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LATE ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTED DECORATION

IN MEDIEVAL FRISIA

Kees van der Ploeg

From tufa to brick

From the eleventh century onwards tufa was the building material for churches in terra Frisiae, which in the later Middle Ages extended from the Zuiderzee in the Low Countries to the Butjadingen region on the Weser in Germany. These stone churches mark an extent of Christianization that went far beyond the results of missionary activities in the preceding centuries1. As a result more parishes were founded, all of which were to be provided with a church2. The tufa which was cut in quarries in the Eifel region, was brought to Andernach on the Rhine, to be shipped first to Cologne and then primarily to Deventer on the IJssel, the northernmost branch of the Rhine delta. From Deventer, a major stone emporium, ships would transport the cargo over the Zuiderzee into the shallow waters to the north of the Netherlands and then further inland by a series of north-bound rivers3. This was a costly procedure and as a consequence the number of stone churches that could be built was rather limited4. Wooden churches, on the contrary, must have been quite common in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in order to accommodate the liturgical and devotional needs of the population5. Even in the thirteenth century many churches were still made of wood, as is recorded in the chronicle of the abbey of Bloemhof for the monastery of Rozenkamp, where the church, obviously wooden, burnt down in 1262, next to which the new one in brick was under construction6.

From around 1200, however, the situation in Frisia changed drastically as a result of the introduction of the technique of brick making7. Clay of good quality for the production of bricks could be found

1. H. Schmidt, Kirchenbau und “Zweite Chritianisierung” im friesisch-sächsischen Küstengebiet während des hohen Mittelalters, in Niedersächsisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte, 59, 1987, pp. 63-96.

2. P. N. Noomen, Kerstening en kerkstichting in Friesland, in Millennium, 19, 2005, pp. 61-72.3. A. Slinger et al., Natuursteen in monumenten, Zeist/Baarn, 1980, pp. 27-35 ; also H. Haiduck, Kirchenarchälogie :

Beginn und Entwicklung des Kirchenbaues im Küstengebiet zwischen Ems- und Wesermündung bis zum Anfang des 13. Jahrhunderts, Quellen zur Geschichte Ostfrieslands, vol. 15, Aurich, 1992.

4. H. de Olde, Tufstenen kerken in Groningen, in Groninger Kerken, 19, 2002, pp. 4-30.5. H. Haiduck, Op. cit., pp. 19-29.6. H. P. H. Jansen and A. Janse (éds), De kroniek van het klooster Bloemhof: inleiding, editie en vertaling, Middeleeuwse

studies en bronnen, vol. 20, Hilversum, 1991, pp. 408/409-412/413.7. Whereas in older studies the introduction of brick is often dated to the later twelfth century, recent scholarship is more

cautious on this point   ; see  : K. Emmens, De oudste Friese baksteen. Een heroriëntatie op de introductie en vroege toepassing van baksteen in Friesland en Groningen, in Novi Monasterii, vol. 7, Gent, 2008, pp. 73-114. Van Schaïk has observed that in the Bloemhof chronicle the production of bricks for the new church of this abbey, which began in 1235, is described as

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virtually everywhere in the region itself. So the primary building material, which would make up for a large percentage of the costs of construction, had become much cheaper. At the same time more and more land was being cultivated thanks to the construction of a system of dikes and drainages, resulting in economic growth and a further rise in the population. Furthermore, attracted by these favourable economic prospects, beginning in the late twelfth century a series of monasteries were founded, the most important of which were either of Premonstratensian or Cistercian affiliation. These monastic establishments added their organizational strength to the development of the region8. On the other hand, their presence was also instrumental in making the Frisians further accept Christian ethics, the effect of which can be described as ‘in-depth Christianization’9. The foundation of many more new parishes led to the construction of new churches, whereas existing ones were either extended or entirely rebuilt. In these reconstruction programs the tufa of the old church was re-used as much as possible10.

A distinct sacred architecture

In the central parts of Frisia, on both sides of the Ems estuary – Groningerland on the west and Ostfriesland on the east – a particularly refined type of sacred architecture began to develop in the second quarter of the thirteenth century. This region was part of the archidiaconate of Frisia, which formed an exclave of the Westphalian diocese of Münster. The city of Groningen, however, was the northern outpost of the Utrecht bishopric. The melon-shaped vaults, in which the ribs only have an aesthetic function, are as typical as the decorative patterns in niches on the outside and the painted colour schemes on the inside. Strongly protruding wall-piers stress the bay divisions and saving niches lend plasticity to the walls, which are horizontally divided in two zones, the upper one of which contain lancet-windows, single, paired or in triplets11. This coherent group of churches is to be considered a distinct subgroup of the wide landscape of brick architecture which stretches all along the large coastal zone of the Low Countries and northern Germany into the Baltic states12. Only towards the middle of the fourteenth century does the sheer volume of building activity on both sides of the Ems begin to noticeably diminish. This coincides with a gradual loss of the distinct regional features of the newer churches, the architecture of which finally eclipses into a rather undifferentiated Gothic manner. This process of architectural homogenization can be illustrated by the pilaster strips, typical of the thirteenth century, which after 1300 become regular late Gothic buttresses.

