Wittenberg Altarpiece

The altarpiece in the church of Wittenberg was finished in 1547 by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The church called St. Marien is the place where Luther preached his sermons and where the people heard his reformative thoughts about the nature and the constitution of church and religion.

           

The altarpiece consists of four different panels. The biggest panel in the middle depicts the scene of the last supper. It is shown as a communicative scene in which everybody is sitting around the table and is clearly talking and having a conversation with his neighbor (except of Judas who wears bright yellow clothes and his foot steps out of the circle). Cranach also depicts Luther in the circle of the apostles. He is the one on the right who just gets handed over the chalice. The left panel shows Philip Melanchton, who was a colleague of Luther, baptizing new followers of the new faith. The right panel depicts another follower of Luther, Johannes Budenhagen, who acts as a confessor. The three panels show different events but they are all connected not only by their subject (the three sacraments) but also in the artistic way of using similar colors (red, brown) and shapes (circles). The fact that the altarpiece shows Lutheran sacraments as well as the traditional Catholic last supper emphasizes the reality of Luther’s new church and is meant to give credibility to his thoughts and faith.

In the bottom panel (called Predella) the historical context becomes clearer. It shows Luther preaching and presenting the crucified Christ to his followers. This scene works more as a metaphor in which Luther can be seen as the leader and preacher of the new church. The way in which he places one hand on the book (probably the Bible) reflects the thinking of Protestants, who believed in the scriptural authority of the Bible and people’s individual reading and interpreting of it (which is opposite to the Catholic belief in which the pope or the priest does the interpretation).

            

The Wittenberg altarpiece clearly illustrates the new forming Lutheran church and it also idealizes the new community of Lutherans in the area. It is therefore an important piece in a meaningful place of the Reformation. Lucas Cranach, who was a close friend of Martin Luther and his wife Katharina, depicts this Reformation as a whole concept of thinking and by doing so he marks a decisive change in the Northern European art.

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/cranachs-wittenberg-altarpiece.html?q=cranachs-wittenberg-altarpiece.html

http://www.globopix.de/fotos/sachsen-anhalt/lutherstadtwittenberg/st-marien-cranachaltar-wittenberg22.html

http://www.stadtkirchengemeinde-wittenberg.de/de/stadtkirche.html

Girolamo Aleandro - Anti-Luther, Pro-Catholicism

(This woodcut comes from 1536, as dated on the bottom, showing Girolamo Aleandro as Archbishop.)

This week because we are watching Luther in class I decided to analyze a character from the movie, specifically one with historical significance. As such, a prominent choice is Cardinal Girolamo Aleandro. He eventually became an archbishop of the Catholic Church. Yet for the movie purposes, he is a strong opponent to Martin Luther, especially at the Council of Worms. Pope Leo X sends Girolamo to Germany to protest against Luther in 1520. Girolamo supports the Catholic Church ardently, but recognizes the need for some reforms within the church. He does not support the Reformation or the splitting of the church.

At the Diet of Worms Girolamo advocated for strong measures to be taken to silence Luther. On this stance, he stood relatively alone because many people preferred less violent means of suppression. He even lost the friendship of Erasmus over his stance. He had be longtime friends with Erasmus due to their shared ideals of Humanism. The edict eventually drawn up against Luther was pronounced by Girolamo himself and adopted by the emperor (Charles V) and the diet. After this in 1523 Clement VII named Girolamo the archbishop of Brindisi and Oria. Paul the III named him a cardinal in 1536, and he died in 1542 in Rome. 

Pilgrimage and Relics, 1497

When we approach the Reformation, it's important for me that we see both points of view. Typically the Reformation has been approached by one point of view (Catholic or Protestant), and in most high school classes the Reformation is seen only through the lens of Luther. To get out of that mode, we will examine other reformers and contrast them with Luther. It may be hard to believe that Luther was criticized for being too Catholic!

