Shrine of the Three Kings

Coordinates: 50°56′29″N 6°57′32″E / 50.9413°N 6.959°E / 50.9413; 6.959
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Main article: Cologne Cathedral
The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral
Another view

The Shrine of the Three Kings

high altar of Cologne Cathedral in western Germany. Built approximately from 1180 to 1225, it is considered the high point of Mosan art
and the largest reliquary in the Western world.

History

Chapel of the Magi, Cologne Cathedral, where the Shrine of the Three Kings was kept from 1322 until 1948

The "

Philipp of Heinsberg the shrine of the three magi was built. This was told to me by some eyewitnesses who were present when the three magi were put into the shrine." — Vita Eustorgii[8]

Parts of the shrine were designed by the famous medieval goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun,[9]

who began work on it in 1180 or 1181. It has elaborate gold sculptures of the prophets and apostles, and scenes from the life of Christ. The shrine was completed circa 1225.

Around 1199, King Otto IV gave three golden crowns, purported to be made for the three wise men, as a present to the church of Cologne. Because of the importance of the shrine and the cathedral for the later development of the city, the coat of arms of Cologne still shows these three crowns symbolizing the Three Kings.

Construction of the present Cologne Cathedral begun in 1248 to house these important relics. The cathedral took 632 years to complete and is now the largest Gothic church in northern Europe.

On 20 July 1864, the shrine was opened, revealing human remains and the coins of

Philip I, Archbishop of Cologne
. An eyewitness report reads:

"In a special compartment of the shrine now there showed – along with remains of ancient old rotten or moulded bandages, most likely byssus, besides pieces of aromatic resins and similar substances – numerous bones of three persons, which under the guidance of several present experts could be assembled into nearly complete bodies: the one in his early youth, the second in his early manhood, the third was rather aged. Two coins, bracteates made of silver and only one side stricken, were adjoined; one, probably from the days of Philipps von Heinsberg, displayed a church (See Note), the other showed a cross, accompanied by the sword of jurisdiction, and the crosier (bishop's crook) on either side."[10]
Note: "Just as the coin of Philipp in Hartzheim, historia rei nummariae coloniensis Table 3 No. 14, 16, (1754),[11] yet without its circumscription; the other (coin) is in square form, showed in the center a cross, accompanied by the sword of jurisdiction, and the crosier (bishop's crook) on either side, also without transcription, most certainly it is not younger and can be assumed perhaps to turn out to be a coin by Rainald [of Dassel]."[12]

The bones were wrapped in white silk and returned to the shrine.

Description

Size and construction

The Shrine of the Three Kings is approximately 110 cm (43 in) wide, 153 cm (60 in) high, and 220 cm (87 in) long. It is shaped like a

intaglio
pieces, some pre-Christian.

Decoration

The entire outside of the shrine is covered with an elaborate decorative overlay. There are 74

scourging of Christ (lower left) and his crucifixion (lower left) with the resurrected Christ above. This end also has a bust of Rainald of Dassel
in the center.

References

  1. ISBN 0-691-11539-7, 0-691-11538-9
    ; Princeton, New Jersey; 2003; in re Conference: Objects, images, and the word: art in the service of the liturgy.
  2. ISBN 978-3-662-54769-4
    , retrieved 29 January 2023
  3. ISBN 978-3-668-04878-2
    (ebook); 2012.
  4. ^ Leslie, Frank (1872, English), "Tomb of the Three Kings"; Frank Leslie's Pleasant Hours, No. 1, Vol. XII, p. 185, Frank Leslie (publisher), New York; February–July 1872 volume.
  5. ISBN 978-0-88206-036-1
    (hardcover); 1980.
  6. ^ Lowenthal, David (1998); The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998, xvi.
  7. ^ "Cologne Cathedral Supposedly has the Bones of the Three Wise Men – Unearthed". www.sciencechannel.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  8. ^ Latin original:
    "Temporibus domini Philippi episcopi, qui successit Reinoldo, fabricata est eis capsa ... sicut nobis narraverunt qui presentes erant eorum translatoni ... " (Floss, Dreikoenigenbuch, 1864, pp. 116–122 (Latin); copy in MGH 25, 108)
  9. ^ Köln, Cologne Digital Medienproduktion GmbH. "Der Hohe Dom zu Köln – Kathedrale und Weltkulturerbe – Gebaut für Gott und die Menschen". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  10. ^ German original:
    "In einer besonderen Abteilung des Schreins zeigten sich nun mit den Resten uralter vermoderter Binden, wahrscheinlich Byssus, nebst Stuecken aromatischer Harze und aehnlicher Substanzen die zahlreichen Gebeine dreier Personen, die mit Beihilfe der anwesenden Sachverstaendigen sich zu fast vollstaendigen Koerpern ordnen liessen: der eine aus erster Jugendzeit, der zweite im ersten Mannesalter, der dritte bejahrt. Zwei Muenzen, Bracteaten von Silber und nur auf einer Seite gepraegt, lagen bei; die eine, erweislich aus den Tagen Philipps von Heinsberg, zeigt eine Kirche (See Note), die andere ein Kreuz, das Jurisdictionsschwert an der einen, den Bischofsstab an der anderen Seite. (Floss, Dreikoenigenbuch, 1864, p. 108)
  11. ^ Hartzheim, Josephus, Historia Rei Nummariæ Coloniensis, Et Dissertationes De Eadem: Pars prima, De Nummis Archiepiscoporum Coloniensium, Pars Secunda, De Nummis Ducum Juliacensium & Montensium, & Agnatorum Genti Juliacensi, Pars Tertia. De Nummis Civitatis Coloniensis, 1754
  12. ^ German original:
    "Ganz so wie die Muenze Philipps bei Hartzheim historia rei nummariae coloniensis Tafel 3 Nr. 14, 16, doch ohne die Umschrift; die andere in viereckiger Form, in der Mitte ein Kreuz, das Jurisdictionsschwert an der einen, den Bischofsstab an der anderen Seite, auch ohne Umschrift, ist jedenfalls nicht juenger und duerfte sich vielleicht als eine Muenze Rainald's erweisen." (Floss, Dreikoenigenbuch, 1864, p. 108)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shrine of the Three Magi, Cologne.

50°56′29″N 6°57′32″E / 50.9413°N 6.959°E / 50.9413; 6.959

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