Elsewhere intricate decorative patterns in brick are rather rare. Instances are to be seen at the chancel façade of the Benedictine church in Neukloster (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) from the second quarter of

something quite new : R. W. M. van Schaïk, Een samenleving in verandering : de periode van de elfde en twaalfde eeuw, in M. G. J. Duijvendak et al. (eds.), Geschiedenis van Groningen, vol. 1 (Prehistorie – Middeleeuwen), Zwolle, 2008, pp. 125-167, here p. 153. A general survey of the re-introduction of brick making in Europe is : B. Perlich, Mittelalterlicher Backsteinbau in Europa  : zur Frage nach der Herkunft der Backsteintechnik, Berliner Beiträge zur Bauforschung und Denkmalpflege, vol. 5, Petersberg, 2007.

8. J. A. Mol, Mittelalterliche Klöster und Deichbau im westerlauwerschen Friesland, in T. Steensen (ed.), Deichbau und Sturmfluten in den Frieslanden, Bräist/Bredstedt, 1992, pp. 47-59 ; H. Th. M. Lambooij and J. A. Mol, Vitae Abbatum Orti Sancte Marie : vijf abtenlevens van het klooster Mariëngaarde in Friesland, Middeleeuwse studies en bronnen, vol. 77, Hilversum/Leeuwarden, 2001, p. 88.

9. R. W. M. van Schaïk, Consolidatie en bloei: de periode van de dertiende en begin veertien de eeuw, in Duijvendak et al. (eds), Geschiedenis van Groningen... op. cit., vol. 1, pp. 169-227, here p. 173.

10. H. Haiduck, Op. cit., 53 ; H. De Olde, Op. cit., pp. 24-29.11. On the painted architectural decoration : K. van der Ploeg, Die Wandmalereien des Groningerlandes in ihrer zeitlichen

Einteilung, in R.-J. Grote and K. van der Ploeg (eds), Wandmalerei in Niedersachsen, Bremen und im Groningerland ; Fenster in die Vergangeheit, 2 vols, Munich, 2001, Aufsatzband, pp. 26-32.

12. Especially the decorative patterns made with brick in niches are unique for this region ; see : H. de Olde and Kl. Meindersma, Siermetselwerk aan Groninger kerken, in Groninger Kerken, 21, 2004, pp. 42-50.

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the thirteenth century, and in a series of thirteenth-century churches in Frisia west of the river Lauwers, which are derived from the architecture in the eastern part of today’s province of Groningen. Apart from traditional single-nave churches, cruciform plans become more frequent in the course of the thirteenth century. Towards 1300 the bays evolve from virtually square to rectangular, particularly in the transepts, whereas at the same time the proportions of the churches become more vertical. There is a preference for chancels with straight eastern walls, though both round and polygonal apses are not uncommon either. Particularly the flat walls invite a rich decoration with niches, friezes, all kinds of patterns, and occasionally a blind arched gallery, as in Garmerwolde. This gallery may be a reduction of the eaves gallery which adorned the eastern parts of thirteenth-century St. Martin’s in the nearby city of Groningen.

Oldenzijl: a Rhenish church in Frisia

The modest church at Oldenzijl has a single nave, the western half of which must have been completely rebuilt at some later point, and a recessed round apse13. The latter is horizontally divided into two zones.

13. W. J. Berghuis and R. Steensma, Kerkelijke bouwkunst, in W. J. Formsma et al. (eds), Historie van Groningen : stad en land, Groningen, 1976, pp. 657-686, here pp. 670-671.

Chancelc. 1240.

Leermens, Reformed church St. Donatus.

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The lower one is vertically divided in a series of saving niches, each of them with an arched frieze, whereas the upper one has alternating blind niches and windows, divided by shafts with elegant brick capitals. Below the roof runs a continuous arched frieze with animal heads and human masks on the consoles. This scheme is typical of twelfth-century Rhinelandish churches, such as St. Cäcilien in Cologne. Also the quadripartite oculi in the lower zone of the eastern bay are of Rhenish origin.

The Oldenzijl apse must be dated to circa 1230. Stilistically, it precedes the richly square chancel of the church in Westeremden, which according to the Bloemhof chronicle was begun after a fire in 1238. The latter’s richly decorated façade, however, has no direct linkage with Cologne and surroundings. The church in Oldenzijl must also precede the eastern parts of the church in Pilsum in Ostfriesland, usually dated to the middle of the thirteenth century or even later14. Though the layout of its apse is similar to that of the one in Oldenzijl, shafts and capitals are absent here, and the proportions are more vertical.

14. M. Meinz, Der mittelalterliche Sakralbau in Ostfriesland, Abhandlungen und Vorträge zur Geschichte Ostfrieslands, vol. 46, Aurich, 1966, pp. 91, 147 ; R. Noah, Die Kreuzkirche in Pilsum und ihre kunstgeschichtliche Bedeutung, in Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst und vaterländische Altertümer zu Emden, 59, 1979, pp. 62-77, here p. 74.

Apsec. 1230.

Oldenzijl. Reformed church St. Nicholas.

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St. Martin’s in Groningen and the shift to Westphalia

St. Martin’s, the main church of the town of Groningen, is a key building in the evolution of thirteenth-century architecture in the region. Its vaulting system and compound piers are very close to those of late Romanesque churches in Westphalia, whereas its general layout as a cross-basilica with alternating piers and columns, as well as some other details, betray a Rhinelandish origin. When the basilica was reconstructed in two phases in the fifteenth century, the nave was transformed into a hall-church. The series of gables on both outer naves are unmistakenbly Westphalian15. These diverging characteristics of St. Martin’s are indicative of the issue of origin of the late Romanesque in Groningen and Ostfriesland, since Westphalian late Romanesque itself is largely derived from Rhinelandish architecture as well16. Therefore, St. Martin’s and the other parish church in Groningen, St. Mary’s (better known as Der Aa-kerk), which has a similar scheme, might both seem to be second-hand Rhenish, namely via the Westphalian detour. It appears, however, that in the first half of the thirteenth century a more direct link with Rhenish architecture must have existed17. A particular case in point is the church of Oldenzijl just mentioned.

