Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Green Man

Since 1007, when Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich II (Henry II) made Bamberg the seat of a diocese, the Bamberg Cathedral ("Bamberger Dom St. Peter und St. Georg") is the seat of the Archbishop of Bamberg. The first cathedral on this place, founded in 1004 by Heinrich II and named "Heinrichsdom", got consecrated already in 1012. This building got destroyed by fire in 1085. Around 1215 the construction of the building seen here started. It was commisioned by Bishop Eckbert von Andechs-Meranien, brother of Hedwig von Andechs (aka Hedwig of Silesia). The new cathedral consecrated in 1237. Between 1225 and 1237 the the lifesize "Bamberger Reiter" ("Bamberg Horseman") was created by an unkown master, probably coming from France. Since the consecration it has been on the same place, located on a console at the north pillar of the St. George choir. The large sculpture, only partly visible here, (see previous upload) is considered the first monumental equestrian statue since classical antiquity, and one of the first to depict horse shoes. The sculpture is supported by two corbels. While the left one is just plain - the right one depicts the foliate head of a "Green Man". John Ibbotson just recently drew my attention to this corbel! Thank you!

The monastery "Abbatia ad Lacum" was founded in 1093 on the shores of a lake (lacum). It was a priory of Affligem Abbey (Belgium) first, but since 1138 was an independent Benedictian abbey. The erection of the monastery, following the "Sankt Galler Klosterplan" ("Plan of Saint Gall") started, when the first monks settled here. To complete the church took more than 200 years. Even after the consecration, many parts were added or altered. The abbey was an intellectual hub in the 12th/13th century, but like many other convents declined later. It joined the Bursfelde Congregation, a reform movement originating from the Bursfelde Abbey in the valley of the Weser river. The monastery existed upto the secularisation. The buildings and all the abbey´s possessions became property of the French state. The inventary was auctioned. After the Congress of Vienna the ownership of the empty buildings went to the Prussian State, who sold it. Within the 1860s it was acquired by the "Society of Jesus". The "Kulturkampf", a row between the Prussian government and the Roman Catholic administration, ended that episode and in 1992 the Benedictines returned. They could do with the support of Wilhelm II, as the church itself was still owned by the Prussian state. Since then many restaurations and renovations have taken place, to "purify" the buildings - and "recreate" the Romanesque style. A detail from the right side of the narthex facade. This differs clearly from the left side just seen. While on the left the foliage was populated, here the foliage is alive. Two "Green Men" so nicely and smoothly carved, that they could be part of an art nouveau villa in Paris or Riga! More green creatures are at the corners. To the left, a bird-chimera. According to information from the local museum, the stones used for these carvings by an anonymous master, named "Samsonmeister" by art historians, are "coralline limestones", brought to this secluded place from France.