An Enchanted Journey through Zutphen: Part Two
It's Sunday afternoon, and the snow is falling in Ottawa, the typical January weather. The forecast shows temperatures dropping to minus 28 Celsius (-18 F) in a week, but it's a relatively comfortable minus 7 C for now. I'm spending the day inside with my furry friend Luna and a laptop,
Although I wrote every day last week for The Planet newsletter, I'm still catching up with stories from the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the platform has a limit of about ten photos, so I couldn't share all the pictures I took. To make up for it, I'm sharing some photos I couldn't post in my earlier newsletter, where I wrote about the city of Zutphen, especially about the unique chandelier in St. Walburgis Church.
The chandelier in the St. Walburgis Church
The chandelier, likely dating back to 1394, is called a "kaarsenkroon" or "candle crown." It is one of six remaining Jerusalem chandeliers in Europe that symbolize the heavenly Jerusalem, the "destination" of the medieval believer. The first floor of the crown bears the names of Jesus, Mary, and the twelve apostles.
Above that are twelve strips where all kinds of unique, sometimes mysterious things happen and where the leading role is reserved for the unicorn. Here is an example:
Unicorn
The magical creature appears ten times, and this depiction is unique in Europe. The unicorn was a famous emblem of purity and grace during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It could only be captured in a virgin's womb and was thought to be an extraordinarily wild woodland creature. Since Christ came to earth through the virgin Mary, he was identified with the unicorn. The unicorn here reminds the believer of the incarnation and suffering of Christ.
The crown also showcases worldly scenes. I enjoyed how everyone was dressed in the latest fashion of the late 14th century; those wide sleeves for the men must have been impracticable. There are scenes about a deer hunt, a couple in love under a tree, and even a dance group.
Falconry
This photo shows falconry, a popular sport among nobles. Typically, falcons and hawks were trained to hunt small prey, such as rabbits and other birds, as they do in the wild. However, their training was occasionally expanded to include attacking larger prey, such as deer, to weaken and divert the animals so that hunters and their dogs could finish them off. Falconry was not exclusively for men; it was considered a far safer activity for respectable women than boar and stag hunting since it did not entail a face-to-face meeting with a hazardous and frightened animal.
Historians are still studying the crown since it has not yet revealed all its secrets, but I found it fascinating to watch the storyline of all these characters and animals. It gives visitors a unique insight into the religious mentality at the end of the 14th century.
The (Dutch) church website explains, for instance, how various collections of poems around 1400 call for courtly love and a way of life as a spiritual stop on the route to God. The woman was placed on a pedestal; she had the qualities to civilize men.
Restraining earthly lust
I wished I had photographed the scene of the courtly couple under the tree. With a rope, the lady restrains a dangerous bird, a symbol of earthly lust. So for the courtly couple, Redemption is near, symbolized by the unicorn and virgin in the same image plane. Well, you should always leave something to return to the next time. Keep reading this newsletter, and someday I will add the missing photo.
Here is one more photo of the old fortifications around the city.
I hope you enjoyed these extra photos from my trip to Zutphen. Have a great day!
Part one on Zutphen:
Notes:
https://walburgiskerk.nl/kaarsenkroon/
https://www.medievalists.net/2016/03/falconry-birds-and-lovebirds/
My reaction was: "yay, there's a part 2!" :-). And I did enjoy reading it and seeing the pictures. What an interesting feature that kaarsenkroon is. A special way to portray life back then. Thank you for always including the sources. I bookmarked the church one - I need to time my visit well so I can get to ring the churchbell myself and access the tower. My ancestors would ring the churchbells and my last name means "bell" in Swiss German (random fact ;-)).
I just talked to a friend in Maine who mentioned how cold it's gonna get. I hope you and Luna stay warm.
A lovely, much-appreciated diversion from "the news." The kaarsenkroon is so beautiful (as is everything) and reminds me of the 'horos' in the Greek Orthodox Church. :)
Thank you!