29. Work - creator - funder. History of art and archaeology of architecture toward processes of social identity formation
As a result of interdisciplinary research, but also individual research, the study of medieval architecture or works of sculpture, painting or craftsmanship allows an increasingly complete interpretation of their artistic value and iconography. At the same time, these analyses make it possible to set them in a social and political context. Works created in the medieval period are of particular importance for understanding not only artistic processes, but also the interrelationships of political circles - including ecclesiastical circles - often distant from each other, although surprisingly close. They also allow us to look in a new light at the processes involved in the formation of power and its exercise, at the founder with his or her ideas and at art as a form of communication. The proposed panel aims to present new insights into works already known and to present new, in-context ideas about the relationship between the work, the artist and the funder. In the absence of personalised attribution - many works need to speak through their very matter, form or style and lead researchers deeper into the contextual relationships with the authority and time in which they were created
The subject of the paper is a set of works of art created in the period be-tween the beginning of the reign of Henry the Bearded (1201) and the death of Henry the Pious at the death in the battle of Legnica in 1241. It is primari-ly about the works of art founded by members of the dynasty. The research will include residential complexes (Wroclaw, Legnica), monastic complexes (Trzebnica, Lubiąż, Henryków, early Mendicant monasteries) with their ar-tistic furnishings, as well as urban complexes and their temples. Analyses and interpretations of the works will be geared towards reading the messag-es and ideological content, as well as identifying their functions in the con-text of the intentions and tasks set by the two princes. The author will try to give an answer to the question of whether the princes’ foundations were primarily aimed at supporting the reign of the dynasty and the perspective intention of obtaining the Polish crown, or whether the artistic realizations were intended to express the profound religious content prevailing at court and inspired by the monastic circles.
The proposed paper will focus on the activities of the builder Bartel Ranisch from Gdańsk. Although he did not have a humanist education, he did manage to compile treatises on the churches (1695) and public buildings (1707) of his native city. The first of these is probably the first work in European literature in which works of medieval architecture are discussed not in terms of the history of their foundations and the monuments of the past they contain, but in terms of the architecture itself, especially the opulent rib vaults. Bartel Ranisch could not yet have had the ability to describe and analyse architecture that had been developed by French archaeology of architecture in the early nineteenth century, but his work, combining the experience of a designing architect and an amateur historian, represents a pioneering, extremely early step towards the formation of a new research direction, developed only a century later by Arcisse de Caumont.
A striking feature of Cracow's architecture from c. 1300 to 1550 is the remarkable similarity among four grand basilican churches with elongated choirs, as well as a range of sacred and secular buildings featuring facades of limestone ashlar with tracery decoration.Moreover, the cityscape has lost smaller, equally uniform double-naved churches, and (apart from St. Mary’s Basilica) tall spires crowned with clusters of pinnacles. Attributing each of these groups to a single workshop is not convincing; instead, the likeness of forms rather stemmed from the expectations of patrons. Thus the reasons lie more in social phenomena than purely artistic factors. The paper aims to explore, in a comparative context, these prestigious buildings as manifestations of the identities of various interest groups and social strata, occasionally taking the form of a kind of interplay between the state authority, the episcopal hierarchy, and the municipal commune.
Wawel Hill, a place of special significance in the identity of Poles, became a space for significant archaeological explorations in the 20th century. The relics of medieval buildings discovered by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz were widely discussed in the scientific community, as well as in the pages of newspapers. The past became an important voice in the process of building the Christian identity of the Poland that was to be reborn years later. Archeological sites put into public access were the first examples in the Polish lands of musealization of excavation sites. Wawel Hill also became the center of a peculiar struggle between the Catholic celebrations of the Millennium of the Baptism of Poland and the state celebrations of the Millennium of the Polish State (1966). The subject of this talk will be the discourse of power devoted to the Wawel archaeological reserves.
The relations between the bishops of Lebus and the citizens of towns were strained by numerous tensions. After the burning down of the cathedral in Górzyca, the bishop made efforts to elevate the St Mary's Parish in Frankfurt to the status of a cathedral, but the town elite strongly opposed this. The support of Margrave Ludwig finally succeeded in scuttling the bishop's plans, and he had to settle down in Fürstenwalde. After this showdown in Frankfurt extensive construction work started on both St Mary's and St Nicholas' parish churches, giving the choirs a modern form with an ambulatory. It is not surprising, that after the Hussite destruction of the cathedral in Fürstenwalde, it also received a new choir with an ambulatory, with a clear reference to the programme at St Mary's Church in Frankfurt. The aim of this paper is to illuminate the impact of political conflicts on the architectural form and decoration of parish churches in the larger urban centres of the Diocese of Lebus.
By 1014, the palace chapel at Aachen welcomed the completion of Henry II’s Ambo, the earliest known example in the Western Church. Though much has been written on the subject, scholars have yet to consider fully why this symbol of authority and sanctity was commissioned, or what liturgical function it was intended to serve. This paper endeavours to shed light on the ambo’s purpose through a careful examination of two 10th-century works: Widukind of Corvey’s Res gestae Saxonicae and Constantine VII’s De ceremoniis aulae Byzantinae (On the Governance of the Empire).
A distinctive feature of the staurotheke is the use of jet – a semi-precious stone, associated in the Middle Ages with magical and healing properties. The paper proposes a new interpretation of the function and character of the staurotheke, based on the possible meanings conveyed by the use of jet. The strong association with the feminine, both of the stone used and of the relics of the Holy Cross Tree, makes it possible to link the reliquary to a female figure from the ruling family. The peculiar electrostatic properties of jet, as well as the modest design and small size of the staurotheke, and it not having been used for propaganda, point to an object of private devotion rather than a diplomatic gift. The summary of the history of jet’s symbolism aims to demonstrate how the tradition of magic and alchemy, which has been passed down since antiquity, can play a major role in contemporary research into the interpretation of the meanings conveyed by the use of precious stones.