15. In Westphalia this arrangement is quite common, as can be seen in the cathedrals of Minden and Paderborn or in St. Nicholas’ in Lemgo. Originally also St. Lambertus’ in Oldenburg, further north, had such gables ; see: [E. Heinemeyer], Die Lambertikirche in Oldenburg ,[Oldenburg, 1987], p. 4.

16. K. Wilhelm-Kästner, Der Raum Westfalen in der Baukunst des Mittelalters, in Der Raum Westfalen, vol. II/1, Münster, 1955, pp. 371-460 ; H. Maué, Rheinisch-Staufische Bauformen und Bauornamentik in der Architektur Westfalens, Veröffentlichung der Abteilung Architektur des Kunsthistorischen Instituts der Universität Köln, 7, Cologne, 1975.

17. This position is argued in particular by H. Haiduck, Die Architektur der mittelalterlichen Kirchen im ostfriesischen Küstenraum, Abhandlungen und Vorträge zur Geschichte Ostfrieslands, vol. 63, Aurich, 1986, p. 61.

Lutheran church St. MaryMarienhafe. c. 1250.

During partial demolition in 1829, after lithograph by D. Bendixen.

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In its thirteenth-century appearance, St. Martin’s looked much like the even larger church of Marienhafe in Ostfriesland, most of which was demolished in 182918. In Groningen, the two eastern bays of the nave, as well as the crossing and transept were maintained during the fifteenth-century rebuilding of the church. This confirms the exactitude of the church’s depiction as a symbol of the civic community on the town’s seal, which was in use as early as 124519. The church must therefore have been completed towards the middle of the thirteenth century. The seal shows an apse with two zones as is customary in the large Rhinelandish churches. In Groningen however, the lower zone seems to have been flat20. An eaves gallery ran below the conical roof, continuing along the eastern walls of the transept – part of it is preserved on both flanks. The clerestory had fan-shaped windows, traces of which can still be seen above the tall nave arches.

Two more seals from the region also depict churches with an equally Rhenish appearance. On the one of Langewold we see the monumental cross-basilica of Sebaldeburen, pulled down in 1807. This building differed only slightly from St. Martin’s. The cross-basilica on the seal of Oldambt is usually identified as the church of Midwolda, which in the later Middle Ages was swallowed up by the sea. The lower zone of

18. The historical data on St. Martin’s are in : C. H. van Rhijn, Templa Groningana : de Martini kerk, de A kerk, de Nieuwe kerk en het beheer van de Nederduitsch Hervormde gemeente te Groningen, Groningen, 1910, pp. 3-85 ; an up-date in E. O. van der Werff, Martini : kerk en toren, Groningen/Assen, 2003, pp. 16-35. Especially on the late Romanesque church : P. L. de Vrieze and J. Otter, Het koor van de Martinikerk te Groningen, Groningen, 1969, pp. 14-18. On Marienhafe : H. Thümmler, Die Kirche von Marienhafe und die Andreaskirche in Norden, in Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst und vaterländische Altertümer zu Emden, 35, 1955, pp/ 96-104, here pp. 79-87.

19. A. T. Schuitema Meijer and W. K. van der Veen, Zegel, wapen en vlag van de stad Groningen, Groningen, 1965, p. 9.20. This affinity was first established by H. J. Böker, Die mittelalterliche Backsteinarchitektur Norddeutschlands, Darmstadt,

1988, p. 61, though the dedication date of 1215 he mentions cannot be substantiated.

City seal with image of St. Martin’s churchGroningen. 1245.

Reformed church St. Martin, Groningen(view from south aisle to northern transept ;

above the arch of the central nave the remainder of a fan-shaped window)

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the apse has oculi, as do the lower parts of the chancel, flanking towers and aisles. The apse has an eaves gallery in the Rhenish manner. The most striking element, however, are the flanking towers in the corners between chancel and transept, which refer to the Rhineland as well. Supposedly the church of Bunde further south-east also once had such flanking towers as is indicated by traces in the masonry. This church dates from the third quarter of the thirteenth century. Flanking towers are furthermore reported from the former church of St. Andreas in Norden in the north of Ostfriesland, which dates from around 125021.

According to the seal St. Martin’s had a monumental porch rising high above the aisle in which it was inserted. This is a rather Westphalian element, as can be seen with the similar porch of the church of St. Johannis Baptist in Billerbeck, dedicated in 123422. This porch also has a fan-shaped window as in the clerestory of St. Martin’s. Once again this shows how in this period Rhenish and Westphalian characteristics are mixed. Nevertheless, in due time the Westphalian element would become more dominant, as can be seen above all in the vaulting system. The first melon-shaped vaults which are characteristic of late Romanesque architecture in Westphalia, are most likely those in the Cistercian church of Marienfeld, which was dedicated in 122223. Though they too occur in the Rhineland, hanging keystones are very much a characteristic of Westphalian architecture. We also find them in some Frisian churches: St. Martin’s in Groningen and the churches of Britsum, Bozum, Pilsum and Siddeburen, all from the middle of the thirteenth century. Similarly Westphalian is the leaf ornament at the corners of pier bases at St. Martin’s as well as in Marienhafe, Pilsum and Termunten.

