Limburg Domschatz Kusstafel Kloster Eberbach

The Eberbach Pax (German: ) is an early

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

pax and

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

from

Eberbach Abbey Eberbach Abbey (German: Kloster Eberbach) is a former Cistercian monastery in Eltville in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its Romanesque architecture, Romanesque and Gothic (architecture), early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the m ...

, which is now in the

Limburg Cathedral Limburg Cathedral (, also known as ''Georgsdom'' ("George's Cathedral") after its dedication to Saint George, is located above the old town of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg. Its high location ...

Treasury. The pax was an object used in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and Renaissance for the

Kiss of Peace The holy kiss is an ancient traditional Christian greeting, also called the kiss of peace or kiss of charity, and sometimes the "brother kiss" (among men), or the "sister kiss" (among women). Such greetings signify a wish and blessing that peace ...

in the

Catholic Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass "the same Christ ...

. Direct kissing among the celebrants and congregation was replaced by each in turn kissing the pax, which was carried around those present. The form of the pax was variable but normally included a flat surface to be kissed."Pax", ''The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture'', Authors: Tom Devonshire Jones, Linda Murray, Peter Murray, 2013, OUP Oxford, , 9780199680276

History

The pax was created in the

Middle Rhine Middle Rhine (, ; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift i ...

at the beginning of the sixteenth century. According to an inscription on the pax, the Papal Legate Cardinal

Raymond Peraudi Raymond Peraudi (1435–1505) was a French Augustinian, papal legate, and Cardinal. He was a perpetual traveler, engaging in diplomatic negotiations at various times for the pope, the emperor and the king of France. He was an effective administra ...

gave the pax to Martin Rifflinck, Abbot of Eberbach, in 1503. The pax was also a reliquary, if of a lower grade, since it contained a

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

medallion consecrated by

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

, which depicts the . Each believer who kissed the pax would receive a forty-day

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

. In the following years, the pax remained in the Abbey's relic collection. During the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

, the Abbey was able to hide it before it was plundered by Swedish troops in 1631. At the

secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of the Abbey in 1803, the pax became the property of the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

. The court sold it to the Frühmesser Müller of Winkel. He gave it to Josephine Brentano. After her death, her husband Anton Theodor Brentano donated the pax to the

Bishop of Limburg The Diocese of Limburg () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It belongs to the ecclesiastical province of Cologne, with metropolitan see being the Archdiocese of Cologne. Its territory encompasses parts of the States ...

Peter Joseph Blum Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

. Blum left the pax to the Limburg Cathedral treasury, as "Donation of Josephine and Anton Brentano." At this point the pax was restored. The relief medallion of the Agnus Dei had been lost by this point, but it was replaced with a new one, blessed by

Pope Pius VIII Pope Pius VIII (; born Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni; 20 November 1761 – 30 November 1830) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 March 1829 to his death in November 1830. Pius VIII's pontificate wa ...

Description

The pax is a 19 x 11.5 cm gilt pax made of beaten silver, with a simple base and a rounded top. The oval medallion of the Agnus Dei is located on the front. This is framed by a crystal above and below and surrounded by

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

crystals. The edge consists of fourteen

crocket A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the Old French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of a crocket to a bishop's Shepherd's crook, ...

s of

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

scrollwork The scroll in art is an element of ornament (art), ornament and graphic design featuring spirals and rolling incomplete circle motifs, some of which resemble the edge-on view of a book or document in scroll form, though many types are plant- ...

. Two saints are engraved on the back. On the left is St

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

in a bishop's costume with a kneeling beggar. He is balanced on the right by St

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

with a kneeling abbot. The decoration thus refers closely to the original recipient, Abbot Martin Rifflinck, who shared his name with the former and was especially devoted to the latter. Between the two saints is a hinged handle. The base describes the donation in 1503, using the Antiqua script. On the sides of the base are the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of the monastery and of Abbot Martin.

References

Bibliography

* Willy Schmidtt-Lieb, " (Ed.): 1986, pp. 161–163. *{{cite book, last1=Luthmer, first1=Ferdinand, author-link1=Ferdinand Luthmer, title=Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Lahngebiets : Oberlahnkreis, Kreis Limburg, Unterlahnkreis, publisher=Bezirksverband des Regierungsbezirk Wiesbaden, place=Frankfurt am Main, year=1907, pages=110–111 Christian reliquaries Limburg-Weilburg 1503 works Eucharistic objects Medieval European metalwork objects