 Keeping in the world of the 1500s, I am posting the following image from Josse Lieferinx, the Master of St. Sebastian from 1497: "The Pilgrims at the church of St. Sebastian." This is an image in Rome today, and one that would have been painted pre-Reformation. It shows the various people at a church at the altar. Many of the people have health issues, including a cripple and someone carried in in a box. All are facing the devotional space, and all are praying.  While generally city magistrates, city folks, and nobility went for the Reformation in Germany, the poor and the peasants did not last. This is not simply a class divide but thinking about what each offered and why. For many of the urbanites, as you saw in the decrees of the city guilds, they were tired of favoritism towards priests. Everyone in the city should pay a tax, guard the walls; priests should not be exempt. For this reason, cities were interested in controlling their own religion. But always keep in the back of your mind the ways that medieval devotion permeated society. What happens when it disappears? Pilgrimage, monasticism, relics, saints are all criticized. These will be major changes for society and create an "age of anxiety."

Here is an relic of St. Valentine that is in Rome today: 

Here is an image of a pilgrimage church in  Chimayo, New Mexico that I have been to; and also one in Quebec. Important to remember that many of these things are in existence today.  

Medieval Studies/New Da Vinci Portrait

Drury has a 15 hour medieval and renaissance studies minor (you are currently in one 3 hour class towards the minor); you must take medieval civilization, offered next fall as the intro class. This spring, students will be taking a foundations class for the Core; my black death skills class counts for the minor and for gen ed. so its a good class to fulfill both categories. You also can take classes like Brit lit I in English and Art history. Blatant advertising. The minor and a History major can be fulfilled as well at the same time. Email me if you have questions.

For a story on the latest discover of a Da Vinci portrait go here, and our facebook page for med/ren, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Medieval-and-Renaissance-Studies-at-Drury-University/1418557281698724?ref=hl

Martin Luther: 95 Theses

Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany, in 1483; he spent his younger years as a monk and scholar. In 1517, he penned a document on the door of the Catholic Church attacking it for being corrupt and practicing the selling of indulgences to absolve sin. His “95 Theses” had two main criticisms of the Catholic Church; that the Bible is the main religious authority and that humans can only reach salvation by their faith and not by their good deeds. This was the spark of the Protestant Reformation. Ever since Luther’s “95 Theses” the Catholic Church has been divided.

Sources: http://www.history.com/topics/martin-luther-and-the-95-theses

Club Apocalypse: The Original Plastics

Can it get any "Mean"er than the Apocalypse?  Meet  Conquest, War, Famine and Death. These are the four most popular studs of the ever impending apocalypse. They were basically the plastics of reformation art/symbolism and reside in the most popular burn book of them all- the book of Revelations...you may have heard of it. When they stroll down the hallway of life, you better move out of their way- because they're here to end all life as you know it. This gentlemen are relevant to our class because if you remember, we talked about how during the Reformation apocalyptic themed art, literature and general thoughts were popular.

In regards to time periods related to our class, here are some famous works that showcase this era's fascination with the Apocalypse.

"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Mattius Gerung, c. 1530-32

"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Albrecht Dürer, c. 1497-98

 Background of the 4:
There was the guy named John. He lived in a cave in Patmos, and had visions of the end of days, aka the second coming of Christ, aka the apocalypse. (Fun fact: I've been to this cave, and touched to rock that apparently split into three parts during his vision, representing the holy trinity. It was small, cramped and I too probably would have had the end of days on my mind if I lived there.)  In this vision he saw the Lamb of God (christ) opening 7 seals. Contained within the 7 seals were the four gentlemen described above. There are many descriptions and interpretations of the appearance of these guys, however they are commonly described as seen below. Bonus, I've added their "Mean Girls" counterparts.

Conquest: The first rider to appear out of the heavens riding a white horse. Some believe he was christ, delivering a divine cleansing upon his people, while others believe that he was the antichrist delivering punishment. Either way, this guy is the leader of the pack, and is clearly the protagonist of the horsemen story. For this purpose, I have declared him the Cady Heron of the apocalypse. At first, Cady represents a positive role model. She friends the unfriendly, stands up for the little man and in general wants to spread her happy African morals to the other members of the school. However, we misjudged. Cady actually becomes a real tart, which basically ends in the school being throw into complete chaos. In the end, the school is better off and "cleansed" by her appearance, but overall, it probably could have been handled better.

