1.
Essen Cathedral Treasury
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The Essen Cathedral Treasury is one of the most significant collections of religious artworks in Germany. A great number of items of treasure are accessible to the public in the chamber of Essen Minster. The Cathedral Treasury derives from the treasury of the former Canonesses of Essen, during the Ruhr Uprising in 1920, the entire treasury was smuggled out to Hildesheim in secret, from which it was returned in 1925. During the Second World War the Treasury was taken first to Warstein, then to Albrechtsburg in Meissen and from there to Siegen, where it was sealed in Hain tunnel to protect it from aerial bombing. After the end of the war it was there by American troops and brought to the State Museum in Marburg. From April to October 1949, the Essen Cathedral Treasury was displayed in Brussels and Amsterdam, in 1953 the Treasure was displayed in an exhibition in the Villa Hügel. In 1957 the Treasure became the property of the newly established Diocese of Essen. The Treasury Chamber was first made accessible to the public without charge in 1958 at the wish of the first Bishop of Essen, the Treasury had to be closed from 15 September 2008 until 15 May 2009 for a structural extension. The new display of the Cathedral Treasure was opened on 15 May 2009 and it is, at any rate, the oldest surviving lily crown. A cross-shaped reliquary for a Holy Nail, gifted by Theophanu, the Golden Madonna, the oldest sculpture of Mary in western art. There is also a vitrine in the Treasury with loaned items from the Diocesan Museum, such as the crosier, mitres, pectoral crosses, die Kunstwerke der Münsterkirche zu Essen. Der Essener Kirchenschatz aus der Frühzeit der Stiftsgeschichte, in Günter Berghaus, Herrschaft, Bildung und Gebet. Gründung und Anfänge des Frauenstifts Essen, klartext-Verlag, Essen 2000, ISBN 3-88474-907-2, pp. 135–153. Der Schatz des Essener Frauenstifts bis zum 15, in Das Münster am Hellweg 56,2003, pp. 79–110. Klaus Gereon Beuckers and Ulrich Knapp, die ottonischen Kreuze in der Domschatzkammer Essen und ihre Emails. Domschatzkammer Essen, Essen 2006, ISBN 3-00-020039-8, birgitta Falk, Thomas Schilp, and Michael Schlagheck. Wie das Gold den Augen leuchtet, catalogue of the exhibition in the Ruhr Museum, Essen. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8375-0200-8, der Essener Domschatz präsentiert sich mit neuem Konzept und Design
2.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
3.
Ottonian art
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Ottonian art is a style in pre-romanesque German art, covering also some works from the Low Countries, northern Italy and eastern France. With Ottonian architecture, it is a key component of the Ottonian Renaissance, however, the style neither began nor ended to neatly coincide with the rule of the dynasty. It emerged some decades into their rule and persisted past the Ottonian emperors into the reigns of the early Salian dynasty, which lacks an artistic style label of its own. In the traditional scheme of art history, Ottonian art follows Carolingian art and precedes Romanesque art, after the decline of the Carolingian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire was re-established under the Saxon Ottonian dynasty. From this emerged a renewed faith in the idea of Empire and it was in this atmosphere that masterpieces were created that fused the traditions from which Ottonian artists derived their inspiration, models of Late Antique, Carolingian, and Byzantine origin. However much of it was designed for display to a wider public and this goal was accomplished in various ways. However, if there were actual Greek artists working in Germany in the period, Ottonian monasteries produced most if not all of the most magnificent medieval illuminated manuscripts. They were an art form of the time, and monasteries received direct sponsorship from emperors and bishops. The range of heavily illuminated texts was very restricted to the main liturgical books. In contrast to manuscripts of other periods, it is often possible to say with certainty who commissioned or received a manuscript. This is the first stylistic group of the traditional Reichenau school, the two other major manuscripts of the group are the sacramentaries named for Hornbach and Petershausen. In the group of four presentation miniatures in the described above we can almost follow. The movement away from the expansive Carolingian idiom to the sharply defined Ottonian one. C. R. Dodwell was one of a number of dissident voices here, believing the works to have produced at Lorsch. Due to their quality, the manuscripts of Reichenau were in 2003 added to the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. The most important Reichenau school manuscripts are agreed to fall into three groups, all named after scribes whose names are recorded in their books. The Eburnant group covered above was followed by the Ruodprecht group named after the scribe of the Egbert Psalter and this gestural dumb-show soon to be conventionalized as a visual language throughout medieval Europe. The group introduced the background of gold to Western illumination
4.
Processional cross
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A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions. Such crosses have a history, the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them like a standard. Other sources suggest that all churches were expected to possess one and they became detachable from their staffs, so that the earliest altar crosses were processional crosses placed on a stand at the end of the procession. In large churches the crux gemmata, or richly jewelled cross in metal, was the preferred style. Notable early examples include the Cross of Justin II, Cross of Lothair, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, there are different traditions surrounding the use of the processional cross. On its patronal feast day a church or monastery will often serve a moleben during which a cross-procession will take place around the outside of the church. The processional cross is used at funerals. During an outdoor procession, the cross will usually be preceded by a large processional lantern, religious banners and icons will follow. Then the chanters and clergy, and finally the people, when not in use, the processional cross may be placed in the sanctuary, behind the Holy Table. Some Orthodox processional crosses will have an icon of the Crucifixion on one side, the side with the Resurrection will face forward on Sundays and during the Paschal season, the Crucifixion will face forward on other days. In the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, processional crosses are used in processions preceded by incense, the cross is brought up to the altar by an altar server who has been chosen to serve as crucifer. Among Roman Catholics and High Church Anglicans, the cross will usually be a crucifix. In more Protestant oriented parishes, the cross will usually be an empty cross. The acolytes that follow then bow to the cross at the altar, the Cross represents the Lords presence at the altar
5.
Crux gemmata
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A crux gemmata is a form of cross typical of Early Christian and Early Medieval art, where the cross, or at least its front side, is principally decorated with jewels. In an actual cross, rather than an image of one. Examples in metalwork are the Cross of Justin II, the cross in the Staffordshire Hoard, the Cross of Lothair, the Iberian Cross of the Angels and Victory Cross. In the case of the cross, such decorative embellishment was especially common, the cross very often has splayed ends to its arms, but the proportions of the vertical axis to the horizontal one depends entirely on the needs of the composition, and varies greatly. Pendilia, or hanging jewels or ornaments, may hang from the arms, especially the letters alpha, the motif is first seen in a sarcophagus fragment from the late 4th century, the splayed ends of the arms are present from the earliest examples. The jewelled cross also served as a symbol of the Christian version of the Tree of Life, the Staffordshire Hoard crumpled cross has vine leaves showing at the corners and represents Jesus the vine. It is sometimes shown on a mound representing paradise, with four rivers flowing down it, the link of the cross generally with the Tree of Life appears frequently in the hymns of Venantius Fortunatus. Sharp has shown the interlace on the front of the Staffordshire Hoard cross corresponds with the river or tree of life described in Revelation 22. For much of the period, a jewelled cross is recorded as decorating the presumed site of the Crucifixion. It was presented by the Eastern Emperor Theodosius II, there was resistance to representations of the cross with the body of Christ on it, a practice that did not begin until the 5th century, becoming more common in the 6th. It was the Nestorians, another force of the opposite persuasion. In so-called mystical images, such as the mosaic at the Basilica of Sant Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna. A poem by St Paulinus of Nola allows a reconstruction of a mosaic apse he had commissioned in the basilica of St Felix of Nola at Cimitile in the early 5th century. At the bottom of the semi-dome were twelve lambs, six on each side, with a haloed Lamb of God on a hillock in the centre. The bottom of the mosaic at Santa Pudenziana in Rome originally also had a level with this. The crux gemmata is commonly seen on coins, often held by a figure of Victory, another common Byzantine coin type shows a cross with a stepped base, which should be understood as a crux gemmata even though scale does not normally allow any indication of gems. The apse mosaic in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls has an example with thirteen jewels and it is not usual to use the term crux gemmata for crosses from more recent periods, especially for small crosses that fall under the category of jewellery. The Female Crucifix, Images of St. Wilgefortis Since the Middle Ages, Wilfrid Laurier University Press,2001, ISBN 0-88920-365-2, google books Hellemo, Geir
6.
Essen
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Essen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its population of approximately 589,000 makes it the ninth-largest city in Germany and it is the central city of the northern part of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area and seat to several of the regions authorities. Founded around 845, Essen remained a town within the sphere of influence of an important ecclesiastical principality until the onset of industrialization. The city then — especially through the Krupp family iron works — became one of Germanys most important coal and steel centers. Essen, until the 1970s, attracted workers from all over the country, following the region-wide decline of heavy industries in the last decades of the 20th century, the city has seen the development of a strong tertiary sector of the economy. Although it is the most indebted city in Germany, Essen continues to pursue its redevelopment plans, notable accomplishments in recent years include the title of European Capital of Culture on behalf of the whole Ruhr area in 2010 and the selection as the European Green Capital for 2017. In 1958, Essen was chosen to serve as the seat to a Roman Catholic diocese, in early 2003, the universities of Essen and the nearby city of Duisburg were merged into the University of Duisburg-Essen with campuses in both cities and a university hospital in Essen. Essen is located in the centre of the Ruhr area, one of the largest urban areas in Europe, comprising eleven independent cities and four districts with some 5.3 million inhabitants. The city limits of Essen itself are 87 km long and border ten cities, five independent and five kreisangehörig, the city extends over 21 km from north to south and 17 km from west to east, mainly north of the River Ruhr. The Ruhr forms the Lake Baldeney reservoir in the boroughs of Fischlaken, Kupferdreh, the lake, a popular recreational area, dates from 1931 to 1933, when some thousands of unemployed coal miners dredged it with primitive tools. Generally, large areas south of the River Ruhr are quite green and are quoted as examples of rural structures in the otherwise relatively densely populated central Ruhr area. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, Essen with 9. 2% of its covered by recreational green is the greenest city in North Rhine-Westphalia. The city has been shortlisted for the title of European Green Capital two consecutive times, for 2016 and 2017, winning for 2017, the city was singled out for its exemplary practices in protecting and enhancing nature and biodiversity and efforts to reduce water consumption. Essen participates in a variety of networks and initiatives to reduce gas emissions. The lowest point can be found in the borough of Karnap at 26.5 m. The average elevation is 116 m, Essen comprises fifty boroughs which in turn are grouped into nine suburban districts often named after the most important boroughs. Each Stadtbezirk is assigned a Roman numeral and has a body of nineteen members with limited authority. Most of the boroughs were originally independent municipalities but were annexed from 1901 to 1975
7.