21. Bunde : H. Haiduck, Die Architecktur... op. cit., pp. 92, 98 ; Norden : H. Thümmler, Op. cit., pp. 87-95.22. H. Thümmler, Die Kirche von Marienhafe... op. cit., pp. 91-93.23. H. Thümmler, Die Anfänge der monumentalen Gewölbebaukunst in Deutschland und der besondere Anteil Westfalens, in

Westfalen, 29, 1951, pp. 154-171.

Transept and chancelThird quarter thirteenth century.

Pilsum. Lutheran church St. Stephen.

ChancelFourth quarter thirteenth century.

Termunten. Reformed church St. Ursus (?).

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The latter church, dating from the last quarter of the thirteenth century, has a double-layered window zone and compound wall-piers, both of which are Westphalian elements. Only a few capitals on the threefold shafts in front of the upper wall are original. Variations of this double-layered window zone can be seen in Woldendorp, which is close to Termunten. Traces of a gallery hollowed out in the thickness of the wall are to be found in the heavily mutilated church of Finsterwolde from the late thirteenth century24. Similar galleries adorn the churches of Bunde, Engerhafe, Marienhafe and Osteel, all in Ostfriesland25. The one in Bunde, five-part on the inside, with the two extreme openings being blind, has a triplet window, whereas all the other instances in Ostfriesland are quadripartite, with paired windows. The Termunten gallery, on the other hand, is tripartite, and as such is strongly reminiscent of the scheme of the square chancel at Osnabrück Cathedral, completed in 127226. Contrary to the Rhineland, in Westphalian sacred architecture there is a strong preference for straight east walls, and these will also become a dominant feature of the churches on both sides of the Ems in the second half of the thirteenth century. This flat eastern wall usually has a triplet of lancet windows. The motif occurs as early as the first quarter of the thirteenth century in the chancel of Wirdum. A little later we find it in the three walls of the Leermens chancel. Circa 1275 the motif is applied in a more monumental manner in the east wall of the Benedictine nun’s church in Ten Boer. In Termunten, as we have seen, triplets are combined with threefold wall passages; they adorn all three sides of the chancel. The lower zone of the early thirteenth-century tower in Godlinze has a partition of three interconnected arches within a larger arch, repeating the very same partition in the Hohnekirche in Soest from the late twelfth century. The exact same configuration is found on the lower zone of the massive tower at Marienhafe.

The persistence of the Rhenish connection: the chancels in Thesinge and Huizinge

The architectural ties with the Rhineland which were especially strong at the time when tufa was being imported from there, did not entirely vanish once brick had become the standard building material, as is evidenced by the polygonal apses of Thesinge and Huizinge27. In Thesinge, not far from Groningen, we are dealing with the poorly preserved chancel of the church of a former Benedictine female convent. On stylistic grounds it may be dated to the middle of the thirteenth century. The upper part of the walls were pulled down in 1786 and the vaults with them. Fortunately, enough has remained to allow a reconstruction. The square chancel bay was proportioned differently than the apse which, countinuing without a recess from the side walls of the chancel, had a continuous series of saving niches, filled with brick patterns above the window zone. The seven-part apse vault sprang from shafts in between seven narrow niches, each provided with a window.

The church in Huizinge dates from the third quarter of the thirteenth century. As in Thesinge, the seven-sided apse closes the single nave without a recess. Both on the exterior and interior this apse is richly decorated. During restoration in the 1960s it was established that in a second phase, probably immediately following the first one, all of the vaults were built higher than originally projected28. As a consequence the apse had to be raised, resulting in the upper zone with two oculi above each window. In Huizinge the vault has been preserved; the ribs have decorative extensions, so-called Rippenzierscheiben, which are familiar in the late Romanesque of the Rhineland but even more typical of Westphalia –

24. M. D. Ozinga, Oost-Groningen (= De Nederlandsche monumenten van geschiedenis en kunst, vol. 6, De provincie Groningen, eerste stuk : Oost-Groningen), ’s-Gravenhage, 1940, pp. 68-69.

25. The situation in Osteel is only known from a description of 1830 ; see M. Meinz, Op. cit., p. 61.26. H. Thümmler, Der Dom zu Osnabrück, [Munich/Berlin 1966], p. 2.27. More detailed in  : K. van der Ploeg, De koorsluitingen in Thesinge en Huizinge, in Groninger Kerken, 19, 2002,

pp. 121-128.28. R. Meischke, Het kleurenschema van de middeleeuwse kerkinterieurs van Groningen, in Bulletin van de Koninklijke

Nederlandsche Oudheidkundige Bond, 65, 1966, pp. 57-91, here pp. 65-66.

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Münster Cathedral has by far the largest number of these ornaments. Minor differences notwithstanding, the apses of Thesinge and Huizinge are very much the same, whereas the apse of Pilsum shows a somewhat reduced version of this scheme.

In a series of small churches in southern Westphalia, e.g. in Anröchte, not far from Soest, we encounter the same solution. It seems, however, that the origin of this feature is to be found in twelfth-century Rhenish architecture, where two-zone apses were provided with deep niches in the lower parts, while recesses in the upper zone contain windows. Since these niches had no liturgical function, they can only be interpreted as aesthetic refinements – and possibly as an elegant way to save building material as well29. At least for Thesinge and Huizinge – Pilsum seems a little more doubtful – the most relevant parallel is in a much more complex building, the church of the Cistercian abbey of Heisterbach to the south of Cologne, the dedication of which is recorded for 1237. In the wall of the ambulatory a series of half-round chapels has been hollowed out30. At first sight this relationship may seem rather far-fetched, but the connecting link is provided by the second church of the abbey of Aduard, on the opposite side of Groningen, the construction of which began in 124031. This church was completely taken down after the Reformation

29. For the non-liturgical function of these niches, cf. Cl. Kosch, Kölns Romanische Kirchen. Architektur und Liturgie im Hochmittelalter, Regensburg, 2000.

