Monastery of Our Lady in Magdeburg, in 1138 he was elected the 12th, 13th, or 14th bishop of Brandenburg (sources vary). Wigger set out to restore the church and the diocese of Brandenburg. His predecessor had already succeeded in gaining a foothold for the church east of the Elbe by founding the Premonstratensian Abbey of Leitzkau. Wigger reformed Leitzkau but relocated the convent, which had enjoyed capitular rights since the ¶ 11th century, to Brandenburg. Wigger, who was also appointed as a…

1. Concept Situated on the Tiber, Rome (Lat. and It. Roma) is the capital of Italy and the seat of the papacy. On the basis of its history it is not just the name of a city but also, like Jerusalem, a religious concept. It is a holy city, even eschatologically, as the eternal city, Roma aeterna, and so forth. This meaning goes back to antiquity, when Rome was the origin and center of the empire that its citizens seized and founded (Roman Empire). 2. History In the following centuries romanitas, the culture or aura of the Roman Empire, became a leading concept in movements of church…

The term “oratory” is used for a small chapel for private devotions with only restricted liturgical functions. In this sense it may denote the chapel of a hospital or castle. The Cistercians called their churches oratories (Monasticism). Architecturally the oratory was designed for more intimate worship as distinct from more expansive churches (Church Architecture). The Oratorians (Religious Orders and Congregations) also preferred a church with a single nave. From 1983 CIC 1223–29 there is a distinction between an oratory and a private chapel: the oratory is a …

The baptismal font (Lat. piscina [tank, basin] or fons baptismalis) is a receptacle of stone, metal, or wood that holds the water consecrated for use in baptism. As long as immersion was the rule in the early church, baptism took place in open water or in a large bath in a separate chapel, the baptisterium (Baptistery), or in the atrium of the basilica. Its shape was round or polygonal. In missionary areas baptism by affusion became common, and hence a freestanding font became possible. Yet immersion was customary into the 16th century, though small fonts were a…

1. OT “Tabernacle” is a rendering of ʾōhel môʿēd, “the tent of meeting.” We find it in Exod. 33:7–11; Num. 11:14–17, 24b–30; 12:4–5a, 6–8, 10, traditions that were inserted into the Yahwist source (Pentateuch) and likely were pre-Deuteronomistic. This tent-sanctuary stood outside the camp and was a place of revelation at which Yahweh declared his will after the theophany at Sinai, so that those who received the Spirit became prophets. In Deut. 31:14–15 it was also the place at which Joshua became Moses’ successor. It later came to be located by the Deuteronomist at Shiloh (Josh. 18:1; 19:51…

The word “minster” (Ger. Münster) derives from the ecclesiastical Lat. monasterium (Gk. monastērion) by way of OEng. mynster. It originally denoted a monastery church or a monastery. It came to be applied to cathedrals that were monastic foundations (e.g., York, Lincoln, Lichfield, also in southern Europe). But since monastic churches could also serve as parish churches, it might also have a more general use, especially when houses for the clergy surrounded the church in the monastic style. From the early Middle Ages we also find a use for colleges of secular canon…

The sacristy, a term derived from Lat. sacer (sacred, holy), is a room in a church in which liturgical vessels, vestments, and books are kept and in which the clergy make preparations for leading worship, including robing. In Roman basilicas the sacristy is generally near the entrance, where the clergy procession starts. It is often handed over to the pastor in a liturgical ceremony. As a part of the house of God ( secretarium aedis sacrae, “sacristy of the sacred building”), it belongs to the total structure of the basilica. In the East it has liturgical significance…

[English Version] von Arnstein (gest.1270 Neuruppin), stammte aus brandenburgischem Territorialadel. Sein Bruder Gebhard hatte 1211 die Stadt Neuruppin gegründet. W. war seit 1199 Prämonstratenser in Magdeburg, wurde 1207 als Domherr erwähnt und holte 1224 Dominikaner aus Paris nach Magdeburg. 1239 trat er selbst zu den Dominikanern über. 1246 gründete er in Neuruppin einen Dominikanerkonvent am Ruppiner See und wurde dessen erster Prior. W. soll in der Klosterkirche beigesetzt sein. Er wurde sehr …

[English Version] von Brandenburg (gest.1160), Prämonstratenser aus dem Stift Kappenberg. Als Propst des Stiftes Unser Lieben Frau in Magdeburg wurde er 1138 nach unterschiedlichen Zählungen 12. oder 13./14. Bf. von Brandenburg. W. setzte sich für die Restitution der Kirche und des Bistums Brandenburg ein. Seinem Vorgänger Hartbert war es bereits gelungen, östlich der Elbe kirchl. wieder Fuß zu fassen mit der Gründung des Prämonstratenserstiftes Leitzkau. W. reformierte Leitzkau, verlegte aber den …

[English Version] Wilsnack, urspr. ein Dorf in der Prignitz, erlangte Bedeutung, nachdem 1383 als Folge einer Brandschatzung von Dorf und Kirche ein Hostienwunder (Blut Jesu Christi: II.) geschah, das 1384 offizielle Bestätigung durch die Bfe. von Havelberg und Brandenburg und den Erzbf. von Magdeburg erfuhr. W. wurde schnell zu einem der besuchtesten Wallfahrtsorte (Wallfahrt) in Mitteleuropa. Bf. Johann von Wöpelitz baute W. zum Wallfahrtszentrum aus. Auf ihn geht auch der Neubau der Kirche zurü…

[English Version] Thorn-Prikker, Jan (6.6.1868 Den Haag – 5.3.1932 Köln), holländischer Maler, Studien in München und Köln. Nach dem Anfang im Naturalismus (: IV.) entwickelte er sich zum Maler des Jugendstils, gelangte dann unter dem Einfluß von Henry van de Velde zur Freien Malerei. Ab 1898 leitete er die Kunstakademie Arts and Crafts in Den Haag, lebte aber seit 1904 in Deutschland und lehrte an verschiedenen Kunstgewerbeschulen (Krefeld, Hagen, München, Düsseldorf, Köln). Zugleich betätigte er …