Mathilde, Abbess of Essen
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Mathilde was Abbess of Essen Abbey from 973 to her death. As granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great she was a member of the Liudolfing dynasty and she was responsible for the abbey, for its buildings, its precious relics, liturgical vessels and manuscripts, its political contacts, and for commissioning translations and overseeing education. Written sources on Mathildes life and especially on her works are few, concerning the history of Essen Abbey from 845 to 1150 there exist only some twenty documents in total, not one of which is a contemporary chronicle or biography. Recently, scholars have attempted to draw conclusions about Mathildes character from the artworks and building projects which are attributed to her. Mathilde belonged to the first family of the Holy Roman Empire, as the daughter of Duke Liudolf of Swabia and Ida, a daughter of Duke Hermann I of Swabia, a member of the Conradine dynasty. Her father was the eldest son of Otto I of the Ottonian or Liudolfing dynasty and her brother, Otto was Duke of Swabia from 973 and also Duke of Bavaria, from 976 until he died unexpectedly in 982. Mathilde was probably involved with the Abbey from her youth, perhaps being educated and trained there from 953, Essen Abbey, founded in 845 by Altfrid, Bishop of Hildesheim and Gerswid, who became the first abbess, had been connected with the Liudolfings since its foundation. This gift probably reflects Mathildes formal entry into the order, through these, Mathilde was well prepared for her office. On the reported inscription of the Marsus Shrine it was stated that she could write in Latin and had also mastered Greek to an extent, Mathilde is first named in a source as Abbess of Essen in 973. At this point Mathilde was about 24 years old and thus still under the age at which she could technically receive appointment as abbess, Mathilde was not an abbess who remained secluded in monastic silence. In addition to travel to Aachen in 973, further trips are recorded, to Aschaffenburg in 982, Heiligenstadt in 990 and 997, Dortmund and it is also assumed that she made a trip to Mainz in 986 for her mothers funeral. There she was recorded as a benefactrix and honoured with the title of ducissa and she corresponded with the Anglo-Saxon Earl Æthelweard, who translated his chronicle into Latin for her. All these activities of Mathilde functioned, above all, to fulfill the interests of her abbey, Essen Abbey was an Imperial abbey like Gandersheim and Quedlinburg and the abbess herself came from the Imperial family. Documentation that she took part in the Italian campaign of her uncle, Otto II, like her eponymous aunt Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg. Her uncle Otto II died in Rome a year later, Otto IIs fatal Italian campaign was a turning point in Mathildes life. As a result of her brothers death, she became the last member of the Swabian branch of the Liudolfing dynasty and therefore the manager of the possessions of the family. Based on the absence of evidence of Mathildes activities at this time it was traditionally assumed that Mathilde had no further political influence after the death of her brother. Therefore, it has concluded that Mathilde maintained a pronounced self-confidence and was not willing to stay out of secular matters
8.
Ottonian dynasty
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The Ottonian dynasty was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs, named after its first Emperor Otto I, but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the familys origin in the German stem duchy of Saxony. The family itself is sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Count Liudolf. The Ottonian rulers were successors of the Carolingian dynasty in East Francia, in the 9th century, the Saxon count Liudolf held large estates on the Leine river west of the Harz mountain range and in the adjacent Eichsfeld territory of Thuringia. His ancestors probably acted as ministeriales in the Saxon stem duchy, Liudolf married Oda, a member of the Frankish House of Billung. About 852 the couple together with Bishop Altfrid of Hildesheim founded Brunshausen Abbey, Liudolf already held the high social position of a Saxon dux, documented by the marriage of his daughter Liutgard with Louis the Younger, son of the Carolingian king Louis the German in 869. Liudolfs sons Bruno and Otto the Illustrious ruled over parts of Saxon Eastphalia, moreover. He married Hedwiga, a daughter of the Babenberg duke Henry of Franconia, upon Ottos death in 912, his son Henry the Fowler succeeded him as Duke of Saxony. Henry had married Matilda of Ringelheim, a descendant of the legendary Saxon ruler Widukind, while East Francia under the rule of the last Carolingian kings was ravaged by Hungarian invasions, he rose to a primus inter pares among the German dukes. In 933 he led a German army to victory over the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Riade, by succession regulation, he transferred the power to his second son Otto I, who acceded to an undivided heritage. Otto I, Duke of Saxony upon the death of his father in 936, was elected king within a few weeks. He continued the work of unifying all of the German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, he installed members of his own family to the kingdoms most important duchies. This, however, did not prevent his relatives from entering into civil war, Otto was able to suppress their uprisings, in consequence, the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, were reduced into royal subjects under the kings authority. His decisive victory over the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 ended the Hungarian invasions of Europe, the defeat of the pagan Magyars earned King Otto the reputation as the savior of Christendom and the epithet the Great. He transformed the Church in Germany into a kind of church and major royal power base to which he donated charity. By 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy, which was an inheritance that none wanted, and extended his kingdoms borders to the north, east. In control of much of central and southern Europe, the patronage of Otto and his immediate successors caused a cultural renaissance of the arts. He even reached a settlement with the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes by marrying his son, in 968 he established the Archbishopric of Magdeburg at his long-time residence. Co-ruler with his father since 961 and crowned emperor in 967, by excluding the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of succession, he strengthened Imperial authority and secured his own sons succession to the Imperial throne
9.
Cross of Otto and Mathilde
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The Cross of Otto and Mathilde, Otto-Mathilda Cross, or First Cross of Mathilde is a medieval crux gemmata processional cross in the Essen Cathedral Treasury. It was created in the tenth century and was used on high holidays until recently. It is named after the two persons who appear on the plaque below Christ, Otto I, Duke of Swabia and Bavaria and his sister, Mathilde. They were grandchildren of the emperor Otto I and favourites of their uncle, the cross is one of the items which demonstrate the very close relationship between the Liudolfing royal house and Essen Abbey. Mathilde became Abbess of Essen in 973 and her brother died in 982, the cross is 44.5 centimetres high and 29.5 centimetres wide, with a core made of oak. It is a Latin cross, but the ends of the beams are flared, through their double ridges and triangles, the trapezoidal extensions are very close to those of Cross of Lothair in Aachen, which is usually dated to around 1000. The front side of the cross is decorated with a gold sheet. A raised border runs around this side of the cross, with set in gold filigree. A fine string of pearls borders the space, the colour and size of the stones on opposite sides match, so that the jewels appear deliberately organised and clear. On the lower end of the cross beam the donation plate in cloisonné enamel depicts Mathild Abba and Otto Dux. The body of the suffering Christ is beaten from the sheet of the background plate. The bulging abdomen and the asymmetrical torso seem similar to the body of the Gero Cross in Cologne, Trier has also been considered in this regard, because the cloisonné plate on the cross might come from the workshop of Egbert, Archbishop of Trier. It is probable that only the enamel was made in Trier, the halo on Christs head reaches to the edge of the cross, while the three gemstones of the halo further emphasise the inclination of the head to the left. Between the feet, placed on the suppedaneum, and the plaque, there is the chased image of a snake. Above Christs head there are two plates with an inscription in three lines, IHC NA / ZARENVS / REX IVDEOR, the letters IHC stand for the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek. The back side of the cross is decorated with copper sheeting and has a simpler engraved design, which shows the four Evangelists on the ends of the cross beams. These images are connected by a Tree of Life, the key to the interpretation and dating of the cross is the donation plate of the cross which has remained unchanged since its creation. On this plate, Otto, Duke of Swabia and Abbess Mathilde are depicted in court dress, the clothing depicted is probably Sogdian silk which came to the Frankish empire only in the form of gifts from the Byzantines
10.
Essen cross with large enamels
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The cross is considered one of the masterpieces of Ottonian goldsmithing. The original part of the cross is 46 cm high and 33 cm wide and it is a Latin cross with block-shaped ends. These appear similar to the capitals which were popular in architecture around the year 1000. The front of the cross is covered with a highly decorated gold sheet, the back, with one of gilded copper, later in date, the cross is a pure crux gemmata, in which the senkshmelz plaque at the centre shows the Crucifixion of Jesus. Just like the oldest of these, the Cross of Otto and Mathilde, it has an internal cross, the area of the Cross with large enamels inside the border is decorated with skilfully doubled filigree, gemstones, pearls arranged in the shape of crosses and an ancient cameo. On the cameo is a head of Medusa, technically referred to as a Gorgoneion and it is sardonyx and was made in the first half of the first century AD. The cameo is worked in three layers and has a diameter of 2.7 cm. The cameo might be taken in reference to Psalm 91.13 as symbolic of evils defeat by the saviour, the name of the cross derives from the five large pieces of senkschmelz enamel at the extremities of the members, and in the crossing. In the centre of the Cross there is a slightly oblong plaque with a depiction of the crucifixion, Christ is on the cross with his head inclined to the left, mary and John stand on either side. Above the horizontal arms of the Cross, personifications of the Sun, the enamel is surrounded by tiny pearls and due to its size it extends a little above and below the horizontal arm of the cross. These large senkschmelz panels are large for European work and of high technical and artistic quality. The back plate of the Cross was replaced in the twelfth century, in the expanded space at the ends of the cross there are four chased medallions depicting angels and in the centre there is a medallion depicting the Agnus Dei. The Cross is universally dated to around 1000 by scholars, the irregular form of the Evangelist plaques is conspicuous, as is the fact that the central plaque does not fit neatly to its position. These plaques were created around 1000, however, on the grounds of their similarly irregular shape, these plaques were probably created for another context and later incorporated into the Cross, which was considerably altered as a result. For this purpose, the plaques of the Evangelists, whose composition betrays Byzantine influence, were recut, therefore, their irregular shape stressed the fact that they were spolia. In order to fit these plaques, the border of the ends. Beuckers dated this remodelling to the time of Abbess Sophia, in this remodelling, the collars of the ends of the cross became pointless and the goldsmith responsible for the remodelling concealed them with spiral-shaped filigree wire, known as Bienenkörbe. This ornamental motif came into vogue in the reign of Henry II, along with another type of filigree decoration, Sophia had been appointed Abbess of Essen by Henry II and was close to him, which might have given her the opportunity to employ one of his goldsmiths
11.
Cross of Theophanu
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The Cross of Theophanu is one of four Ottonian processional crosses in the Essen Cathedral Treasury and is among the most significant pieces of goldwork from that period. It was gifted by Theophanu, Abbess of Essen, who reigned from 1039 to 1058. The basic form is that of a Latin cross with a lump of Egyptian quartz mounted at its centre,44.5 cm high and 30 cm wide with a cedar core, decorated on both faces and the edges. On the edges there is an inscription, originally worked in silver, but now largely lost. The ends of the cross are formed by sections with rounded inner corners. At the centre on the front, there is a large, behind it there are two pieces of the true cross on red velvet, enclosed as relics. The crystal is located on a round plate decorated with pearls, jewels and filigree work, running along the edges of the cross are two bands made up of alternating enamel plates and gemstones. Between them there is a central band of filigree work. At the ends of the cross there are two enamel plates decorated with gemstones, pearls and filigreework on either side of a gemstone, the eighteen enamel plates on the cross can be divided into three groups. The first group depicts stylised plants or animals whose natural models can only be found in the east, the six plates on the stem and branches of the cross have a plaited pattern. The four enamels in the group feature an interplay of the cloisonne and champleve methods. The back of the cross is covered by a plate, engraved with a bust of Christ Pantocrator in the centre. According to the inscription, Theophanu was the donor of the cross. It was probably intended to be a counterpart to the Senkschmelz cross donated by her predecessor Mathilde, an exact date for the donation of the cross is not possible, but it might be connected with the consecration of the Minsters crypt in 1051 or the High altar in 1054. At least eight but possibly up to fourteen of the eighteen enamel tablets are of Byzantine origin, the Byzantine components of the Theophanu cross are probably derived from the possessions inherited by the Ezzonids from the Ottonian dynasty. Cross of Mathilde Cross of Otto and Mathilde Senkschmelz Cross Georg Humann, Die Kunstwerke der Münsterkirche zu Essen. Eine Untersuchung zur Stiftungstätigkeit im 11, lit Verlag, Münster/ Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-89473-953-3. Der Essener Kirchenschatz aus der Frühzeit der Stiftsgeschichte, in Herrschaft, Bildung und Gebet – Gründung und Anfänge des Frauenstifts Essen
12.
