Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(Příloha):78-86

"To create a pulpit with tight stone". A study on the material, typology, and function of medieval pulpits in southern Bohemia with regard to neighboring regions

Roman Lavička

Preaching reached a point of significant development in Europe in the 13th century, when the Mendicant orders focused on the emerging urban society in order to assist in the fight against heretics. Monks preached during Mass and began to operate in churches as well as outdoors. From the mid-14th century, however, we observe an increase in the popularity of preaching in parish churches, as dissatisfaction with the method that the orders expressed themselves increased.
The portable wooden pulpit came into existence for sermons in the open air. Its appearance is mentioned using words like stool, box, tun, or barrel, and period depictions show that it most often resembled a square box on four supports. Monastic churches also made use of moving but artistically more intricate wooden pulpits. A very early mention of a firmly embedded design dates from 1388, but the first stone pulpits appeared in the last quarter of the 15th century. There were no church regulations concerning their location, so this decision was always subject to the most important aspects of optics, acoustics, and communication.
In the late Middle Ages, the parts of the pulpit included its main parts, the first being referred to as the corpus, basket, or rostrum. It was borne by a simple or multi-piece support or feet. For refectory type pulpits, the support was provided by an imposing console. The third part was the entrance, for which at first there served a ladder, then a fixed spiral or straight staircase sometimes enclosed by a portal. The final addition that appeared was a baldachin suspended above the pulpit. From a material perspective, the pulpit can be divided into wood and stone.
Český Krumlov, the parish church of St. Vitus: In the contract for the completion of the church from 1407, the stonecutter promises "...to create a pulpit with tight stone". This pulpit, however, is not located in the church today, so it was either not made or has been removed. The design offers a walled entrance to the staircase from the ground floor of the sacristy to the treasury above it. The entrance was located over a wall mural of the Crucifixion and provided access to an elevated location in the corner of the nave, where there was a small gallery supported by beams or cantilevers. The structure, now extinct, could have served for preaching as well as for displaying relics and remains which then could be stored safely in the treasury.
Jindřichův Hradec, former monastery church of St. John the Baptist: A wall mural with a preaching monk in the nave of the church is seen associated with John of Capistrano and put there in the 1450's. The scene of the character, the reason for its location, and its resulting function, however, remain unnoticed. In the southwestern corner of the cloister, there is a niche in the wall from a walled access area that opened in the nave in the immediate vicinity of the painting of the preaching monk. Historical context and formal symbols indicate that this painting with the adjacent pulpit was created in the 1480's during the vaulting of the cloister and the church. This was probably one of the "Capistrano pulpits" that were built as a memorial to his residence, like those e.g. at the dome of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna or St. Peter in Brno. According to tradition, this includes the pulpit of the church in the Old Town of Telč which, however, only emerged in the first quarter of the 16th century, so did the foot of John of Capistrano never approach it, likely as in Jindřichův Hradec as well? Bechyně, former monastery church of the Assumption: The cloister of the former Franciscan monastery still holds the preserved pulpit on its imposing console which, due to its lack of support elements, would be a refectory-type pulpit. Its original location at the time of its creation in 1500 was probably on one of the sides of the two-nave area of the monastery church. Dolní Dvořiště, the parish church of St. Giles: During the first construction phase of the triple nave, between 1490-1500, a pulpit was also installed which is probably the only representative of single-support structures with polygonal pulpit in the region. In addition to its main function, the pulpit became a formal model for the baptisteries and portals of nearby parish churches. The study of pulpits in South Bohemia illustrates a situation that was common elsewhere in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. At first, very simple and portable pulpits of wood were used, which had no hope for preservation given their material and usage. It was not until the late Middle Ages that stone pulpits began to appear, although the tradition of building wooden structures still continued. In southern Bohemia, we are familiar with the example of one console and one single-support pulpit. Sometimes, however, all that is left of the medieval pulpit is the access design and some associated decorations. In the future, it can not be ruled out that other remains of pulpits will be discovered, especially as preserved entrances and stairs in church interiors.

Keywords: pulpit; preaching; typology; Middle Ages; South Bohemia; church; monastery

Published: December 1, 2016  Show citation