Medieval Treasures from Hildesheim ed. by Peter Barnet, Michael Brandt, and Gerhard Lutz (review)

As the title of this art book indicates, we are given a comprehensive overview of the diverse treasures created as early as the ninth century and as late as the early fifteenth century in Hildesheim, Germany. During this expansive medieval period, the city of Hildesheim became a leading ecclesiastical and cultural center that would produce a rich cache of both decorative and functional art objects that would come to be safeguarded over the centuries at St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Michael’s Church, now World Heritage Sites, and today housed in the Dom-Museum Hildesheim. These superlative objects of religious devotion and spiritual illumination all demonstrate the unique aesthetic produced as medieval art. The photographic documentation is superlative.

The two-part structure of the text remains straightforward and informative. The first part covers perfunctory forewords and acknowledgements, which offer intriguing perspectives on how this extraordinary art collection found its path to being an important exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thereafter Professor Marina Giese, Curator Gerhard Lutz, and Professor Harald Wolter-von dem Knesebeck present a complete historical and chronological account of Hildesheim the city and its cultural heritage. It begins with the eighth- and ninth-century references to the early promoters of Christian ideals, namely Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious, who established the first bishopric of Hildesheim to Gunthar in 815. Then it tells us how and when the cathedral was consecrated and built using a “plan … characteristic of major cathedrals and abbey churches of the later Carolingian period” (4). It carefully details the contributions of its most prolific donor, Bernward (960–1022), a Saxon noble and thirteenth bishop of Hildesheim, who had the greatest influence during his nearly thirty-year episcopate. The rich legacy of artifacts and documents, including a valuable biography entitled Vita Bernwardi, underscore the importance of Hildesheim in the context of the medieval material world. Late eleventh-century documents offer initial written evidence to the details from site designations and chronicling the ecclesiastical leaders and influential noble families. Through this historical heritage we learn how and why these art objects were obtained or produced by the many ecclesiastical leaders, the Ottonian monarchy, and wealthy family clans over the centuries.

Compelling reading comes when we are given an overview of the survival of the Hildesheim treasures through the centuries, especially through the Reformation and the “adoption of Lutheranism in 1542” and the threat of “secularization of church properties [when] all the monasteries were dissolved and their treasures dispersed” in 1803 (19). Fortunately for the collection, Bishop Eduard J. Wedekin would eagerly gather the diocese’s artworks and initiate the creation of the cathedral museum for proper preservation in late nineteenth century; final twentieth-century efforts would lead to the treasure’s survival intact despite the Allied bombing that devastated the medieval center of Hildesheim in 1945.

The second part of the text lists forty-eight specific artworks; each numbered item includes clear and relevant identification details, including materials used, precise dimensions, date of creation, archival location, and the occasional anecdotal information. This listing includes six manuscripts (primarily Gospels) and two pairs of decorative front and back book covers; one “key monumental wooden” Christ sculpture from the Ottonian era that miraculously survived (44); four portable altars; four crosiers; six crosses and one reliquary cross; five reliquaries; two pairs of candlesticks; one influential and unique “portable candelabrum for three candles … in the Lower Saxon tradition of leonine works” (112); and various miscellaneous church ornaments and practical pieces. Each numbered item offers valuable (and often invaluable) historical context, including but not limited to Latin inscriptions with their respective translations or quick explanations of church practices. For example, item 31, the Reliquary of Saint Oswald, gives rich detail to understanding the unique artifact that houses Saint Oswald’s skull and its survival history...