Essen Abbey
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Essen Abbey was a monastery of secular canonesses for women of high nobility in Essen, Germany. It was founded about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid, later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near an estate called Astnidhi. The first abbess was Altfrids kinswoman, Gerswit, a chapter of male priests were also attached to the abbey, under a dean. Because of its advancement by the Liudolfings the abbey became reichsunmittelbar sometime between 874 and 947 and its best years began in 973 under the Abbess Mathilde, granddaughter of Otto I and thus herself a Liudolfing, who governed the abbey until 1011. In her time the most important of the art treasures of what is now the Essen Cathedral treasury came to Essen, the next two abbesses to succeed her were also from the Liudolfing family and were thus able further to increase the wealth and power of the foundation. In 1228 the abbesses were designated Princesses for the first time, from 1300 they took up residence in Schloss Borbeck, where they spent increasing amounts of time. In the north of the territory was located the monastery of Stoppenberg, founded in 1073. Also among the possessions of the abbey was the area round Huckarde, on the borders of the County of Dortmund, approximately 3,000 farms in the area owed dues to the abbey, in Vest Recklinghausen, on the Hellweg and round Breisig and Godesberg. From 1512 to its dissolution the Imperial abbey belonged to the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle, from 1802 the territory was occupied by Prussian troops. The abbey was dissolved in 1803, the spiritual territory of three square miles passed to Prussia, then between 1806/1807 to 1813 to the Duchy of Berg and afterwards to Prussia again. The last abbess, Maria Kunigunde von Sachsen, died on 8 April 1826 in Dresden. When in 1958 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen was created, the dates of the rule of the abbesses are incompletely preserved. The sequence of the abbesses between Gerswid II and Ida is uncertain, particularly in regard to the Abbess Agana, saint Altfrid Ute Küppers-Braun, Macht in Frauenhand –1000 Jahre Herrschaft adeliger Frauen in Essen. Torsten Fremer, Äbtissin Theophanu und das Stift Essen, familienforschung in den Kirchenbüchern des Stifts Essen
13.
Essen Minster
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Essen Minster, since 1958 also Essen Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Essen, the Diocese of the Ruhr, founded in 1958. The church, dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian and the Blessed Virgin Mary, stands on the Burgplatz in the centre of the city of Essen, Germany. The minster was formerly the church of Essen Abbey, founded in about 845 by Altfrid, Bishop of Hildesheim. The present building, which was reconstructed after its destruction in World War II, is a Gothic hall church, the octagonal westwork and the crypt are survivors of the Ottonian pre-Romanesque building that once stood here. The separate Church of St. Johann Baptist stands at the west end of the minster, to the north of the minster is a cloister that once served the abbey. Essen Minster is noted for its treasury, which among other treasures contains the Golden Madonna, from the foundation of the first church until 1803, Essen Minster was the Abbey church of Essen Abbey and the hub of abbey life. The church was neither a church, nor a cathedral church. The canonical hours and masses of the order occurred in the Minster, as well as prayers for deceased members of the community, the church was open to the dependents of the order and the people of the city of Essen only on the high feast days. Otherwise the Church of St. Johann Baptist, which had developed out of the Ottonian baptistry, the Reformation had no effect on the Minster. Johann Baptist, located in the Abbey complex, as their parish church, the nuns continued to use the Minster. In 1803, Essen Abbey was mediatized by the Kingdom of Prussia, the Minster and all its property was immediately taken over by the parish community of St. Johann Baptist. For the next 150 years the church was their parish church, the name Minster church, which had become established, was retained even though the order no longer existed. As parish church, it served the Catholics of Essens inner city area which significantly increased in population in the nineteenth, on 1 January 1958 the first Bishop of Essen, Franz Hengsbach was consecrated by the Nuncio Aloisius Joseph Muench. Since then Essen Minster has been the heart of the diocese. The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1987 marked the point of the Minsters thousand-year history. The site of the cathedral was already settled before the foundation of the Abbey, the Bishop of Hildesheim, Altfrid is supposed to have founded the order of nuns on his estate, called Asnide. A direct attestation of Asnide has not yet been found, but from postholes, Merovingian pottery sherds and burials found near the Minster, it can be concluded that a settlement was in place before the foundation of the Abbey. The modern Essen Minster is the church building on this site
14.
Oak
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An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 600 extant species of oaks, the common name oak also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus, as well as in those of unrelated species such as Grevillea robusta and the Casuarinaceae. North America contains the largest number of oak species, with approximately 90 occurring in the United States, the second greatest center of oak diversity is China, which contains approximately 100 species. Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with lobate margins in many species, also, the acorns contain tannic acid, as do the leaves, which helps to guard from fungi and insects. Many deciduous species are marcescent, not dropping dead leaves until spring, in spring, a single oak tree produces both male flowers and small female flowers. The fruit is a nut called an acorn, borne in a structure known as a cupule, each acorn contains one seed and takes 6–18 months to mature. The live oaks are distinguished for being evergreen, but are not actually a distinct group, the oak tree is a flowering plant. Oaks may be divided into two genera and a number of sections, The genus Quercus is divided into the following sections, Quercus, the white oaks of Europe, Asia and North America. Styles are short, acorns mature in 6 months and taste sweet or slightly bitter, the leaves mostly lack a bristle on their lobe tips, which are usually rounded. The type species is Quercus robur, Mesobalanus, Hungarian oak and its relatives of Europe and Asia. Styles long, acorns mature in about 6 months and taste bitter, the section Mesobalanus is closely related to section Quercus and sometimes included in it. Cerris, the Turkey oak and its relatives of Europe and Asia, styles long, acorn mature in 18 months and taste very bitter. The inside of the shell is hairless. Its leaves typically have sharp tips, with bristles at the lobe tip. Protobalanus, the live oak and its relatives, in southwest United States. Styles short, acorns mature in 18 months and taste very bitter, the inside of the acorn shell appears woolly. Leaves typically have sharp tips, with bristles at the lobe tip. Lobatae, the red oaks of North America, Central America, styles long, acorns mature in 18 months and taste very bitter
15.
Christian cross variants
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This is a list of Christian cross variants. The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix, the term Greek cross designates a cross with arms of equal length, as in a plus sign, while the term Latin cross designates a cross with an elongated descending arm. Numerous other variants have developed during the medieval period. Christian crosses are used widely in churches, on top of buildings, on bibles, in heraldry, in personal jewelry, on hilltops. Crosses are a prominent feature of Christian cemeteries, either carved on gravestones or as sculpted stelae, roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran depictions of the cross are often crucifixes, in order to emphasize that it is Jesus that is important, rather than the cross in isolation. Large crucifixes are a prominent feature of some Lutheran churches, as illustrated in the article Rood, several Christian cross variants are available in computer-displayed text. The Latin cross symbol is included in the character set as 271D. For others, see Religious and political symbols in Unicode, basic variants, or early variants widespread since antiquity
16.
Cross of Lothair
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The Cross of Lothair or Lothair Cross is a crux gemmata processional cross dating from about 1000 AD, though its base dates from the 14th century. It was made in Germany, probably at Cologne, the measurements of the original portion are 50 cm height,38.5 cm width,2.3 cm depth. The cross comes from the period when Ottonian art was evolving into Romanesque art, the cross was actually made over a century after Lothair’s death for one of the Ottonian dynasty, the successors of the Carolingian dynasty, possibly for Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor. It appears to have donated to the Cathedral as soon as it was made. The Cross is still used in processions today, on high feast days it is carried into Aachen Cathedral where it is placed next to the main altar during mass. For the rest of the time it is on display in the Cathedral Treasury Museum, the oak core of the Lothair Cross is encased in gold and silver and encrusted with jewels and engraved gems – a total of 102 gems and 35 pearls. The front of the cross is made of gold and silver plate and is decorated with precious stones, pearls, gold filigree. The enamel is on the bands of the terminals that are interrupted by the points of the triangular sections, the gems in the centre rows are mounted in raised drum-like platforms, their sides decorated with arcades in filigree. The flat surface of the arms is decorated all over with filigree tendrils, at the meeting point of the arms is a first-century AD sardonyx three-layered cameo of the Roman Emperor Augustus holding an eagle sceptre, also mounted on a raised drum. Another gem portrait of the Roman Emperor Caracalla had a cross and it is now impossible to know the degrees of awareness of this iconographic recycling among the different categories of people creating and seeing these objects. The second largest gem, below Augustus, was probably Lothairs seal and has his portrait with the inscription +XPE ADIVVA HLOTARIVM REG and this served a similar function, linking the Ottonians with the Carolingian dynasty who had established the position of Holy Roman Emperor. Other gems on the cross have classical carvings on them, including an amethyst with the Three Graces and this is the earliest known appearance of the dove in this motif, which introduces the whole Trinity into a crucifixion, an iconography that was to have a long future. The Serpent, representing Satan, is twined round the bottom of the cross, in medallions at the ends of the arms are personifications of the sun and moon with heads bowed and surmounted by their symbols. Engraved backs are found in many jewelled crosses of the period, the cross is now mounted on a 14th-century Gothic stand, itself decorated with two small crucifixions and other figures. This style of gem-studded gold decoration, re-using material from antiquity, was usual for the richest objects at the time. Some examples are the crosses of Bernward of Hildesheim, Gisela of Hungary, and Mathilda of Essen, which uses a virtually identical design for the terminals of the arms to the Lothair Cross. The two sides can be taken to represent Church and state, fittingly for an Imperial donation that was carried in front of the Holy Roman Emperors as they processed into the church. The broad form of the matches that of the small cross at the front of the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, which also has a jewelled front side
17.
Lamb of God
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Lamb of God is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1,29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, Christian doctrine holds that divine Jesus chose to suffer crucifixion at Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his divine Father, as an agent and servant of God. In Christian theology the Lamb of God is viewed as foundational and integral to the message of Christianity, a lion-like lamb that rises to deliver victory after being slain appears several times in the Book of Revelation. It is also referred to in Pauline writings,1 Corinthians 5,7 suggests that Saint Paul intends to refer to the death of Jesus, the lamb metaphor is also in line with Psalm 23, which depicts God as a shepherd leading his flock. It also is used in liturgy and as a form of contemplative prayer, the Agnus Dei also forms a part of the musical setting for the Mass. These two proclamations of Jesus as the Lamb of God closely bracket the Baptists other proclamation in John 1,34, I have borne witness that this is the Son of God. From a Christological perspective, these proclamations and the descent of the Holy Spirit as a dove in John 1,32 reinforce each other to establish the divine element of the Person of Christ. The Book of Revelation includes over twenty-nine references to a lamb which delivers victory in a manner reminiscent of the resurrected Christ. In the first appearance of the lamb in Revelation only the lamb is found worthy to take the judgment scroll from God and break the seals. The reference to the lamb in Revelation 5,6 relates it to the Seven Spirits of God which first appear in Revelation 1,4 and are associated with Jesus who holds them along with seven stars. In Revelation 21,14 the lamb is said to have twelve apostles, the handing of the scroll to the risen lamb signifies the change in the role of the lamb. In Calvary, the lamb submitted to the will of the Father to be slain, the concept of the Lamb of God fits well within Johns agent Christology, in which sacrifice is made as an agent of God or servant of God for the sake of eventual victory. The theme of a lamb which rises in victory as the Resurrected Christ was employed in early Christology, e. g. in 375 Saint Augustine wrote. Because he underwent death without being guilty of any iniquity, why a lion in his passion. Because in being slain, he slew death, why a lamb in his resurrection. Why a lion in his resurrection, because everlasting also is his might. Anselm emphasized that as Lamb of God, Jesus chose to suffer in Calvary as a sign of his obedience to the will of the Father. However, as above Saint Anselm and John Calvins view reject the Scapegoat symbolism for they view Jesus as making a sacrifice as an agent of God
18.
