medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (24. May) is the feast of the Translation of St. Dominic of
Caleruega.
D. (also known as Dominic of Osma), the founder of the Order of
Preachers, died at Bologna on 6. August 1221 and was there interred in
a simple grave in the choir of the Dominican convent church of San
Nicolò delle Vigne. Between 1228 and ca. 1238 that church was
transformed into today's Basilica di San Domenico (though it was not
reconsecrated to D. until October 1251). On the night of 23./24. May
1233, during the Order's campaign for D.'s canonization and in
connection with a General Chapter held in Bologna, D.'s remains were
solemnly placed in a new wooden coffin and translated to an unadorned
marble sarcophagus just outside the choir, where they could be
venerated by the laity. When D. was canonized in August of the
following year an indulgence was granted to anyone visiting D.'s tomb
on his feast (originally 5. August; changed in 1558 to 4. August; now
8. August). Shortly thereafter the Order also began to celebrate
today's feast. Does anyone know when it was first included in the
Roman Calendar?
An English-language text of Gregory IX's bull of canonization for D. is
here:
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/trad/domdocs/0007.htm
Two views of Bologna's San Domenico, with its austere facade and
various later chapels:
http://www.bolognatourguide.net/foto/s-domenico.jpg
http://www.realitaly.com/bologna/31.jpg
Speaking of tombs, in the first view that small, free-standing
structure with the pyramidal roof is one of Bologna's Tombs of the
Glossators, specifically that of Rolandino dei Passaggeri (d. ca.
1300). Two somewhat better views thereof:
http://tinyurl.com/ns3wx
http://enkiri.com/europe/italy/emilia_romagna/bologna914.html
San Domenico, of course, is noted for D.'s _third_ tomb, the Arca di
San Domenico. This elaborate monument was commissioned from the
sculptor Nicola Pisano in 1264 and was executed by Nicola and others
(including Arnolfo di Cambio) between then and 1267, when D.'s remains
were translated into it. Originally it was supported by telamons and
caryatids giving it added height and thus greater visibility from the
rear of the church's rather long nave. Its lid and the surrounding
figures were added in the later fifteenth century (chiefly by Niccolò
dell'Arca; some of the statuettes are by the young Michaelangelo). At
that time the Arca was already in a predecessor of the side chapel in
which it is housed today. The predella underneath was commissioned in
1532 from the sculptor Alfonso Lombardo; the altar beneath that is from
1768. Herewith two views:
http://tinyurl.com/mno98
http://tinyurl.com/j9arl
The two Nicola Pisano details shown here (both expandable):
http://www.thais.it/scultura/bcdsd.htm
are both from the front panel of the Resurrection of Napoleone Orsini,
a young man who had fallen off a horse, was declared dead, and whom D.
is said to have brought back to life unharmed from the fall.
And this detail shows the side panel of the Miracle of the Bread (or,
St. Dominic and the Brethren Fed by Angels), in which two beautiful
young men miraculously appeared and fed the brothers after a day in
which their begging for alms had been unsuccessful and after D. had
consoled them with the thought that the Lord would provide:
http://www.regione.emilia-romagna.it/cinema/art/cat/pagine/s08.htm
Now located behind the tomb is D.'s head reliquary executed in 1383 by
the Bolognese goldsmith Jacopo Roseto. A website devoted to this
treasure is here (the links at left lead to sub-pages, most of which
are illustrated):
http://www.op.org/curia/reliquiario/
And a detail view of the central portion is here:
http://tinyurl.com/s87ya
Literature:
Moskowitz, Anita Fiderer, _Nicola Pisano's Arca di San Domenico and Its
Legacy_ (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press,
1994).
Dodsworth, Barbara W., _The Arca di San Domenico_ (New York: Peter
Lang, 1995).
Best,
John Dillon
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