Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Habakuk

Wilfred the Hairy (aka Guifré el Pilós), whom we just "met" as the founder of the nearby monastery in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, where his daughter Emma of Barcelona was the first abbess, founded the Monastery of Santa Maria in Ripoll in 879. Here his son Radulf de Barcelona was abbot. This was not only Wilfred´s family business, he was very successful in the political power game of that time. The first church was consecrated in 888, but as the monastery grew it was "reconsecrated" in 935, 977, and 1032. When Oliba de Besalú, as well a descendent of Wilfred, was abbot here (1008 - 1046), this was a cultural center. More than 250 books were on the shelves of the monastery´s library. The decline started within the 15th century. In 1428 it was severely damaged by an earthquake, the restoration was done in Gothic style. The church got ruined during the first Carlist War, the library burnt down, and the last monks had left. In 1847 part of the cloister and soon after, the abbot´s palace got demolished. The Bishop of Vic organized the rebuilding so that the church got consecrated again in 1893. The church of today is vastly a product of the reconstruction of the 19th century, but it may be "near" to the romanesque structure. Over the centuries, the carvings weathered - and got vandalized. The result can be seen in the more detailed shots. Habakkuk with a basket full of food on his way to Daniel Apocrypha 14 "Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea. He had boiled pottage and had broken bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to take it to the reapers. But the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, "Take the dinner which you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions' den." Habakkuk said, "Sir, I have never seen Babylon, and I know nothing about the den." Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown of his head, and lifted him by his hair and set him down in Babylon, right over the den, with the rushing sound of the wind itself."

Christianity had reached Trier early and so since Roman times monks had lived here. In 977 the monks adopted the Rule of St. Benedict. The Benedictian Abbey was named after St. Eucharius, as the relics of St. Eucharius and St. Valerius, the first Bishops of Trier, were kept here. During the demolition work of the predecessing church a tomb containing the relics of Apostle Matthias (St. Mathew) were discovered! Legends arose, that there were sent to the monastery by Empress Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who had lived in Trier. The monastery´s name was changed to "Abtei St. Matthias" immediately and this was a center of pilgrimage from then on. Though "perfectly" placed to the North of Europe it never gained the importance of Santiago de Compostela (about 1800 kms southwest) or Rome (1200 kms south). There are still pilgrims today, heading to this church, offering the only grave of an Apostle north of the Alps. When I started to walk to Santiago, I started exactly here. The abbey existed upto 1794, when the last monks left it. The abbey got secularised and sold to a local entrepeneur. In the 1920s monks returned to St. Matthias. Today the church is used as an abbey- and a parish church. St. Matthias, seen today is the result of many renovations and rebuildings over the centuries, but it is still a Romanesque structure. One of the capitals of the western facade depicts Daniel in the lions' den DANIEL PROPHETA) and Habakuk being airlifted to the den by an angel (ABACUL) bringing food. Apocrypha 14 "Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea. He had boiled pottage and had broken bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to take it to the reapers. But the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, "Take the dinner which you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions' den." Habakkuk said, "Sir, I have never seen Babylon, and I know nothing about the den." Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown of his head, and lifted him by his hair and set him down in Babylon, right over the den, with the rushing sound of the wind itself."