Evangelist portrait
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Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediaeval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and their symbols may be shown with them, or separately. Often they are the only illumination in the manuscript. They originate in the secular tradition of the author portrait. A very few examples of Late Antique secular author portraits survive, some examples also draw on the conventions of the Late Antique consular portrait, much used for the Emperors, who were also consuls. Examples of these, copied from the original, can be seen in the Chronography of 354. The Evangelist may be holding a book, but is not writing in it and these frameworks are thought to draw from the style of the Scaenae frons, or elaborate proscenium structures of Roman theatres. The symbols are, the Lion of Mark, the Eagle of John, the Ox or Calf of Luke, often all are shown with wings, as in the familiar winged lion used in the coat of arms of Venice, whose patron saint was Mark. Sometimes, as in the example from Lorsch, the symbols are shown dictating the text to the evangelist. These were derived from unknown classical prototypes, similar to those in the Codex Amiatinus and Saint Augustine Gospels, usually a setting is provided for the figure. Perhaps because of the origins of the typology, haloes are less likely to be worn than in other types of image. The level of detail shown in the furniture and fittings is unusual for Early Medieval art, an arch behind the author, often with curtains hanging across it, in some examples close to the classical models, gradually is turned into a decorative framing device for the whole scene. Early Gospel Books often had an elaborate and costly treasure binding or cover in metalwork, often with jewels. These most often featured a panel with Christ in Majesty. Versions of the same composition appear in all media used for Early Medieval religious art, the Tassilo Chalice is an 8th-century example of pure metalwork with five oval medallion portraits of Christ and the Evangelists round the cup. Later Insular depictions seem to show figures without chairs, who are standing, most of Europe continued to use the seated model however, usually seen in a three-quarters on view, and usually with a cushion behind. Sometimes all four evangelists were combined on a page, sometimes around a Christ in Majesty, standing portraits were usual, however, for wall and later panel paintings with the Evangelists often treated as, and mixed with, other saints. The Gospel book as a medium for heavily illustrated manuscripts declined in the West from the Romanesque period, in the West the portraits continued to be found in Bibles, more often as the picture within a historiated initial at the start of each Gospel
19.
Crucifix
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A crucifix is an image of Jesus on the cross, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the corpus, the crucifix is a principal symbol for many groups of Christians, and one of the most common forms of the Crucifixion in the arts. The symbol is less common in churches of other Protestant denominations, the crucifix emphasizes Jesus sacrifice — his death by crucifixion, which Christians believe brought about the redemption of mankind. Most crucifixes portray Jesus on a Latin cross, rather than any other shape, Western crucifixes usually have a three-dimensional corpus, but in Eastern Orthodoxy Jesus body is normally painted on the cross, or in low relief. Strictly speaking, to be a crucifix, the cross must be three-dimensional, an entire painting of the Crucifixion of Jesus including a landscape background and other figures is not a crucifix either. Large crucifixes high across the axis of a church are known by the Old English term rood. By the late Middle Ages these were a feature of Western churches. The standard, four-pointed Latin crucifix consists of an upright post or stipes, there may also be a short projecting nameplate, showing the letters INRI. The corpus of Eastern crucifixes is normally a two-dimensional or low relief icon that shows Jesus as already dead, his face peaceful, more sculptural small crucifixes in metal relief are also used in Orthodoxy, including as pectoral crosses and blessing crosses. Western crucifixes may show Christ dead or alive, the presence of the wound in his ribs traditionally indicating that he is dead. In either case his face very often shows his suffering, in Orthodoxy he has normally been shown as dead since around the end of the period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Eastern crucifixes have Jesus two feet nailed side by side, rather than crossed one above the other, as Western crucifixes have shown them since around the 13th century. The crown of thorns is also absent in Eastern crucifixes, since the emphasis is not on Christs suffering. The S-shaped position of Jesus body on the cross is a Byzantine innovation of the late 10th century, probably more from Byzantine influence, it spread elsewhere in the West, especially to Italy, by the Romanesque period, though it was more usual in painting than sculpted crucifixes. Its in Italy that the emphasis was put on Jesus suffering and realistic details, during the 13th century the suffering Italian model triumphed over the traditional Byzantine one anywhere in Europe also due to the works of artists such as Giunta Pisano and Cimabue. Since the Renaissance the S-shape is generally less pronounced. He may be robed as a prophet, crowned as a king, on some crucifixes a skull and crossbones are shown below the corpus, referring to Golgotha, the site at which Jesus was crucified, which the Gospels say means in Hebrew the place of the skull. Very large crucifixes have been built, the largest being the Cross in the Woods in Michigan, prayer in front of a crucifix, which is seen as a sacramental, is often part of devotion for Christians, especially those worshipping in a church, and also privately
20.
Occipital bone
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The occipital bone, is a cranial dermal bone, and is the main bone of the occiput. It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish, the occipital bone overlies the occipital lobes of the cerebrum. At the base of the skull in the occipital there is a large oval opening called the foramen magnum. Like the other cranial bones it is classed as a flat bone, due to its many attachments and features the occipital bone is described in terms of separate parts. From its front to the back is the part, at the sides of the foramen magnum are the lateral parts. The basilar part is a thick, somewhat quadrilateral piece in front of the foramen magnum and this is also called the basioccipital. The lateral parts of the bone are on either side of the foramen magnum. The squamous part is the curved, expanded plate behind the foramen magnum and is the largest part of the occipital bone, near the middle of the outer surface of the squamous part of the occipital there is a prominence – the external occipital protuberance. The highest point of this is called the inion, from the inion, along the midline of the squamous part until the foramen magnum, runs a ridge – the external occipital crest and this gives attachment to the nuchal ligament. Running across the outside of the bone are three curved lines and one line that runs down to the foramen magnum. These are known as the lines which give attachment to various ligaments. They are named as the highest, superior and inferior nuchal lines, the inferior nuchal line runs across the mid-point of the medial nuchal line. The area above the highest nuchal line is termed the occipital plane, the inner surface of the occipital bone forms the base of the posterior cranial fossa. The foramen magnum is a hole situated in the middle, with the clivus. The median internal occipital crest travels behind it to the occipital protuberance. To the sides of the sitting at the junction between the lateral and base of the occipital bone are the hypoglossal canals. Further out, at each junction between the occipital and petrous part of the temporal bone lies a jugular foramen, the inner surface of the occipital bone is marked by dividing lines as shallow ridges, that form four fossae or depressions. The lines are called the cruciform eminence, at the mid-point where the lines intersect a raised part is formed called the internal occipital protuberance
21.
Vitreous enamel
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Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C. The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating on metal, so in technical terms fired enamelware is an integrated layered composite of glass and metal. Enamelling is an old and widely adopted technology, for most of its history mainly used in jewelry, enamelled and enamelling are the preferred spellings in British English, while enameled and enameling are preferred in American English. The term enamel is most often restricted to work on metal, enamelled glass is also called painted, and overglaze decoration to pottery is often called enamelling. The word enamel comes from the Old High German word smelzan via the Old French esmail, or from a Latin word smaltum, used as a noun, an enamel is usually a small decorative object coated with enamel. Since the 19th century the term also to industrial materials and many metal consumer objects, such as some cooking vessels, dishwashers, laundry machines, sinks. The ancient Egyptians applied enamels to stone objects, pottery, and sometimes jewellery, the ancient Greeks, Celts, Georgians, and Chinese also used enamel on metal objects. Enamel powder could be produced in two ways, either by powdering coloured glass, or by mixing colourless glass powder with pigments such as a metallic oxide, designs were either painted freehand or over the top of outline incisions, and the technique probably originated in metalworking. Once painted, enamelled glass vessels needed to be fired at a high enough to melt the applied powder. Ancient Persians used this method for colouring and ornamenting the surface of metals by fusing over it brilliant colours that are decorated in an intricate design and called it Meenakari. Gold has been used traditionally for Meenakari Jewellery as it holds the enamel better, lasts longer, initially, the work of Meenakari often went unnoticed as this art was traditionally used as a backing for the famous kundan or stone-studded jewellery. This also allowed the wearer to reverse the jewellery as also promised a special joy in the secret of the hidden design, the Byzantine enamel style was widely adopted by the barbarian peoples of Migration Period northern Europe. The Byzantines then began to use cloisonné more freely to create images, the champlevé technique was considerably easier and very widely practiced in the Romanesque period. In Gothic art the finest work is in basse-taille and ronde-bosse techniques, from either Byzantium or the Islamic world, the cloisonné technique reached China in the 13-14th centuries. The first written reference to cloisonné is in a book from 1388, cloisonné remained very popular in China until the 19th century and is still produced today. Starting from the century, the Japanese also produced large quantities of very high technical quality. A resurgence in enamel-based art took place near the end of the 20th century in the Soviet Union, led by artists like Alexei Maximov, in Australia, abstract artist Bernard Hesling brought the style into prominence with his variously sized steel plates. Enamel was first applied commercially to sheet iron and steel in Austria, industrialization increased as the purity of raw materials increased and costs decreased
22.
Sun
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The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a perfect sphere of hot plasma, with internal convective motion that generates a magnetic field via a dynamo process. It is by far the most important source of energy for life on Earth. Its diameter is about 109 times that of Earth, and its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth, accounting for about 99. 86% of the total mass of the Solar System. About three quarters of the Suns mass consists of hydrogen, the rest is mostly helium, with smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon. The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star based on its spectral class and it formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center, whereas the rest flattened into a disk that became the Solar System. The central mass became so hot and dense that it eventually initiated nuclear fusion in its core and it is thought that almost all stars form by this process. The Sun is roughly middle-aged, it has not changed dramatically for more than four billion years and it is calculated that the Sun will become sufficiently large enough to engulf the current orbits of Mercury, Venus, and probably Earth. The enormous effect of the Sun on Earth has been recognized since prehistoric times, the synodic rotation of Earth and its orbit around the Sun are the basis of the solar calendar, which is the predominant calendar in use today. The English proper name Sun developed from Old English sunne and may be related to south, all Germanic terms for the Sun stem from Proto-Germanic *sunnōn. The English weekday name Sunday stems from Old English and is ultimately a result of a Germanic interpretation of Latin dies solis, the Latin name for the Sun, Sol, is not common in general English language use, the adjectival form is the related word solar. The term sol is used by planetary astronomers to refer to the duration of a solar day on another planet. A mean Earth solar day is approximately 24 hours, whereas a mean Martian sol is 24 hours,39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. From at least the 4th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Sun was worshipped as the god Ra, portrayed as a falcon-headed divinity surmounted by the solar disk, and surrounded by a serpent. In the New Empire period, the Sun became identified with the dung beetle, in the form of the Sun disc Aten, the Sun had a brief resurgence during the Amarna Period when it again became the preeminent, if not only, divinity for the Pharaoh Akhenaton. The Sun is viewed as a goddess in Germanic paganism, Sól/Sunna, in ancient Roman culture, Sunday was the day of the Sun god. It was adopted as the Sabbath day by Christians who did not have a Jewish background, the symbol of light was a pagan device adopted by Christians, and perhaps the most important one that did not come from Jewish traditions
23.
Moon
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The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits planet Earth, being Earths only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, following Jupiters satellite Io, the Moon is second-densest satellite among those whose densities are known. The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 384,400 km, the Moon is thought to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago, not long after Earth. It is the second-brightest regularly visible celestial object in Earths sky, after the Sun and its surface is actually dark, although compared to the night sky it appears very bright, with a reflectance just slightly higher than that of worn asphalt. Its prominence in the sky and its cycle of phases have made the Moon an important cultural influence since ancient times on language, calendars, art. The Moons gravitational influence produces the ocean tides, body tides, and this matching of apparent visual size will not continue in the far future. The Moons linear distance from Earth is currently increasing at a rate of 3.82 ±0.07 centimetres per year, since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the Moon has been visited only by uncrewed spacecraft. The usual English proper name for Earths natural satellite is the Moon, the noun moon is derived from moone, which developed from mone, which is derived from Old English mōna, which ultimately stems from Proto-Germanic *mǣnōn, like all Germanic language cognates. Occasionally, the name Luna is used, in literature, especially science fiction, Luna is used to distinguish it from other moons, while in poetry, the name has been used to denote personification of our moon. The principal modern English adjective pertaining to the Moon is lunar, a less common adjective is selenic, derived from the Ancient Greek Selene, from which is derived the prefix seleno-. Both the Greek Selene and the Roman goddess Diana were alternatively called Cynthia, the names Luna, Cynthia, and Selene are reflected in terminology for lunar orbits in words such as apolune, pericynthion, and selenocentric. The name Diana is connected to dies meaning day, several mechanisms have been proposed for the Moons formation 4.51 billion years ago, and some 60 million years after the origin of the Solar System. These hypotheses also cannot account for the angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system. This hypothesis, although not perfect, perhaps best explains the evidence, eighteen months prior to an October 1984 conference on lunar origins, Bill Hartmann, Roger Phillips, and Jeff Taylor challenged fellow lunar scientists, You have eighteen months. Go back to your Apollo data, go back to computer, do whatever you have to. Dont come to our conference unless you have something to say about the Moons birth, at the 1984 conference at Kona, Hawaii, the giant impact hypothesis emerged as the most popular. Afterward there were only two groups, the giant impact camp and the agnostics. Giant impacts are thought to have been common in the early Solar System, computer simulations of a giant impact have produced results that are consistent with the mass of the lunar core and the present angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system
24.