30. The architectural history of the abbey church summarized in : H. E. Kubach and A. Verbeek, Romanische Baukunst an Rhein und Maas, 4 vols, Berlin, 1976-1989, vol. 1, pp. 369-377. The parallel with Heisterbach was first noticed by Ter Kuile: S. J. Fockema Andreae and E. H. ter Kuile, Duizend jaar bouwen in Nederland, vol. 1, Amsterdam, 1958, p. 211.

31. H. Brugmans (ed.), De kroniek van het klooster Aduard, Bijdragen en mededeelingen van het Historisch Genootschap, vol. 23, Amsterdam, 1902, pp. 42-43.

Chancelc. 1250.

Thesinge, Reformed church (formerly of Benedictine nuns’ convent Sts. Seven Brothers).

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but both a description from before this and extensive excavations around 1940 have unveiled its general layout32. The apse of the inner choir had a continuous foundation, though it was surrounded by an ambulatory. Therefore, one would rather expect separate column foundations. Ubbo Emmius, who had probably seen the church with his own eyes, gives us a detailed description in his history of Frisia. One passage in particular helps us to understand the foundation as it was unearthed during the excavation: ‘The high altar is situated in the semi-circular inner choir of the church, which is surrounded by small and slender monolithic columns, in pairs, twelve altogether, closing the rear of the inner choir ...’33. Emmius’description miraculously fits the situation at Heisterbach with which the author was not familiar. Here the inner columns of each pair rest on a continuous semi-circular wall and the outer columns on the floor of the ambulatory. In Aduard possibly both columns of each pair rested on the semi-circular wall34.

The abbot of Heisterbach was entrusted with the visitation of the oldest Cistercian abbey in Frisia, Klaarkamp (Clarus Campus) near Dokkum, which in turn had Aduard as a daughter35. This Cistercian network will account for the adoption of the Heisterbach solution in Aduard. The chapels in the ambulatory,

32. For the excavations : H. Praamstra and J. W. Boersma, Die archäologischen Untersuchungen der Zisterzienserabteien Clarus Campus (Klaarkamp) bei Rinsumageest (Fr.) und St. Bernardus in Aduard (Gr.), in Palaeohistoria : acta et communicationes Instituti Bio-archaeologici Universitatis Groninganae, 19, 1977, pp.173-259.

33. Ubbo Emmius, Rerum frisicarum historia, book 11, Lugdunum Batavorum [Leiden], 1616, p. 164 : “Ara summa, in cella fani intima semicirculari, cincta columnis minoribus teritibus uno lapide excisis, binis et binis, numero duodecim, quibus cellae interioris tergum clauditur …”.

34. H. Praamstra and J. W. Boersma, op. cit., p. 184.35. J. van Moolenbroek, Mirakels historisch: de exempels van Caesarius van Heisterbach over Nederland en Nederlanders,

Hilversum, 1999, pp. 90-91.

Chancel Third quarter thirteenth century.

Huizinge, Reformed church St. John the Baptist.

Altar niches in ambulatoryFirst quarter thirteenth century.

Heisterbach, former Cistercian Abbey.

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however, are not to be found here, for the foundations indicate radial chapels of a clearly French stamp36. Nevertheless, Aduard, the most important abbey in the whole of Frisia, has probably passed on the Heisterbach chapels to Thesinge and Huizinge. The Cistercian abbey in Ihlow in Osfriesland is likely to have had a similar apse as that in Thesinge and Huizinge. It was also seven-sided, with corresponding interior shafts37. This may finally explain the occurrence of apse niches in Pilsum, further north in Ostfriesland, as well.

Architectural sculpture

Not many churches in Groningerland and Ostfriesland can boast sculpted decorations38. The most important series that has come down to us, is on the compound piers of St. Martin’s in Groningen. Two different groups can be distinguished here: the first has late Romanesque stylized floral motifs, which were common in both the Rhineland and Westphalia. In the other we find the kind of leaves and buds typical of French early-Gothic. This ornamentation was successively adopted in both the Rhineland and in Westphalia.

In the collection of the Groninger Museum are four capitals which in the early 1900s were uncovered from the site of the Cistercian nun’s monastery Essen, immediately south of the city of Groningen. This convent was founded in the beginning of the thirteenth century39. The capitals are made of volcanic stone, which gives reason to believe that it was cut from a quarry in the Rhineland. The late Romanesque decoration

36. G. Vermeer, Kloosters van baksteen: de architectuur van de hervormingsorden in Nederland tot omstreeks 1300, PhD University of Amsterdam, 1999, pp. 84-88.

37. W. Schwarz, Kloster Ihlow bei Ludwigsdorf, in R. Bärenfänger et al., Ostfriesland, Führer zu archäologischen Denkmälern in Deutschland, vol. 35, Stuttgart, 1999, pp. 192-196.

38. More detailed on the architectural sculpture : K. van der Ploeg, Rijnlandse en Westfaalse invloeden in de middeleeuwse bouwkunst in Groningen, in Groninger Kerken, 15, 1998, pp. 47-56, here pp. 53-54.

