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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Arts and Architecture LATE GOTHIC ARCHITECTURAL MONSTRANCES IN THE RHINELAND, C. 1380-1480: OBJECTS IN CONTEXT A Thesis in Art History by Heather C. McCune Bruhn © 2006 Heather C. McCune Bruhn Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2006 The thesis of Heather C. McCune Bruhn was reviewed and approved* by the following: Elizabeth B. Smith Associate Professor of Art History Thesis Advisor Chair of Committee Charlotte M. Houghton Associate Professor of Art History Brian A. Curran Associate Professor of Art History James R. Sweeney Professor Emeritus of Medieval History Craig Zabel Associate Professor of Art History Head of the Department of Art History *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ABSTRACT Between c. 1380 and 1480, nearly every church in Middle Europe (an area encompassing modern-day Germany and large areas of its neighbors) acquired an elaborate, expensive architectural Host monstrance. In the Rhineland, most of these monstrances remain in the churches for which they were made, and most of them originated in the city of Cologne. The display of a monstrance indicated that the Host wafer inside was consecrated, and individuals who gazed upon the Body of Christ found that the rock crystal vessel (which visually magnified the Host) and the complex architectural framework, improved their devotional experience. Far from being a simple accessory used in the Corpus Christi liturgy, the monstrance was the focal point of processions and liturgical celebrations. Unlike chalices and other liturgical vessels that were used every day, the monstrance was used only at certain times of year, and then with great pomp. I present the late gothic monstrances produced in the Rhineland between c. 1380 and 1480 as they might have been seen and understood in their own time. To this end, I examine the identity and motivations of their patrons, their monetary and symbolic value, the circumstances of their commissioning and production, their liturgical and processional use and their reception. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables..................................................................................................................................vi List of Figures................................................................................................................................vii Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................xv Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 The Kölner Dommonstranz (Cologne Cathedral Monstrance)............................................7 The State of Research........................................................................................................11 Monstrances in Art History....................................................................................11 The Goldsmith’s Wage..........................................................................................16 Goldsmithing Techniques......................................................................................18 Liturgical and Processional Use.............................................................................19 Visual Piety............................................................................................................23 Primary Source Material........................................................................................26 Chapter 1. Medieval Visual Piety and the Development of the Monstrance................................29 Introduction........................................................................................................................29 Visual Piety........................................................................................................................29 Disc Monstrances and Tower Monstrances.......................................................................45 Cologne-Type Monstrances...............................................................................................47 Symbolic Architecture.......................................................................................................49 Iconography.......................................................................................................................51 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................54 Chapter 2. Commissioning the Monstrance..................................................................................55 Introduction........................................................................................................................55 Commissions......................................................................................................................55 Problems and Terminology................................................................................................56 Inventories..........................................................................................................................60 The Goldsmith’s Wage......................................................................................................62 Monstrance Contracts........................................................................................................70 Design Drawings...............................................................................................................72 Monstrance Patrons............................................................................................................75 Individual Patrons..............................................................................................................80 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................90 Chapter 3. Making the Monstrance...............................................................................................92 Introduction........................................................................................................................92 Goldsmiths’ Workshops.....................................................................................................92 iv Personnel............................................................................................................................99 Parts of a Monstrance.......................................................................................................103 Goldsmithing Techniques................................................................................................105 Workshop Identification..................................................................................................116 Inexpensive, “Mass Produced” Monstrances...................................................................119 Repairs and Restorations..................................................................................................122 Monstrances and Modern Collectors...............................................................................124 The Fate of the Host Monstrance.....................................................................................127 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................130 Chapter 4. Using the Monstrance................................................................................................131 Introduction......................................................................................................................131 The Host...........................................................................................................................132 The Monstrance in Use: Primary Sources.......................................................................136 Preparations for Corpus Christi.......................................................................................137 Gerard Foec’s Monstrance at the Oudmunster in Utrecht...............................................140 The Feast of Corpus Christi.............................................................................................143 The Corpus Christi Procession.........................................................................................147 Hierarchy in the Procession.............................................................................................162 Monstrance Use Outside of Corpus Christi.....................................................................169 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................176 Chapter 5. Conclusion: Seeing the Monstrance..........................................................................177 Introduction......................................................................................................................177 Monstrances and Display.................................................................................................178 The Monstrance as Symbol..............................................................................................181 Venerating the Host in the Monstrance...........................................................................185 Limitations on the Monstrance........................................................................................189