Pearl
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A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as a conulariid. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate. in minute crystalline form, the ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The finest quality natural pearls have been valued as gemstones. Because of this, pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, the most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as natural pearls, cultured or farmed pearls from pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority of those currently sold. Imitation pearls are widely sold in inexpensive jewelry, but the quality of their iridescence is usually very poor and is easily distinguished from that of genuine pearls. Pearls have been harvested and cultivated primarily for use in jewelry and they have also been crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines and paint formulations. Whether wild or cultured, gem-quality pearls are almost always nacreous and iridescent, however, almost all species of shelled mollusks are capable of producing pearls of lesser shine or less spherical shape. The English word pearl comes from the French perle, originally from the Latin perna meaning leg, nacreous pearls, the best-known and most commercially significant, are primarily produced by two groups of molluskan bivalves or clams. A nacreous pearl is made from layers of nacre, by the same living process as is used in the secretion of the mother of pearl which lines the shell, natural pearls, formed without human intervention, are very rare. Cultured pearls are formed in pearl farms, using human intervention as well as natural processes, saltwater pearls can grow in several species of marine pearl oysters in the family Pteriidae. Freshwater pearls grow within certain species of mussels in the order Unionida. The unique luster of pearls depends upon the reflection, refraction, the thinner and more numerous the layers in the pearl, the finer the luster. The iridescence that pearls display is caused by the overlapping of successive layers, in addition, pearls can be dyed yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, purple, or black. The very best pearls have a metallic mirror-like luster, because pearls are made primarily of calcium carbonate, they can be dissolved in vinegar. Calcium carbonate is susceptible to even a weak acid solution because the crystals of calcium carbonate react with the acid in the vinegar to form calcium acetate. Freshwater and saltwater pearls may sometimes look quite similar, but they come from different sources, Freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels, family Unionidae, which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. These freshwater pearl mussels occur not only in hotter climates, most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China
25.
Filigree
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It often suggests lace and remains popular in Indian and other Asian metalwork. It was popular as well in Italian, French and Portuguese metalwork from 1660 to the late 19th century and it should not be confused with ajoure jewellery work, the ajoure technique consisting of drilling holes in objects made of sheet metal. The English word filigree is shortened from the use of filigreen which derives from Latin filum meaning thread. The Latin words gave filigrana in Italian which itself became filigrane in 17th-century French, though filigree has become a special branch of jewellery in modern times, it was historically part of the ordinary work of the jeweler. Indeed, all the jewelry of the Etruscans and Greeks was made by soldering together, archaeological finds in ancient Mesopotamia indicate that filigree was incorporated into jewelry since 3,000 BC. Specific to the city of Midyat in Mardin Province in upper Mesopotamia, to this day, expert craftsmen in this region continue to produce fine pieces of telkari. The Egyptian jewelers employed wire, both to lay down on a background and to plait or otherwise arranged jour, but, with the exception of chains, it cannot be said that filigree work was much practiced by them. Their strength lay rather in their work and their molded ornaments. Many examples, however, remain of round plaited gold chains of fine wire, such as those that are made by the filigree workers of India. From some of these are hung smaller chains of finer wire with minute fishes, a number of earrings and other personal ornaments found in central Italy are preserved in the Louvre and in the British Museum. Almost all of them are made of filigree work, but the feathers and petals of modern Italian filigree are not seen in these ancient designs. Instances occur, but only rarely, in which filigree devices in wire are self-supporting, the museum of the Hermitage at Saint Petersburg contains a large collection of Scythian jewelry from the tombs of the Crimea. Many bracelets and necklaces in that collection are made of twisted wire, some in as many as seven rows of plaiting, others are strings of large beads of gold, decorated with volutes, knots and other patterns of wire soldered over the surfaces. In the British Museum a sceptre, probably that of a Greek priestess, is covered with plaited and netted gold wipe, finished with a sort of Corinthian capital and a boss of green glass. It is probable that in India and various parts of central Asia filigree has been worked from the most remote period without any change in the designs. Very fine grains or beads and spines of gold, scarcely thicker than coarse hair, also noted is silver filigree of Karimnagar in Telangana state. These objects, besides being enriched with precious stones, polished, but not cut into facets, byzantine filigree work occasionally has small stones set amongst the curves or knots. Examples of such decoration can be seen in the Victoria and Albert, examples include the Cross of Lothair in Aachen
26.
Cameo (carving)
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Cameo is a method of carving an object such as an engraved gem, item of jewellery or vessel made in this manner. It nearly always features a relief image, contrast with intaglio. Today the term may be used loosely for objects with no colour contrast. This derives from another generalized meaning that has developed, the cameo as an image of a head in a frame in any medium. In cheaper modern work, shell and glass are more common, glass cameo vessels, such as the famous Portland Vase, were also developed by the Romans. Modern cameos can be produced by setting a carved relief, such as a portrait and this is called an assembled cameo. Sometimes dyes are used to enhance these colours, sir Wallis Budge alleged that the noun Cameo apparently comes from Kameo, a word used in kabbalistic slang to signify a magical square, i. e. A kind of talisman whereupon magical spells was carved, stone cameos of great artistry were made in Greece dating back as far as the 3rd century BC. The Farnese Tazza is the oldest major Hellenistic piece surviving and they were very popular in Ancient Rome, especially in the family circle of Augustus. Roman Cameos became less common around in the leading up to 300AD although production continued at a much reduced rate right through the Middle Ages. The technique has since enjoyed periodic revivals, notably in the early Renaissance, the Neoclassical revival began in France with Napoleons support of the glyptic arts, and even his coronation crown was decorated with cameos. In 1852 Théophile Gautier titled a collection of his highly polished, during the Roman period the cameo technique was used on glass blanks, in imitation of objects being produced in agate or sardonyx. Cameo glass objects were produced in two periods, between around 25 BC and 50/60 AD, and in the later Empire around the mid-third and mid-fourth century. Roman glass cameos are rare objects, with only two hundred fragments and sixteen complete pieces known, only one of which dates from the later period. Blanks could be produced by fusing two separately cast sheets of glass, or by dipping the base glass into a crucible of molten overlay glass during blowing, the most famous example of a cameo from the early period is the Portland Vase. Although occasionally used in Roman cameos, the earliest prevalent use of shell for carving was during the Renaissance. Before that time, cameos were carved from hardstone, the Renaissance cameos are typically white on a grayish background and were carved from the shell of a mussel or cowry, the latter a tropical mollusk. In the mid 18th century, explorations revealed new shell varieties, helmet shells from the West Indies, and queen conch shells from the Bahamas and West Indies, arrived in Europe
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Donor portrait
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A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or her, family. Donor portraits are very common in works of art, especially paintings, of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Often, even late into the Renaissance, the portraits, especially when of a whole family, will be at a much smaller scale than the principal figures. By the mid-15th century donors began to be integrated into the main scene, as bystanders. The purpose of donor portraits was to memorialize the donor and his family, to do so during prayer is in accord with late medieval concepts of prayer, fully developed by the Modern Devotion. This process may be intensified if the praying beholder is the donor himself, when a whole building was financed, a sculpture of the patron might be included on the facade or elsewhere in the building. If they are on different sides, the males are normally on the left for the viewer, in family groups the figures are usually divided by gender. Groups of members of confraternities, sometimes with their wives, are also found, additional family members, from births or marriages, might be added later, and deaths might be recorded by the addition of small crosses held in the clasped hands. Although none have survived, there is evidence of donor portraits in small chapels from the Early Christian period. Their scale and composition are alone among large-scale survivals, also in Ravenna, there is a small mosaic of Justinian, possibly originally of Theoderic the Great in the Basilica of SantApollinare Nuovo. For example, a chapel at Mals in South Tyrol has two fresco donor figures from before 881, one lay and the other of a cleric holding a model building. In subsequent centuries bishops, abbots and other clergy were the donors most commonly shown, other than royalty, in these the portrait may adopt a praying pose, or may pose more like the subject in a purely secular portrait. The Wilton Diptych of Richard II of England was a forerunner of these, in some of these diptychs the portrait of the original owner has been over-painted with that of a later one. The person presenting might be a courtier making a gift to his prince, a later convention was for figures at about three-quarters of the size of the main ones. This innovation, however, did not appear in Venetian painting until the turn of the next century, normally the main figures ignore the presence of the interlopers in narrative scenes, although bystanding saints may put a supportive hand on the shoulder in a side-panel. But in devotional subjects such as a Madonna and Child, which were likely to have been intended for the donors home. Before the 15th century a physical likeness may not have often attempted, or achieved. In an often-quoted passage, John Pope-Hennessy caricatured 16th-century Italian donors, the elders in the story of Suzannah were some of the few figures respectable Venetians were unwilling to impersonate
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Madonna (art)
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A Madonna is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the word is from Italian ma donna, meaning my lady. Or descriptive of the posture, as in Hodegetria, Eleusa. The term Madonna in the sense of picture or statue of the Virgin Mary enters English usage in the 17th century, in an Eastern Orthodox context, such images are typically known as Theotokos. Madonna may be used of representations of Mary, with or without the infant Jesus, is the focus and central figure of the image. Other types of Marian imagery have a context, depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin. The earliest depictions of Mary date still to Early Christianity, found in the Catacombs of Rome and these are in a narrative context. The Theotokos iconography as it developed in the 6th to 8th century rose to importance in the high medieval period both in the Eastern Orthodox and in the Latin spheres. Liturgy depicting Mary as powerful intercessor was brought from Greek into Latin tradition in the 8th century, the Greek title of Δεσποινα was adopted as Latin Domina Lady. The medieval Italian Ma Donna pronounced reflects Mea Domina, while Nostra Domina was adopted in French and these names signal both the increased importance of the cult of the virgin and the prominence of art in service to Marian devotion during the late medieval period. Madonna was meant more to people of the theological concept which is placing such a high value on purity or virginity. This is also represented by the color of her clothing, the color blue symbolized purity, virginity, and royalty. In this sense, a Madonna, or a Madonna with Child is used of works of art. There are several types of representation of the Madonna. One type of Madonna shows Mary alone, and standing, generally glorified and with a gesture of prayer and this type of image occurs in a number of ancient apsidal mosaics. Full-length standing images of the Madonna more frequently include the infant Jesus, the most famous Byzantine image, the Hodegetria was originally of this type, though most copies are at half-length. There are a number of paintings that depict the Madonna in this manner. The Madonna enthroned is a type of image that dates from the Byzantine period and was used widely in Medieval and these representations of the Madonna and Child often take the form of large altarpieces
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Engraved gem
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An engraved gem is a small gemstone, usually semi-precious, that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a luxury art form in the ancient world. Strictly speaking, engraving means carving in intaglio, but relief carvings are covered by the term. This article uses cameo in its sense, to denote a carving exploiting layers of differently coloured stone. The activity is also called gem carving, and the artists gem-cutters, vessels like the Cup of the Ptolemies and heads or figures carved in the round are also known as hardstone carvings and similar terms. Glyptics, or glyptic art, covers the field of small carved stones, including seals and inscriptions. A finely carved seal was practical, as it made more difficult – the distinctive personal signature did not really exist in antiquity. Gems were mostly cut by using abrasive powder from harder stones in conjunction with a hand-drill, emery has been mined for abrasive powder on Naxos since antiquity. Some early types of seal were cut by hand, rather than a drill, there is no evidence that magnifying lenses were used by gem cutters in antiquity. A medieval guide to gem-carving techniques survives from Theophilus Presbyter, byzantine cutters used a flat-edged wheel on a drill for intaglio work, while Carolingian ones used round-tipped drills, it is unclear where they learnt this technique from. In intaglio gems at least, the cut surface is usually very well preserved. The colour of several gemstones can be enhanced by a number of methods, using heat, sugar. Many of these can be shown to have used since antiquity – since the 7th millennium BC in the case of heating. The technique has an ancient tradition in the Near East, and is represented in all or most early cultures from the area, and these were made in various types of stone, not all hardstone. The Greek tradition emerged in Ancient Greek art under Minoan influence on mainland Helladic culture, pre-Hellenic Ancient Egyptian seals tend to have inscriptions in hieroglyphs rather than images. The Biblical Book of Exodus describes the form of the hoshen, round or oval Greek gems are found from the 8th and 7th centuries BC, usually with animals in energetic geometric poses, often with a border marked by dots or a rim. Early examples are mostly in softer stones, Gems of the 6th century are more often oval, with a scarab back, and human or divine figures as well as animals, the scarab form was apparently adopted from Phoenicia. The forms are sophisticated for the period, despite the small size of the gems