Opole became the capital of an independent duchy in the second half of the 12th century. The location on the right bank of the Odra was probably initiated by Duke Casimir the First around 1217. The construction of the parish church probably began soon after the delimitation of the quarters. It was erected in the northern part of the location town near the Odra Gate. The lecture presents the results of research of the relics of a church begun in the first third of the 13th century and completed at the end of the 13th century. Its monumental architecture, consisting of a square chancel, a three-aise nave with a transept and a towers massif, dominated the panorama of the ducal capital. The form and architectural detail indicate that the church was influenced by Saxon workshops that probably came to Opole via Wrocław. The church was probably the fulfilment of the ambitions of the princes: Casimir the First and his sons Mieszko the Second and Ladislaus the First.
The Church of the Holy Saviour is one of the most mysterious buildings in today's Krakow. The circumstances of its foundation are unknown – written sources point to Piotr Włostowic or one of the princes of Krakow. The original function and form of the building also remain unclear. Referring to the preserved documentation from archaeological research has resulted in new conclusions, verifying the existing hypotheses about the process of the temple's creation. In the introduction to the paper, I will present the current state of research in a summarised form. Then, the conclusions from the analysis of the preserved relics of the walls will be presented. These will form the basis for presenting a new concept of the church's medieval phases, supported by virtual reconstruction models. In the final phase, I will try to answer the question of whether, based on an interdisciplinary analysis of the data, it is possible to identify the church's founder.
The presentation will be an attempt to analyze the significance of the development of Romanesque church architecture in Sardinia for the understanding of political situation of the island and its changes in the 11th-13th centuries. The four independent Sardinian kingdoms (giudicati) that emerged no later than second half of the 11th century, gradually came under political influence of Pisa and Genoa, which eventually resulted in three of them collapsing in the second half of the 13th century. The foundations of Romanesque churches, often associated with the monastic orders invited to the island by rulers of the giudicati, in some cases, through their context, reflect the political situation in specific kingdoms and its changes. This issue will be discussed with consideration of written sources, as well as results of archaeological research and architectural studies.
The last decade saw the completion of years of verification research in the area of the imperial pfalz in Verla, where the architectural relics of the residential buildings have always been a reference point for the palatium on Ostrów Lednicki. Last year, relics of a quadrifoil structure under the floor of the crypt of the Collegiate Church of St. Servatius in Quedlinburg were also re-exposed. The paper aims to confront the results of this research with the current state of knowledge on Piast residences in Greater Poland and reiterates the question of the influence of two Saxon centres on the early Piast palatiums on Ostrów Lednicki, in Giecz and in Poznań.
Alexander of Malonne was the Bishop of Płock from 1129 to 1156, a period marked by significant political, religious, and cultural development in Mazovia. He founded and endowed two churches: the cathedral in Płock, whose chapter he reformed, and the abbey in Czerwińsk, to which he brought the Canons Regular. The list of works attributed to his patronage is extensive and notably diverse, encompassing manuscripts, sculpture, metalwork, and architecture. Moreover, this group display remarkable stylistic and formal diversity, having been produced by workshops across Europe, from the Rhineland to Lombardy.
This paper will be dedicated to the artistic provenance of the works commissioned or brought to Mazovia at Alexander’s initiative and will discuss them in the context of his connections with foreign artistic centers. Ultimately, it will explore what this collection can reveal about Alexander himself and his ambitions for the Bishopric of Płock.
Ecclesiastical organisation in the Piast era took a turn for the better under Boleslaus the Bold, with the establishment of new monasteries and even a bishopric in Plock. Given the powerful dispute among scholars over the initiative and role of Boleslaw the Bold in in the fineries, and finally the fall of the ruler and the unclear consequences of this for artistic foundations, we get a very complicated picture. They are cited either as great initiatives of this ruler (the abbey in Lubiń) or as realisations continuing his father's foundations (the abbeys in Tyniec and Mogilno). Some of the buildings at Wawel are also sometimes linked to the 2nd half of the 11th century, i.e. after 1058. Furthermore, the architecture of the Wiślica site, whose oldest buildings also date to the 2nd half of the 11th century, should be considered, as well as the origins of the architecture in Płock. The aim will be to critically review against the background of various activities and processes.
In the early days of Piast rule Wawel was one of the most important and later the most important centers of power. The foundations erected there were a manifestation of both secular and ecclesiastical power, constituting a reflection of the relationship between the two circles.
The modest stock of written sources allows mainly for an analysis of the historical substance. New data are needed to allow for new insights and a broader social and political context. In the case of the early - Piast architecture, archaeological research provides such opportunities. In the coming years exploration of the early medieval church of St. George, research within the church of St. Gereon and under the building of the former Austrian hospital are planned on Wawel Hill. Interdisciplinary analyses of the skeleton of a woman from rotunda B are also planned. The results of these studies will provide a closer picture of the functioning of the early medieval center of state and church power in Cracow.
In the Papal Palace in Avignon, expanded between 1335 and 1365 and considered one of the largest and most significant residences of medieval Europe, a distinctive functional program was developed. According to some researchers, this program had a substantial impact on the functional organization of the residence of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order in Malbork and the Czech kings at Prague’s Hradčany. The aim of the proposed paper is to critically analyze these hypotheses and to examine whether a similar phenomenon of adapting the Avignon residential model may have occurred in the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill.