War: The next to arrive on the scene is war. He rides a red house and carries a sword. The red is suppose the represent the blood he spills in battle and he is typically compared to Mars, the Roman god of War. This guys is ruthless, tactical and basically does whatever it take to get the job done. He is clearly the Regina George of the Apocalypse. Regina is maniacal, strategic and has little to no care for anyone else but herself. She storms into any situation, guns blazing and doesn't take any prisoners. Regina is the catalyst the the epic climax of the film, when she passes out the flyers of the burn book in the school. I'd like to think that War's horse had "John of Patmos made out with a hotdog" painted on the side of it... 

Famine: The third horseman to arrive is famine. He is riding a black horse and is holding scales. In the scripture, he rattles off threats about wheat and barley. Clearly, this is the most annoying of the horseman, and thus he deserves the Gretchen Wieners comparison. Her dad invented toaster strudel...yet she doesn't share any with her friends, famine much? Not fetch. 

                                              

Death: The final horseman to appear is Death. This rider is the only one that is actually named in the text, the others are just assumed. He rides in on the "pale" horse. Some interpret this as either white or a sickly green, representing the skin tone of someone who is near death. This guy is commonly depicted holding a scythe, typical of the character of Death. It is said that behind Death was all of hell following close behind. Because of his tardiness and general destructive qualities, Death will be compared to Karen Smith. This is more of a long shot...but someone has to Karen right? There's always a Karen of the group. I think its safe to say that Karen messes everything up due her extreme ditzyness...compared to death who literally brings all of hell with him to Earth. I'd like to imagine that Death was a mouse for Halloween...or a weatherman. 

This is obviously the most scholarly post you've read yet. 

You can follow this link in order to see the four horsemen depicted through history, and also the direct scriptures from Revelation that mentions them. 

Sources: 

http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/12/21/the-four-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#Pale_Horse

http://nypress.com/the-four-horsemen-scholars-look-back-at-the-reformation-a-gruesomely-

    chaotic-time/

Apocalypse Then: Woodcuts of the Reformation

"The Woman Clothed With the Sun and the Seven-Headed Dragon" by Durer

As the Reformation was just beginning, several ideas about the apocalypse and the antichrist became popular.  Many artists used such a topic as the theme of their artworks, as seen in the woodcut above.  No doubt artists such as Albrecht Durer among others looked to the book of Revelation in the Bible for the ultimate question of what was to become of the future, or the end of it.  There was this idea of the coming of an antichrist, who was supposed to set himself up as a God and try to tear the Church apart from within.  The Church would thus be persecuted before the coming of Christ, and many Reformers including Luther believed that the antichrist was the Pope and papacy at the time.  They saw themselves as fighters against the powers of evil, and that the Catholic Church was corrupted.  Artists such as Durer wanted to encourage Reformers that even though they were being persecuted that there was still hope that Christ would come and save them from evil.  

The woodcut above depicts a section from Revelation 11-12 of the Bible, showing a woman presumed to be Mary.  A dragon with seven heads (symbolizing the devil) awaits the birth of her male child destined to rule the world someday and wishes to devour him, but angels above are waiting to carry the child away to the safety of heaven.  In a way the woman represents the Church, and her child the faithful followers who would be saved from the clutches of evil.  Many artworks such as this were not uncommon in the time of the Reformation, and all asked the same question:  What was to happen once the end of the world arrived?  I think it's extremely fascinating that so many were concerned with their future, and that many thought the Pope to be the antichrist.  It's crazy to see how a small Reformation can turn out to move so many people with a central idea.  

Praise of Folly

               This is an image from the essay written by Erasmus titled The Praise of Folly.  This is a marginal drawing in the first edition of the essay.  It was written in Latin in the year 1509 and was one of the key pieces of literature in the start of the reformation.  The story begins with Folly praising herself in a crowd of people claiming how she is the center of all, joy, relationships, love, and happiness in the world.    She then criticizes different professionals in the city such as doctors, lawyers, and eventually moves to the clerics, cardinals, and the Pope, and the story ends with a statement regarding Christians and their relationship with God.

                Although Erasmus was a devout Catholic, this essay was a harsh critique of the church.  The uses the allegory of Folly to show how the Roman Catholic Church abuses some of their powers.  When speaking of the Pope she claims that he is selfish and hoards his money.  Surprisingly, Pope Leo X found the essay very amusing.  I liked this piece because it allows us to see how authors in this time were expressing their views.  His use of satire made the literature interesting but still allowed for Erasmus to get his point across.