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Onyx
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Onyx is a banded variety of the oxide mineral chalcedony. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands, agate has curved bands, the colors of its bands range from white to almost every color. Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white, onyx comes through Latin, from the Greek ὄνυξ, meaning claw or fingernail. With its fleshtone color, onyx can be said to resemble a fingernail, the English word nail is cognate with the Greek word. Onyx is formed of bands of chalcedony in alternating colors and it is cryptocrystalline, consisting of fine intergrowths of the silica minerals quartz and moganite. Its bands are parallel to one another, as opposed to the more chaotic banding that often occurs in agates, sardonyx is a variant in which the colored bands are sard rather than black. Black onyx is perhaps the most famous variety, but is not as common as onyx with colored bands, artificial treatments have been used since ancient times to produce both the black color in black onyx and the reds and yellows in sardonyx. Most black onyx on the market is artificially colored, the name has sometimes been used, incorrectly, to label other banded lapidary materials, such as banded calcite found in Mexico, Pakistan, and other places, and often carved, polished and sold. This material is softer than true onyx, and much more readily available. The majority of carved items sold as onyx today are this carbonate material, artificial onyx types have also been produced from common chalcedony and plain agates. The first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder described these techniques being used in Roman times and these techniques are still used, as well as other dyeing treatments, and most so-called black onyx sold is artificially treated. In addition to dye treatments, heating and treatment with nitric acid have been used to lighten or eliminate undesirable colors and it has a long history of use for hardstone carving and jewelry, where it is usually cut as a cabochon or into beads. It has also used for intaglio and hardstone cameo engraved gems. Some onyx is natural but much of the material in commerce is produced by the staining of agate, onyx was used in Egypt as early as the Second Dynasty to make bowls and other pottery items. Use of sardonyx appears in the art of Minoan Crete, notably from the archaeological recoveries at Knossos, Brazilian green onyx was often used as plinths for art deco sculptures created in the 1920s and 1930s. The German sculptor Ferdinand Preiss used Brazilian green onyx for the base on the majority of his chryselephantine sculptures, green onyx was also used for trays and pin dishes – produced mainly in Austria – often with small bronze animals or figures attached. Onyx is mentioned in the Bible many times, sardonyx is mentioned in the Bible as well. Onyx was known to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, the first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder described both type of onyx and various artificial treatment techniques in his Naturalis Historia
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Halo (religious iconography)
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A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, halos may be shown as almost any colour or combination of colours, but are most often depicted as golden, yellow or white when representing light or red when representing flames. Homer describes a light around the heads of heroes in battle. 450-30 BC, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the sun-god Helios and had his usual radiate crown. Hellenistic rulers are shown wearing radiate crowns that seem clearly to imitate this effect. The rulers of the Kushan Empire were perhaps the earliest to give themselves haloes on their coins, in Chinese and Japanese Buddhist art the halo has also been used since the earliest periods in depicting the image of Amitabha Buddha and others. Thin lines of gold often radiate outwards or inwards from the rim of the halo, elaborate haloes and especially aureoles also appear in Hindu sculpture, where they tend to develop into architectural frames in which the original idea can be hard to recognise. Theravada Buddhism and Jainism did not use the halo for many centuries, in Asian art, the nimbus is often imagined as consisting not just of light, but of flames. This type seems to first appear in Chinese bronzes of which the earliest surviving examples date from before 450 and this type is also very rarely found, and on a smaller scale, in medieval Christian art. Sometimes a thin line of flames rise up from the edges of a halo in Buddhist examples. In Tibetan paintings the flames are shown as blown by a wind. Halos are found in Islamic art from various places and periods, especially in Persian miniatures and Moghul, flaming halos derived from Buddhist art surround angels, and similar ones are often seen around Muhammad and other sacred human figures. The halo represents an aura or glow of sanctity which was conventionally drawn encircling the head, though Roman paintings have largely disappeared, save some fresco decorations, the haloed figure remains fresh in Roman mosaics. In a 2nd-century AD Roman floor mosaic preserved at Bardo, Tunisia, significantly, the triton and nereid who accompany the sea-god are not haloed. In a late 2nd century AD floor mosaic from Thysdrus, El Djem, another haloed Apollo in mosaic, from Hadrumentum, is in the museum at Sousse. The conventions of representation, head tilted, lips slightly parted, large-eyed. The halo was incorporated into Early Christian art sometime in the 4th century with the earliest iconic images of Christ, initially the only figure shown with one. At least in later Orthodox images, each bar of cross is composed of three lines, symbolising the dogmas of the Trinity, the oneness of God and the two natures of Christ
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Relic
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In religion, a relic usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Shamanism. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning remains, and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to leave behind, a reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics. In ancient Greece, a city or sanctuary might claim to possess, without necessarily displaying, the sanctuary of the Leucippides at Sparta claimed to display the egg of Leda. The bones were not regarded as holding a power derived from the hero, with some exceptions. Miracles and healing were not regularly attributed to them, rather, their presence was meant to serve a tutelary function, the bones of Orestes and Theseus were supposed to have been stolen or removed from their original resting place and reburied. Plutarch says that the Athenians were likewise instructed by the oracle to locate, the body of the legendary Eurystheus was also supposed to protect Athens from enemy attack, and in Thebes, that of the prophet Amphiaraus, whose cult was oracular and healing. As with the relics of Theseus, the bones are sometimes described in sources as gigantic. On the basis of their size, it has been conjectured that such bones were those of prehistoric creatures. The head of the poet-prophet Orpheus was supposed to have transported to Lesbos. The 2nd-century geographer Pausanias reported that the bones of Orpheus were kept in a stone vase displayed on a pillar near Dion, his place of death and these too were regarded as having oracular power, which might be accessed through dreaming in a ritual of incubation. The accidental exposure of the bones brought a disaster upon the town of Libretha, according to the Chronicon Paschale, the bones of the Persian Zoroaster were venerated, but the tradition of Zoroastrianism and its scriptures offer no support of this. In Hinduism, relics are less common than in other religions since the remains of most saints are cremated. The veneration of corporal relics may have originated with the movement or the appearance of Buddhism. In Buddhism, relics of the Buddha and various sages are venerated, after the Buddhas death, his remains were divided into eight portions. Afterward, these relics were enshrined in stupas wherever Buddhism was spread, some relics believed to be original remains of the body of the Buddha still survive, including the much-revered Sacred Relic of the tooth of the Buddha in Sri Lanka. A stupa is a building created specifically for the relics, many Buddhist temples have stupas and historically, the placement of relics in a stupa often became the initial structure around which the whole temple would be based. Today, many also hold the ashes or ringsel of prominent/respected Buddhists who were cremated
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Taffeta
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Taffeta is a crisp, smooth, plain woven fabric made from silk or cuprammonium rayons. The word is Persian in origin and means twisted woven and it is considered to be a high-end fabric, suitable for use in ball gowns, wedding dresses, and in interior decoration for curtains or wallcoverings. It is also used in the manufacture of corsets and corsetry. An extremely thin, crisp type of taffeta is called paper taffeta, there are two distinct types of silk taffeta, yarn-dyed and piece-dyed. Piece-dyed taffeta is often used in linings and is quite soft, yarn-dyed taffeta is much stiffer and is often used in evening dresses. Shot silk taffeta was one of the most sought-after forms of Byzantine silk, modern taffeta was first woven in Italy and France and until the 1950s in Japan. Warp-printed taffeta or chiné, mainly made in France from the century onwards, is sometimes called pompadour taffeta after Madame de Pompadour. Today most raw silk taffeta is produced in India and Pakistan, there, even in the modern period, handlooms were long widely used, but since the 1990s it has been produced on mechanical looms in the Bangalore area. From the 1970s until the 1990s, the Jiangsu province of China produced fine silk taffetas, these were less flexible than those from Indian mills, however, which continue to dominate production. Other countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East also produce silk taffeta, the most deluxe taffetas, however, are still woven in France, Italy, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Taffeta has seen use for other than clothing fabric, including the following, On November 4,1782, taffeta was used by Joseph Montgolfier of France to construct a small. This was the beginning of many experiments using taffeta balloons by the Montgolfier brothers, synthetic fibre forms of taffeta have been used to simulate the structure of blood vessels. Quote from the movie Young Frankenstein when Elizabeth and Frederick were saying goodbye to each other at the station, Elizabeth, Taffeta. New York, Fairchild Publishing Company,1915, p.184 Google Books edition of Dictionary of Textiles
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Innocent I
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Pope Innocent I served as the Catholic Church Pope from 401 to his death in 417. According to Urbano Cerri, Pope Innocent was a native of Albania, Innocent I lost no opportunity in maintaining and extending the authority of the Roman apostolic See, which was seen as the ultimate resort for the settlement of all ecclesiastical disputes. In addition he acted as metropolitan over the bishops of Italia Suburbicaria, the historian Zosimus in his Historia Nova suggests that during the sack of Rome in 410 by Alaric I, Innocent I was willing to permit private pagan practices as a temporary measure. Among Innocent Is letters is one to Jerome and another to John II, Bishop of Jerusalem, accordingly, his feast day is now celebrated on 12 March, though from the thirteenth to the twentieth century he was commemorated on 28 July. It is accepted that the canon of the Bible was closed c, in 846, Pope Sergius II gave approval for the relics of St. List of Catholic saints List of popes Herbermann, Charles, ed. Pope Innocent I, Pope Innocent I at Find a Grave Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina Fontes Latinae de papis usque ad annum 530 Liber pontificalis
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Carolingian minuscule
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It was developed for the first time, in about 780, by the Benedictine monks of Corbie Abbey. It was used in the Holy Roman Empire between approximately 800 and 1200, codices, pagan and Christian texts, and educational material were written in Carolingian minuscule throughout the Carolingian Renaissance. The script developed into blackletter and became obsolete, though its revival in the Italian Renaissance forms the basis of more recent scripts, the script is derived from Roman half uncial and the insular scripts that were being used in Irish and English monasteries. The strong influence of Irish literati on the script can be seen in the distinctively cló-Gaelach forms of the letters, Carolingian minuscule was created partly under the patronage of the Emperor Charlemagne. Although Charlemagne was never fully literate, he understood the value of literacy, Charlemagne sent for the English scholar Alcuin of York to run his palace school and scriptorium at his capital, Aachen. Efforts to supplant Merovingian and Germanic scripts had been under way before Alcuin arrived at Aachen, Carolingian minuscule was uniform, with rounded shapes in clearly distinguishable glyphs, disciplined and above all, legible. Traditional charters, however, continued to be written in a Merovingian chancery hand long after manuscripts of Scripture, documents written in a local language, like Gothic or Anglo-Saxon rather than Latin, tended to be expressed in traditional local script. Carolingian script generally has fewer ligatures than other scripts, although the et, æ, rt, st. Ascenders are usually clubbed – i. e. they become thicker near the top, the early period of the script, during Charlemagnes reign in the late 8th century and early 9th, still has widely varying letter forms in different regions. The uncial form of the letter a, similar to a c, is still used in manuscripts from this period. There is also use of such as the question mark. The script flourished during the 9th century, when regional hands developed into an international standard, modern glyphs, such as s and v, began to appear, and ascenders, after thickening at the top, were finished with a three-cornered wedge. The script began to evolve slowly after the 9th century, in the 10th and 11th centuries, ligatures were rare and ascenders began to slant to the right and were finished with a fork. The letter w also began to appear, by the 12th century, Carolingian letters had become more angular and were written closer together, less legibly than in previous centuries, at the same time, the modern dotted i appeared. The new script spread through Western Europe most widely where Carolingian influence was strongest, in luxuriously produced lectionaries that now began to be produced for princely patronage of abbots and bishops, legibility was essential. It reached far afield, the 10th century Freising manuscripts, which contain the oldest Slovene language, in Switzerland, Carolingian was used in the Rhaetian and Alemannic minuscule types. Alemannic minuscule, used for a time in the early 9th century, is usually larger and broader. In Austria, Salzburg was the centre of Carolingian script, while Fulda, Mainz