39. The few historical data are brought together in C. Tromp, Groninger kloosters, Groninger historische reeks, vol. 5, Groningen/Maastricht, 1989, pp. 42-44.

Two capitals from former Cistercian abbey of EssenThird quarter thirteenth century.Groningen, Groninger Museum.

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with acanthus-like foliage on two of them recalls Rhenish capitals from the middle of the thirteenth century. The Essen convent was a daughter of the Westphalian abbey of Altencamp. This shows that a particular institutional relationship does not always coincide with an artistic dependency on that same region as well. The other two capitals from the Essen site have highly stylized though simple leaves that bend at the corner, somewhat in the manner of early-Gothic ornament. They should therefore be dated to at least the third quarter of the thirteenth century. Neverthelsess, all four capitals will probably be from the same shipping. Having been carved in the round they must have been placed on top of free standing columns. Despite the rather large dimensions they may have been part of the roodloft in the nunnery’s church.

The style of the architectural sculpture on the inside of the Oldenzijl apse is close to the late Romanesque stone capitals at St. Martin’s. The double shafts of moulded bricks that divide the saving niches in the lower zone have paired capitals. These consist of two parts, each of which does not exceed the dimensions of a brick. As such the capitals must be understood as terracotta imitations of regular stone ones. The half-columns of the compound wall-piers on the western side of the eastern bay, still covered by a quadripartite vault, rest on Attic bases and have stone capitals with intricate foliage in the late Romanesque manner of the Rhineland40. The smaller capitals on the secondary shafts are, however, in terracotta and have a more linear style. The wall-piers which divide this bay from the apse do not run all the way down to the floor

40. E.g. at St.-Quirinus’ in Neuss of St. Ludgerus in Werden ; see : H. E. Kubach and A. Verbeek, Romanische Baukunst, vol. 2, pp. 827-836 (Neuss), pp. 1219-1230 (Werden).

Console south side chancelc. 1230.

Oldenzijl, Reformed church St. Nicholas.

Wall pier south side chancelc. 1230.

Oldenzijl, Reformed church St. Nicholas.

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but rest on stone consoles. The one on the north has rather simple geometrical patterns, but the opposite one, consisting of two parts, has rich acanthus-based foliage41.

Finally, the fragment of a small capital from Appingedam is also late Romanesque, showing a rather high quality, severe damages notwithstanding. Its base suggests that it had been inserted in a wall somewhere in the cruciform church from the middle of the thirteenth century, which in the fifteenth century was transformed into a hall-church.

Because of the scarcity of architectural sculpture the northern coastal region is very unlikely to have had a tradition of stone-masons, let alone sculptors, of its own. The stone capitals must therefore have been imported from elsewhere. Local forces will have produced brick imitations such as those in Oldenzijl. In the twelfth century, as tufa was used at a large scale, rather strong ties must have existed with the Rhineland from where the building material was imported42. After the introduction of brick making around 1200 these relations persisted for a while. In the Bloemhof chronicle mention is made of a master Everhard from Cologne, who together with his sons was in charge of the construction of the new church43. Interestingly, he is not referred to with the usual term ‘architectus’. Instead he is said to be experienced in the arts of cutting stones: ‘lapicidarie artis peritum’. This is a clear indication that Everhard had been active as such in Frisia, but in Wittewierum, where the building material was no longer stone but brick, he was called upon to oversee the laying of the foundations of the new church, as the chronicle tells us.

From Rhineland to Westphalia

It is likely that more Rhenish artisans were at work in the north during the period when churches were constructed of tufa. They will, of course, have brought with them not only the technical skills but also the aesthetic formulas with which they were familiar. This can be observed in some twelfth-century towers, such as those in Bedum and Zuidwolde. The former’s scheme with four gables as well as its decoration with saving niches and arched friezes fits well into the tradition of the Rhineland44. As late as around 1200 the decoration of the apse of the church in Arle, Ostfriesland, is still full-fledged Rhinelandish with its wall-pilasters connected by friezes of three small semi-circular arches45.

A typical phenomenon of twelfth-century sacred architecture in the northern Low Countries is the so-called ‘reduced western block’46. A good example has been preserved in Doezum, wheras the western block in Bedum must even have had the appearance of a western transept in the manner of St. Aposteln in Cologne. A late example, already in brick, is the one at Bierum from the first quarter of the thirteenth century47. From the western part of Frisia, the modern Dutch province of Friesland, five are known, two of which are in brick. In Guelders there are two. The only instance, if at all, in Ostfriesland was in Nesse48. There is a close similarity between these reduced western blocks and a series of western blocks in Schleswig-Holstein and Scandinavia, all of which can be interpreted as reduced versions of the much more impressive western blocks in the Rhineland49.

41. For the consoles cf. the larger and more refined ones at St. Severin’s in Cologne and the Minster in Bonn: Kubach and Verbeek, Romanische Baukunst, vol. 1, 596-603 and 107-119 respectively.

42. A. Slinger et al., op. cit., pp. 27-35.43. H. P. H. Jansen and A. Janse (eds), Op. cit., pp. 334/335-336/337.44. Cf. H. E. Kubach and A. Verbeek, Romanische Baukunst, vol. 4, Architekturgeschichte und Kunstlandschaft, pp. 503-

521.45. R. Noah, Ostfriesische Kirchen, Aurich, 1975, p. 1.46. J. J. F. W. van Agt, Gereduceerde westwerken in het oude Friesland, in Nederlandsch Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, 3, 1950-

1951, pp. 57-81.47. M. D. Ozinga, Op. cit. p. 35.48. H. Haiduck, Beginn und Entwicklung... op. cit., pp. 213-216.49. Van Agt, Op. cit., p. 71.

