Die Heilige Drei Könige
One of the things I wanted to make sure we saw on our hasty walk through the Kölner Dom was Dreikönigsschrein, the Shrine of the Three Kings. The year 2014 marked the 850th year the relics have been housed in the Cathedral.
More after the jump
Whether this reliquary, built sometime after the relics were transferred to Köln in 1164, actually contains relics of the Magi. is immaterial to admiring the artistry and age of the piece.
Further, what is amazing to me is that the reported chain of custody of the contents of this shrine dates back to 344 in Constantinople. It may just be random bones and cloth, and not at all really connected to the Magi. However, the idea that the relics of the Three Kings might have some significance goes back a long, long way.
I find it a bit overwhelming---850 years in Köln, 800 or so years prior to that in Constantinople and Milan. And there is sits today, in the magnificent Kölner Dom, where when we have a spare hour at the train station we can dash across the street and see it.
More after the jump
Whether this reliquary, built sometime after the relics were transferred to Köln in 1164, actually contains relics of the Magi. is immaterial to admiring the artistry and age of the piece.
Further, what is amazing to me is that the reported chain of custody of the contents of this shrine dates back to 344 in Constantinople. It may just be random bones and cloth, and not at all really connected to the Magi. However, the idea that the relics of the Three Kings might have some significance goes back a long, long way.
I find it a bit overwhelming---850 years in Köln, 800 or so years prior to that in Constantinople and Milan. And there is sits today, in the magnificent Kölner Dom, where when we have a spare hour at the train station we can dash across the street and see it.
Comments
~~Kate