The abbey was founded within the 8th century. It is dedicated to Saint Papoul, a disciple of Saint Saturnin, missionary and first bishop of Toulouse. It was believed that Saint Papoul was martyred near the place, where the abbey is now. Later a monk named Berenger (or Berengar) lived a pious life here. After he got canonized his relics attracted the first pilgrims to this place. In the aftermath of the crusade against the Cathars the papal organisation created new dioceses to enable a stricter control. So since 1317 the abbey church of Saint Papoul was promoted to a cathedral, holding a bishopric (upto 1801). Saint Papoul is a quiet little village, that is one of my favourite places since a long time. The range of different artistic styles and icons in Saint-Papoul is enormous. There are the elegant (but vandalized) capitals of the early 14th century cloister, there are roughly carved heads on the outer wall of the former abbey church, there are the enigmatic capitals of the church, that looks so clumsy - and there are two works of the "Maître de Cabestany". The "Maître de Cabestany" is known under this name since the 1930s when a tympanum and other carvings were found in Cabestany (near Perpignan). The carvings did have a very specific style and so the anonymous artist was named "Maître de Cabestany". Research started and so far more than 120 carvings of these origins, all carved within the second half of the 12th century, are known. The carvings are spread over an area between the Tuscany in Italy, Southern France - and Catalonia in Spain. This led to the theory, that the "Maître de Cabestany" may not be a single master-carver, but a studio, where carvers learned this style. Meanwhile there is a museum in Cabestany, to is dedicated to these works of art. www.maitre-de-cabestany.com/ The artistic style is very dynamic and creativ. The faces have almond eyes, a sharp nose, great ears and a triangular shape. The fingers of the hands are long, sometimes perspective.. ... Here is an in-depth article about the Maître de Cabestany by Peter Hubert: www.green-man-of-cercles.org/articles/the_maitre_de_cabes...

Parma, part of the Holy Roman Empire since Charlemagne´s times, was locally ruled by its bishops. During the long Investiture Controversy, Parma was (mostly) member of the Imperial party ("Ghibellini"). Two of Parma´s bishops even became antipopes: Càdalo as Honorius II and Guibert as Clement III. An almost independent commune was created around 1140. After the Peace of Constance confirmed the Italian communes' rights of self-governance in 1183, quarrels with the neighbouring communes (eg Piacenza and Cremona) developed over the trading lines along the Po river. When in 1248 Papist families ("Guelphs") gained control over the city, Emperor Frederick II (aka "Stupor Mundi") besieged Parma with no success. This were the circumstances, when in 1196 the City Council of Parma commissioned the building of the Battistero di San Giovanni to Benedetto Antelami. In 1216 the second tier was completed. The work stopped under a temporary roof. It continued in 1249 and the octagon, located next to the cathedral, was finally completed in 1270. The interior of the baptistery contains sixteen arches, forming alcoves each containing a painted scene. All these are 13th and 14th century frescoes. The dome is like an umbrella - sixteen rays come out of the center of the ceiling. Each corresponds to an arch below. Below the large triangular frescoes are tiers with carvings, sculptures and even more frescoes. Inbetween are columns and capitals. Here is Habakkuk delivering food to hungry Daniel in the lions' den. Daniel 14:33-36 "Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea; he had made a stew and had broken bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to take it to the reapers. But the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, "Take the food that you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions’ den." Habakkuk said, "Sir, I have never seen Babylon, and I know nothing about the den." Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown of his head and carried him by his hair; with the speed of the wind, he set him down in Babylon, right over the den."

Just about 12 kms north of Arles was an "interchange" during Roman times, as the Via Aurelia Domitia linked to the Via Aurelia here. Centuries later a chapel was erected near this once important place, first recorded in 858. This was the predecessor of the chapel seen today, built end of the 12th century. It is surrounded by olive trees and was watched over by a fortified castle on the hill. While the fortification is in ruins, the chapel, dedicated to Saint Gabriel, is still in a good condition. Compared to the carving at the oculus and the ornaments around, the tympanum just like the relief above, seems to be created in a very different, "archaic" style. Maybe pre-Romanesque. My first impression was, that it is older than this chapel, a re-used spolia, but I could not find any information about. Seen on the right "Adam and Eve", to the left (short-legged) "Daniel in the Lion´s Den. Above them an angel. When I had closer look I saw, that Daniel is not alone in the den (with the lions), as Habakkuk has arrived. Habakuk is placed behind the right lion. He his bringing a small basket with food. The angel hold Habakkuk by his hair. Note, that the angel´s and a few feathers of his left wing are visible below the horizontal beam. Apocrypha 14 "Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea. He had boiled pottage and had broken bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to take it to the reapers. But the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, "Take the dinner which you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions' den." Habakkuk said, "Sir, I have never seen Babylon, and I know nothing about the den." Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown of his head, and lifted him by his hair and set him down in Babylon, right over the den, with the rushing sound of the wind itself."