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Scriptorium
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Scriptorium, literally a place for writing, is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts by monastic scribes. References in modern scholarly writings to scriptoria more usually refer to the collective output of a monastery. A scriptorium was an adjunct to a library, wherever there was a library it can ordinarily be assumed that there was a scriptorium. By the time movable type printing presses were invented in the 15th century, at this church whose patron was Galla Placidia, paired rectangular chambers flanking the apse, accessible only from each aisle, have been interpreted as paired libraries and perhaps scriptoria. Their copious illumination, niches.5 meter deep, provisions for hypocausts beneath the floors to keep the dry, have prototypes in the architecture of Roman libraries. When monastic libraries and scriptoria arose in the early 6th century, they defined European literary culture, monks copied Jeromes Latin Vulgate Bible and the commentaries and letters of early Church Fathers for missionary purposes as well as for use within the monastery. The products of the scriptorium provided a medium of exchange. Sometimes a single monk would engage in all of these stages to prepare a manuscript, by the start of the 13th century, monastic manuscript production declined because secular copyshops had developed to write for the laity. The illuminators of manuscripts worked in collaboration with scribes in intricate variety of interaction that preclude any simple pattern of monastic manuscript production, records show that one such monastic community was that of Mount Athos, which released all manner of illumination. Cassiodorus description of his contained a purpose-built scriptorium, with self-feeding oil lamps, a sundial. The scriptorium would also have contained desks where the monks could sit and copy texts, as well as the necessary ink wells, penknives, and quills. As its unofficial librarian, Cassiodorus collected as many manuscripts as he could, in the end, however, the library at the Vivarium was dispersed and lost, though it was still active around 630. Cassiodorus contemporary, Benedict of Nursia, also allowed his monks to read the works of the pagans in the monastery he founded at Monte Cassino in 529. In the earliest Benedictine monasteries, the room was actually a corridor open to the central quadrangle of the cloister. The space could accommodate about twelve monks, who were protected from the only by the wall behind them. Monasteries built later in the Middle Ages placed the scriptorium inside, the warmth of the later scriptoria served as an incentive for unwilling monks to work on the transcription of texts. Although the purpose of the plan is unknown, it shows the desirability of scriptoria within a wider body of monastic structures at the beginning of the 9th century. The scriptoria of the Cistercian order seem to have similar to those of the Benedictines
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Saint Lawrence
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The martyrs St Orencio and St Paciencia are traditionally held to have been his parents. He encountered the future Pope St Sixtus II, who was of Greek origin and one of the most famous and highly esteemed teachers, eventually, both left Spain for Rome. When Sixtus became the Pope in 257, he ordained St Lawrence as a deacon and he is therefore called archdeacon of Rome, a position of great trust that included the care of the treasury and riches of the Church and the distribution of alms to the indigent. At the beginning of August 258, the Emperor Valerian issued an edict that all bishops, priests, Pope St Sixtus II was captured on 6 August 258, at the cemetery of St Callixtus while celebrating the liturgy and executed forthwith. After the death of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that St Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church, St Ambrose is the earliest source for the narrative that St Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. He worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the indigent as possible, one account records him declaring to the prefect, The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor. This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom and can be compared to the parallel Roman tale of the jewels of Cornelia, on 10 August, St Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, and therefore, the ranking Church official, suffered a martyrs death. The Almanac of Philocalus for AD354 states that he was buried in the Catacomb of Cyriaca on the Via Tiburtina by Hippolytus and Justin the Confessor, one of the early sources for his martyrdom was the description of Aurelius Prudentius Clemens in his Peristephanon, Hymn 2. A famous legend has persisted from ancient times, as deacon in Rome, St Lawrence was responsible for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. St Ambrose of Milan relates that when the treasures of the Church were demanded of St Lawrence by the Prefect of Rome, he brought forward the poor, to whom he had distributed the treasure as alms. Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you, to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the Churchs crown. The Prefect was so angry that he had a great gridiron prepared with hot coals beneath it, after the martyr had suffered pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he cheerfully declared, Im well done. From this derives his patronage of cooks, chefs, and comedians, Emperor Constantine I is traditionally held to have erected a small oratory in honour of St Lawrence, which was a station on the itineraries of the graves of the Roman martyrs by the seventh century. Pope Damasus I rebuilt or repaired the church, now the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, the gridiron of the martyrdom was placed by Pope Paschal II in the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina. Lawrence in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum, Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs, the life and miracles of St Lawrence were collected in The Acts of St Lawrence but those writings have been lost. The earliest existing documentation of miracles associated with him is in the writings of St Gregory of Tours, sanctulus was rebuilding a church of St Lawrence, which had been attacked and burnt, and hired many workmen to accomplish the job. At one point during the construction, he himself with nothing to feed them. He prayed to St Lawrence for help, and looking in his basket he found a fresh and it seemed to him too small to feed the workmen, but in faith he began to serve it to the men
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Patron saint
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Catholics believe that patron saints, having already transcended to the metaphysical, are able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges. Historically, a practice has also occurred in many Islamic lands. With regard to the omnipresence of this belief, the late Martin Lings wrote. Traditionally, it has been understood that the saint of a particular place prays for that places wellbeing and for the health. Saints often become the patrons of places where they were born or had been active, professions sometimes have a patron saint owing to that individual being involved somewhat with it, although some of the connections were tenuous. Lacking such a saint, an occupation would have a patron whose acts or miracles in some way recall the profession and it is, however, generally discouraged in some Protestant branches such as Calvinism, where the practice is considered a form of idolatry. In Islam, the veneration or commemoration and recognition of saints is found in many branches of traditional Sunnism
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Gandersheim Abbey
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Gandersheim Abbey is a former house of secular canonesses in the present town of Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was founded in 852 by Duke Liudolf of Saxony, progenitor of the Liudolfing or Ottonian dynasty, in the collegiate church the original Romanesque church building is still visible, with Gothic extensions. It is a basilica with two towers on the westwork, consisting of a flat-roofed nave and two vaulted side-aisles. The transept has a crossing with more or less square arms. Beneath the crossing choir is a hall-crypt, the westwork consist of two towers and a connecting two-storey block, it originally had in addition a projecting entrance hall, also on two storeys, the paradise. The present church building, which has been subject to restoration in the 19th and 20th centuries, was begun in about 1100, remains of the previous building are incorporated into the present structure. The community settled first at Brunshausen, the first abbess was Hathumod, a daughter of Liudolf, as were the two succeeding abbesses. In 856 construction began on the church at Gandersheim and in 881 Bishop Wigbert dedicated it to the Saints Anastasius, Innocent and John the Baptist, already in 877 King Louis the Younger placed the abbey under the protection of the Empire, which gave it extensive independence. In 919 King Henry I granted it Imperial immediacy, the close connection to the Empire meant that the abbey was obliged to provide accommodation to the German kings on their travels, and numerous royal visits are recorded. The establishment of the abbey by the founder of the Liudolfingers gave it importance during the Ottonian period. Until the foundation of Quedlinburg Abbey in 936, Gandersheim was among the most important Ottonian family institutions, the canonesses, commonly known as Stiftsdamen, were allowed private property and as they had taken no vows, were free at any time to leave the abbey. The Ottonian and Salian kings and their entourages often stayed in Gandersheim, apart from the memorial masses for the founding family, one of the main duties of the canonesses was the education of the daughters of the nobility. One of the abbeys best-known canonesses was Roswitha of Gandersheim, famous as the first female German language poet. During a period of approximately 20 years — from about 950 to 970 or so — she wrote poetry, spiritual pieces and dramas. The pressure from Hildesheim moved the abbey increasingly into the sphere of Mainz, with the death of the last Salian king in 1125 the importance of the abbey began to diminish and it came more and more under the influence of the local territorial rulers. The Welfs in particular attempted until the dissolution of the abbey to gain control over it, the abbey were not able to establish their own territorial lordship. No later than the mid-1270s, the Dukes of Brunswick succeeded in obtaining the Vogtei of the abbey, another way to gain influence over the abbey was to place relatives in the abbesss chair. The Reformation was first introduced into the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1542 when troops of the Schmalkaldic League occupied it, the townspeople of Gandersheim had received the Reformation enthusiastically and on 13 July 1543 undertook an iconoclastic attack on the abbey church, where they destroyed images and altars
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Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Otto I, traditionally known as Otto I the Great, was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda, Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his fathers death in 936. He continued his fathers work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdoms most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control. After putting down a brief civil war among the duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom, by 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realms borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called Ottonian Renaissance of arts, following the example of Charlemagnes coronation as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Ottos later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over Italy, reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realms further expansion to the south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu married his son Otto II in April 972, Otto finally returned to Germany in August 972 and died at Memleben in May 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor, Otto was born on 23 November 912, the oldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, a Saxon count in Westphalia. Otto had four siblings, Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry. On 23 December 918, Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, although Conrad and Henry had been at odds with one another since 912, Henry had not openly opposed the king since 915. Furthermore, Conrads repeated battles with German dukes, most recently with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, after several months of hesitation, Eberhard and the other Frankish and Saxon nobles elected Henry as king at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in May 919. For the first time, a Saxon instead of a Frank reigned over the kingdom, Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, but Arnulf of Bavaria did not recognize Henrys position. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, Arnulf was elected king by the Bavarians in opposition to Henry, in 921, Henry besieged Arnulfs residence at Ratisbon and forced him into submission. Arnulf had to accept Henrys sovereignty, Bavaria retained some autonomy, Otto first gained experience as a military commander when the German kingdom fought against Slavic tribes on its eastern border. While campaigning against the Slavs in 929, Ottos illegitimate son William, with Henrys dominion over the entire kingdom secured by 929, the king probably began to prepare his succession over the kingdom. No written evidence for his arrangements is extant, but during this time Otto is first called king in a document of the Abbey of Reichenau, while Henry consolidated power within Germany, he also prepared for an alliance with Anglo-Saxon England by finding a bride for Otto
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Battle of Lechfeld (955)
