Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/374

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
294
PROCEEDINGS AT MEETINGS OF

pattern in relief. The wings are perforated, in a device of which the Heart forms the leading figure: the ribs or rays, beaten up from the under side, give strength to these accessories; which, though of metal, are of great lightness. The mode of fastening is very ingenious. The visor being raised, the mentonnière opens in front: the hollow rim at the neck fits over the beaded edge of the gorget (so as to traverse upon it): the bolt in front fastens the left cheekpiece over the right: the visor is then brought down so as to overlap both; and it is prevented from rising again by the hook fixed on the right cheek-piece. The weight of the helmet is 5 lb. 7 oz."

Mr. Nesbitt gave the following account of two fine sepulchral Brasses at Lübeck, of which rubbings were produced.

"The first of these lies in a chapel on the north side of the choir of the Cathedral of tkat city, and is one of the finest examples of this class of sepulchral memorials which exists. The size, fine design, extreme elaborateness, admirable execution, and perfect state of preservation, are all remarkable. There can be no doubt that it is of Flemish work,[1] and it corresponds so closely, in many details, with the great brass of Abbot Thomas in the Abbey church of St. Albans, that it seems highly probable that it was the work of the same engraver. That so fine a specimen of Flemish art should have reached Lübeck in the fourteenth century will excite no surprise when it is remembered that at that period the commerce of the Hausa was in high prosperity, that Lübeck was at the head of the league, and that their 'Cuntoor' at Bruges was one of the most important of the Hanseatic factories. The brass in question measures 12 ft. by 6 ft. 2 in., and is composed of many sheets of metal, so closely joined that most of the partings are scarcely visible. It commemorates two Bishops of Lübeck, Burkhard de Serken, who sat from 1276 till 1317, and John de Mill, who sat from 1341 till 1350. The first of these is stated to have been aged eighty when he became Bishop, and consequently to have lived to the age of 121.[2] It would, however, seem that chill elderhood had not

'repressed his noble rage.'

for he laid the city thrice under interdict,[3] as it would seem for very trivial offences. Bishop Von Mill built the chapel in which he lies buried, and consecrated the choir of the Cathedral. He died of the black death which at that time desolated the north of Germany; it perhaps was nowhere more terrible in its ravages than in Liibeck, where, on St. Lawrence's day, 1350, 2500 of the inhabitants died within the twenty-four hours.[4]

  1. ↑ It would occupy too much space to go here into the reasons why the so-called Flemish brasses in England have been assumed to be such; it may suffice here to observe that the style of these corresponds precisely with existing memerials in Flanders, while it differs very greatly from that which characterises the great majority of the works of the same period in England. Precisely the same is the case in Germany, where the Flemish brasses have a character very distinct from those which, there is every reason to think, are of German work. In this case, a corroboration of the supposition of its Flemish origin is afforded by the fact, that the stone in which it is set is of that dark grey marble so much used in Belgium; while the stone ordinarily used at Lübeck for such purposes is a Swedish marble, of a light grey and green colour, and containing very different organic remains.
  2. ↑ See Chron. Schlavica in Limborgii Script. Rer. Germ.; Sept. Hamburg, 1706, p. 221.
  3. ↑ Idem, pp. 206, 207.
  4. ↑ Kurd von Schlözer, die Hansa, &c. p. 104.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.