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In this pattern of influences and dependencies Oldenzijl becomes a most intriguing example of transition. Whereas the church was in fact built of brick, its design is still completely in the manner of the Rhineland, including its architectural sculpture, the best parts of which are in stone. It thus appears that a gradual shift to Westphalia does not take place until the middle of the thirteenth century. This is first and foremost

Apsec.. 1200.

Arle, Lutheran church St. Boniface.

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evidenced in the typical vaulting system referred to above – and indeed, the only suviving vault in Oldenzijl is of the average Romanesque type. It is in the region east of the Ems, in the modern province of Groningen, that this shift first occurs50. In contrast to Oldenzijl, both the overall design and the capitals at St. Martin’s in Groningen are primarily related to Westphalia51. The church in Billerbeck, already mentioned, makes a good comparison here. At first sight the Billerbeck capitals look Rhenish, but since Westphalia had a sculptural tradition of its own it can be ruled out that these capitals were imported from there. Moreover, the material is stone from the Baumberge quarries in the Münsterland, which, of course, does not exclude that sculptors who had trained in workshops in the Rhineland, could have moved to this part of Westphalia when at some point after 1200 the opportunities here increased.

50. For this priority cf. also H. Haiduck, Verbindendes und Trennendes. Niederländischer Einfluß auf die mittelalterliche Sakralarchitektur in Ostfriesland, in O. S. Knottnerus et al. (eds), Rondom Eems en Dollard / Rund um Ems und Dollart. Historische verkenningen in het grensgebied van Noordoost-Nederland en Noordwest-Duitsland / Historische Erkundungen im Grenzgebiet der Nordostniederlande und Nordwestdeutschlands, Groningen/Leer, 1992, pp. 98-109, 501 (notes) ; M. Meinz, Op. cit., p. 26; K. Wilhelm-Kästner, Op. cit., pp. 422-424 and 383 (map p. 25).

51. On this issue I am of a different opinion than E. Den Hartog who considers these capitals as fully Rhenish. See: E. den Hartog, Zu einigen spätromanischen Kapitellen in den nördlichen Niederlanden, in U. M. Bräuer et al. (eds), Kunst & Region : Architektur und Kunst im Mittelalter : Beiträge einer Forschungsgruppe / Art & Region : Architecture and Art in the Middle Ages : Contributions of a Research Group, Clavis Kunsthistorische Monografieën, vol. 20, Zutphen, 2005, pp. 193-205, here p. 193.

Capitals in crossingSecond quarter thirteenth century.

Groningen, Reformed church St. Martin.

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The Münster workshops also worked for exportation. That this came as far as Frisia was known already from a series of baptismal fonts which have been preserved in the area of Ostfriesland, where the Lutheran Reformation had a rather merciful attitude towards medieval religious objects in comparison to the Calvinist Reformation which dominated in the western parts of Frisia52. Surprisingly, the importance of the Münster workshops has recently been confirmed by the rediscovery of a capital that already in the early 1980s was found on the grounds of the former Thesinge convent53. The capital differs in material, dimensions as well as in style from two capitals which are in the remainder of the former nunnery’s church. Though heavily damaged, enough of the capital remains to establish that, if it were not freestanding, it was at least fully carved on three sides. Therefore, it cannot have been inserted into the wall like the brick half-capitals just mentioned, which are in fact rather clumsy imitations of stone capitals. The most likely origin for the capital is the roodloft, of which the foundations were excavated in the 1970s before the restoration of the church. In Thesinge a roodloft must have been compulsory as a partition for the nuns since the nave and transept served as church for the local parishioners.

52. K. Noehles, Die westfälischen Taufsteine des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts, PhD Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, 1953 ; also : Fr. Petersen, Romanische Taufsteine in Ostfriesland, Leer, 1997.

53. K. van der Ploeg, Een Munsters kapiteel uit Thesinge, in Bulletin Koninklijke Nederlandse Oudheidkundige Bond, 108, 2009, pp. 129-138.

Capitals in navec. 1230.

Billerbeck, Catholic church St. John the Baptist.

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The foundations indicate that the central passageway was flanked by walls running east-west. As such it was a variation of the arcaded roodloft which around the middle of the thirteenth century was constructed in Leermens, where the two extreme bays are still standing54. The exact number of foliated capitals which once adorned the Thesinge roodloft is, of course, impossible to ascertain, but it seems reasonable to suppose that the fronts of the passageway walls on at least one side was decorated with an almost freestanding column. Compared to the Leermens roodloft with its plain capitals – this was, by the way, a common parish church – the roodloft in Thesinge must have had a much more accomplished appearance.

Stylistically, the fragment from Thesinge makes good comparisons with capitals in the Rhineland. However, thirteenth-century sculpture in Westphalia was also greatly under the impact of the neighbouring region. Thus, the question arises whether the stylistic peculiarities of the Thesinge capital are first-hand Rhenish or rather the reflection of the strong artistic connections between the Rhineland and Westphalia. Earlier on in this paper, in the case of St. Martin’s in Groningen, we already stumbled upon this problem of a double dependency. With regard to this capital, however, there can be no doubt at all as to its origin, since it is made of stone from the Baumberge quarries. At Münster Cathedral, the south aisle, built

54. Tr. Brandsma, Doxalen in de Groninger Ommelanden, deel 1, in Groninger Kerken, 11, 1994, pp. 103-118, here pp. 111-113.