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The Battle of Lechfeld was a decisive victory for Otto I the Great, King of East Francia, over the Hungarian harka Bulcsú and the chieftains Lél and Súr. It is often seen as the event in the repulsion of the Hungarians incursions into Western Europe. Located south of Augsburg, the Lechfeld is the plain that lies along the Lech River. The battle appears as the second Battle of Augsburg in Hungarian historiography and it was followed by the Battle of Recknitz in October. It was important in rallying the East Frankish realm against a foreign enemy, the first Battle of Lechfeld happened in the same area forty-five years earlier. Perhaps the most important source is Gerhards monograph Vita Sancti Uodalrici, another source is the chronicler Widukind of Corvey, who provides some important details. The chronicle Gesta Hungarorum provides insight from the Hungarian side, however, this chronicle was only written in the 12th century. After having put down a rebellion by his son, Liudolf, Duke of Swabia and son-in-law, Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, Otto I the Great, King of East Francia, set out to Saxony, upon arriving in Magdeburg he received reports of the Hungarian invasion. The Hungarians had already invaded once before during the course of the rebellion and this occurred immediately after he had put down a revolt in Franconia. Because of unrest among the Polabian Slavs on the lower Elbe, in addition, Saxony was distant from Augsburg and its environs, and considerable time would have elapsed waiting for their arrival. The battle took place six weeks after the first report of an invasion, the King ordered his troops to concentrate on the Danube, in the vicinity of Neuburg and Ingolstadt. He did this in order to march on the Hungarian line of communications and it was also a central point of concentration for all the contingents that were assembling. Strategically, therefore, this was the best location for Otto to concentrate his forces before making the descent upon the Hungarians. There were other troops that had an influence on the course of the battle, the King was aware of the escape of these Hungarians on the above-mentioned occasions, and was determined to trap them. He therefore ordered his brother, Archbishop Bruno, to keep the Lotharingian forces in Lorraine and he did this with the fear that the Hungarians would follow their plan of retreat on the previous occasions. However, with a powerful force of knights pressing them in the front from the west, and an equally strong force of knights chasing them from the east. The Bishop Ulrich defended Augsburg, a city of Swabia. Motivating them with the 23rd Psalm, while this defense was going on, the King was raising an army to march south
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Icon
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An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and certain Eastern Catholic churches. The most common subjects include Christ, Mary, saints and/or angels, icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, painted on wood, done in mosaic or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Comparable images from Western Christianity are generally not described as icons, Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that the creation of Christian images dates back to the very early days of Christianity, and there is has been a continuous tradition since then. The icons of later centuries can be linked, often closely, to images from the 5th century onwards, there was enormous destruction of images during the Byzantine Iconoclasm of 726-842, although this did settle for good the question of the appropriateness of images. Since then icons have had a continuity of style and subject. At the same time there has been change and development, Christian tradition dating from the 8th century identifies Luke the Evangelist as the first icon painter. Aside from the legend that Pilate had made an image of Christ and he relates that King Abgar of Edessa sent a letter to Jesus at Jerusalem, asking Jesus to come and heal him of an illness. In this version there is no image, further legends relate that the cloth remained in Edessa until the 10th century, when it was taken to Constantinople. It went missing in 1204 when Crusaders sacked Constantinople, but by then numerous copies had firmly established its iconic type. They crown these images, and set them up along with the images of the philosophers of the world that is to say, with the images of Pythagoras, and Plato, and Aristotle, and the rest. They have also other modes of honouring these images, after the manner of the Gentiles. And he called him and said, Lycomedes, what do you mean by this matter of the portrait, can it be one of thy gods that is painted here. For I see that you are living in heathen fashion. Later in the passage John says, But this that you have now done is childish and imperfect, at least some of the hierarchy of the Christian churches still strictly opposed icons in the early 4th century. At the Spanish non-ecumenical Synod of Elvira bishops concluded, Pictures are not to be placed in churches, so that they do not become objects of worship and adoration. to our religion. After the emperor Constantine I extended official toleration of Christianity within the Roman Empire in 313 and this period of Christianization probably saw the use of Christian images became very widespread among the faithful, though with great differences from pagan habits. Robin Lane Fox states By the early century, we know of the ownership of private icons of saints. 480-500, we can be sure that the inside of a saints shrine would be adorned with images and votive portraits, when Constantine himself apparently converted to Christianity, the majority of his subjects remained pagans
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Seat of Wisdom
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In the Roman Catholic tradition, the epithet the Seat of Wisdom or Throne of Wisdom is identified with one of many devotional titles for the Mother of God. The iconographic realization of the Seat of Wisdom in Italy, especially, is referred to as the Maestà, however, this is not universally the case, with Merton College, Oxford commissioning an image of Our Lady sedes sapientiae for its Chapel in 2014. In Christian iconography, Sedes sapientiae is an icon of the Mother of God in majesty, when the Virgin is depicted in sedes sapientiae icons and sculptural representations, she is seated on a throne, with the Christ Child on her lap. For the more domestic and intimate iconic representations of Mary with the infant Jesus on her lap, see Madonna, the Roman Catholic Church honors Mary, Seat of Wisdom, with a feast day on June 8. In these representations, some elements of the throne invariably appear, even if only handholds. For hieratic purposes, the Virgins feet often rest on a low stool, later, Gothic sculptures of the type are more explicitly identifiable with the Throne of Solomon, where two lions stood, one at each hand. And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps on the one side, the Sedes sapientiae icon also appeared in illuminated manuscripts, and Romanesque frescoes and mosaics, and was represented on seals. This was much used in Early Netherlandish painting in works like the Lucca Madonna by Jan van Eyck, more recently, sedes sapientiae is for example the motto of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain, founded when Latin still was the academic lingua franca. Here the phrase is also a play on words, since the University itself is a seat of learning, i. e. school. Madonna of humility Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College Hans Belting,1994, likeness and Presence, A History of the Image before the Era of Art, translator E. Jephcott Ilene Forsyth,1972. The throne of Wisdom, Wood Sculptures of the Madonna in Romanesque France, lane, Barbara G, The Altar and the Altarpiece, Sacramental Themes in Early Netherlandish Painting, Harper & Row,1984, ISBN 0-06-430133-8
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Epigraphy
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Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document and the artistic value of a literary composition. A person using the methods of epigraphy is called an epigrapher or epigraphist, for example, the Behistun inscription is an official document of the Achaemenid Empire engraved on native rock at a location in Iran. Epigraphists are responsible for reconstructing, translating, and dating the trilingual inscription and it is the work of historians, however, to determine and interpret the events recorded by the inscription as document. Often, epigraphy and history are competences practiced by the same person, an epigraph is any sort of text, from a single grapheme to a lengthy document. Epigraphy overlaps other competences such as numismatics or palaeography, when compared to books, most inscriptions are short. Typically the material is durable, but the durability might be an accident of circumstance, epigraphy is a primary tool of archaeology when dealing with literate cultures. The US Library of Congress classifies epigraphy as one of the sciences of history. Epigraphy also helps identify a forgery, epigraphic evidence formed part of the discussion concerning the James Ossuary, the study of ancient handwriting, usually in ink, is a separate field, palaeography. The character of the writing, the subject of epigraphy, is a quite separate from the nature of the text. Texts inscribed in stone are usually for public view and so they are different from the written texts of each culture. Not all inscribed texts are public, however, in Mycenaean Greece the deciphered texts of Linear B were revealed to be used for economic. Informal inscribed texts are graffiti in its original sense, the science of epigraphy has been developing steadily since the 16th century. Principles of epigraphy vary culture by culture, and the infant science in European hands concentrated on Latin inscriptions at first, individual contributions have been made by epigraphers such as Georg Fabricius, August Wilhelm Zumpt, Theodor Mommsen, Emil Hübner, Franz Cumont, Louis Robert. The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, begun by Mommsen and other scholars, has published in Berlin since 1863. It is the largest and most extensive collection of Latin inscriptions, New fascicles are still produced as the recovery of inscriptions continues. The Corpus is arranged geographically, all inscriptions from Rome are contained in volume 6 and this volume has the greatest number of inscriptions, volume 6, part 8, fascicle 3 was just recently published. Specialists depend on such on-going series of volumes in which newly discovered inscriptions are published, often in Latin, Greek epigraphy has unfolded in the hands of a different team, with different corpora. The first is Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum of which four volumes came out, again at Berlin and this marked a first attempt at a comprehensive publication of Greek inscriptions copied from all over the Greek-speaking world
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Transparency and translucency
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In the field of optics, transparency is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without being scattered. On a macroscopic scale, the photons can be said to follow Snells Law, in other words, a translucent medium allows the transport of light while a transparent medium not only allows the transport of light but allows for image formation. The opposite property of translucency is opacity, transparent materials appear clear, with the overall appearance of one color, or any combination leading up to a brilliant spectrum of every color. When light encounters a material, it can interact with it in different ways. These interactions depend on the wavelength of the light and the nature of the material, photons interact with an object by some combination of reflection, absorption and transmission. Some materials, such as glass and clean water, transmit much of the light that falls on them and reflect little of it. Many liquids and aqueous solutions are highly transparent, absence of structural defects and molecular structure of most liquids are mostly responsible for excellent optical transmission. Materials which do not transmit light are called opaque, many such substances have a chemical composition which includes what are referred to as absorption centers. Many substances are selective in their absorption of light frequencies. They absorb certain portions of the spectrum while reflecting others. The frequencies of the spectrum which are not absorbed are either reflected or transmitted for our physical observation and this is what gives rise to color. The attenuation of light of all frequencies and wavelengths is due to the mechanisms of absorption. Transparency can provide almost perfect camouflage for animals able to achieve it and this is easier in dimly-lit or turbid seawater than in good illumination. Many marine animals such as jellyfish are highly transparent, at the atomic or molecular level, physical absorption in the infrared portion of the spectrum depends on the frequencies of atomic or molecular vibrations or chemical bonds, and on selection rules. Nitrogen and oxygen are not greenhouse gases because there is no absorption because there is no molecular dipole moment. With regard to the scattering of light, the most critical factor is the scale of any or all of these structural features relative to the wavelength of the light being scattered. Primary material considerations include, Crystalline structure, whether or not the atoms or molecules exhibit the long-range order evidenced in crystalline solids, glassy structure, scattering centers include fluctuations in density or composition. Microstructure, scattering centers include internal surfaces such as boundaries, crystallographic defects
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Golden Madonna of Essen
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The Golden Madonna of Essen is a sculpture of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. It is a wooden core covered with sheets of gold leaf. The piece is part of the treasury of Essen Cathedral, formerly the church of Essen Abbey, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to this day it remains an object of veneration and symbol of identity for the population of the Ruhr Area. The statue is dated around the year 980 and was created during the tenure of Mathilde. Under her reign and those of her successors Sophia of Gandersheim and Theophanu, the creator of the sculpture is unknown, but it is generally presumed to have been crafted in either Cologne or Hildesheim. Mary is depicted sitting on a stool, with a slightly oversized Christ child figure sitting on her lap and she wears a tight, long-sleeved tunic and a cloak drawn over her shoulders. On her head she wears a veil, the ends of which are covered by the cloak, in her right hand she holds aloft a globe with her thumb and two fingers, while her left hand supports the infant in her lap. The Christ figure himself wears a gown and presses a book against his breast with his left hand. The statue measures 74 centimetres in height, the pedestal is 27 centimetres in width, the core of the sculpture was carved from a single piece of wood, most likely from a poplar tree, though earlier art historians have assumed it to be pear, plum or lime. The sculpture’s surface is covered with sheets of gold leaf less than 0.25 millimetres thick. The size of the gold leaves varies to suit the surface texture. The faces of both mother and child are pounded out of one single leaf each, the coloured eyes of the figures are made of cloisonné enamel. While the eyes of the mother are inset into carved fittings, the child’s hand is made of cast silver and was added only in the 14th century, the original right hand is lost. There are traces of original tenth century adornments on the orb in the Virgins right hand, on the back leg of the stool, as well as on the childs book. The agrafe showing an eagle and seemingly pinning Mary’s cloak is a thirteenth century addition. The Madonna was first restored in 1905, by then the statues core was riddled with woodworm tunnels and threatened to collapse. The surface holes were sealed with bolts of oak. The restoration cost a total of 3,200 Goldmarks, part of which was paid by the Prussian state, during and after World War II the statue suffered from hasty evacuation transports, many gold leaves came loose and the wood was again infested with wood boring insects