Capital from roodloftc. 1250.

Thesinge, former Benedictine nuns’ convent.

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around 1245, has capitals which are very close to the Thesinge fragment55. Indeed, even these capitals in the mother church of the Münsterland have a Rhenish appearance, but it can be excluded that these were imported from there, were it only for the simple reason that Rhinelandish and Westphalian workshops used completely different geological types of stone.

As a consequence, the Thesinge capital was without doubt produced in a Münster workshop and then transported to the Thesinge building site. Apart from the fact that there were hardly any experienced sculptors in the region, this procedure was also very efficient, for in this manner no excess weight whatsoever had to be transported. Whether a last finish was given to the capital at its final destination, as Petersen supposes for baptismal fonts which were imported from Münster, is impossible to decide56. The only site where, due to the amount of architectural sculpture in Baumberge stone, the temporary presence of sculptors from Westphalia cannot be excluded, is in Marienhafe. On the outside of the chancel and transept there was an extended series of statues in niches, of which only two have been preserved almost completely, unfortunately in a rather weathered state. Also the porch in the tower was richly decorated.

55. On this chronology : J. Poeschke et al., Mittelalterliche Kirchen in Münster, München, 1993, pp. 34, 286.56. Fr. Petersen, Op. cit., p. 90.

Capital in south aislec. 1245.

Münster, Cathedral St. Paul

Statue of blessing Christ from transept gablec. 1250

Marienhafe, Lutheran church St. Mary.

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All around the church ran a sculpted frieze. Part of this was an extended Reynard cycle, rather early for the time it was made, c. 1240, and even rarer to be found in this medium57.

At least all the statues may well have been made in the Münsterland and then ready-made transported to Marienhafe, where they could easily be inserted into the niches. This would account as much for the stylistic similarity with the Annunciation group from the former Andreaskirche in Norden, likewise carved from Baumberge stone, as the assumption that the latter were made by the alleged Marienhafe master or workshop58. Noehles’ suggestion that the Marienhafe team may also have produced the above-mentioned series of fonts in Baumberge stone cannot be substantiated either59. However, even taking into account the measure of weathering of the many fragments in Marienhafe, artistically these seem to lag behind both the statues and the fonts. This might be an indication that in any case the frieze was carved or at least to some extent finished on the spot in order to make the panels exactly match their position in the wall. Be this at it is, the rich sculptural decoration of the church in Marienhafe is nonetheless proof that at this early stage, the second quarter of the thirteenth century, large amounts of stone for architectural decoration were imported to the region from the Baumberge, whether as raw material, as most German scholars tend to believe, or more or less as ready-mades, as I find more plausible.

57. The entire sculptural decoration is documented in : H. Suur, Die alte Kirche zu Marienhafe in Ostfriesland : Abhandlung, Emden, 1845.

58. G. André, Die frühgotischen Skulpturen in Norden/Ostfriesland, in Niederdeutsche Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte, 7, 1968, pp. 95-152, esp. pp. 140-141. The supposed presence of French sculptors in Ostfriesland is accepted by Gottfried Kiesow, Ostfriesische Kunst, Ostfriesland im Schutze des Deiches, vol. 4, [Pewsum], 1969, p. 65.

59. Repeated in Fr. Petersen, Op. cit., p. 90, with reference to Noehles.

Decoration of tower porchc. 1260.

Marienhafe, Lutheran church St. Mary.

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There is much evidence that by the end of the Middle Ages the importation of ready-made sculpture intensified. Workshops from Münster supplied the furnishings for the chancel of the convent in Ter Apel of which large parts have survived in situ60. In Ostfriesland many more liturgical furnishings have been preserved, and most of these items are made of stone from the Baumberge. As recently as 1997, during work on the floor of the church at Zuidbroek, fragments of a monumental Calvary in Baumberge stone came to light, which unequivocally betray the style of contemporary Münster workshops61.

60. D. P. R. A. Bouvy, Middeleeuwse beeldhouwkunst in de Noordelijke Nederlanden, Utrecht, 1947, pp. 173-174  ; R. Karrenbrock, Evert van Roden, der Meister des Hochaltars der Osnabrücker Johanniskirche. Ein Beitrag zur westfälischen Skulptur der Spätgotik, Osnabrücker Geschichtsquellen und Forschungen, vol. 31, Osnabrück, 1992, pp. 319-320.

61. R. Karrenbrock in H. Arnold (ed.), Die Brabender. Skulptur am Übergang vom Spätmittelalter zur Remaissance (exhibition cat. Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster), Münster, 2005, p. 298  ; D. van Weezel and J. Molema, Een calvariegroep op het kerkhof van Zuidbroek, in Groninger Kerken, 16, 1999, pp. 7-15. On the origin of sculpture in Groningen further : V. M. Schmidt, De epitaaf van Egbert Onsta in Middelstum en de laatmiddeleeuwse steensculptuur in Groningen, in Groninger Kerken, 17, 2000, pp. 68-75 ; V. M. Schmidt, Een beeld van verbrokkeling. Onderzoek naar laatgotische en renaissance beeldhouwkunst in Nederland sinds 1945, in R. Falkenburg et al. (eds), Beelden in de late middeleeuwen en renaissance / Late Gothic and Renaissance sculpture in the Netherlands, Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, vol. 45, Zwolle, 1994, pp. 9-37, here pp. 22-24.