Previous Page  175 / 222 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 175 / 222 Next Page
Page Background

150

v au lt behind the a lta r, th eir p resen t restin g place,

to this C hapel.

The Altar-piece,

a m agnificently carved w ork,

descriptive o f o u r S a v io u r’s histo ry from his b irth

to his crucifixion, w as p resen ted to the C ath ed ral

by C hristian IV ., h av in g a t an earlier date ad orned

the C hapel o f F re d e rik sb o rg P alace.

T h e figures

an d tab lets are o f oak w o o d , overlaid w ith a

coating o f p laster o f P a ris or c h a lk , strongly gilt

an d coloured. T h e a rtist’s nam e and date o f w o rk ­

m anship are unknow n, b u t tbe latter, ju dging from

the style, is supposed to be scarcely older th a n th e

comm encem ent of the 16th. century.

T h e tw o

row s o f C hancel se a ts , 21 on each sid e , o f oak,

beautifully ornam ented, w ere placed th ere by B ishop

Je n s A n d ersen in 1 4 2 0 ; b u t the carved w o rk

a b o v e , o f S cripture scen es, exhibits the ludicrous

taste w hich prevailed in the late m iddle-ages o f the

N o rth : K n ig h ts and P riests are clothed in the latest

m idd le-age co stum e, an d C ourtiers clad in dresses

a s described in ancient Scandinavian ballads.

B eh in d the A lta r,

Queen Margrethe3

the

S em iram is o f the N orth, lies entom bed in a sim ple

b u t princely m arble s a rc o p h a g u s, raised by E rik,

king o f P o m e ra n ia , in 142 3 — the oldest w ell-

au th en ticated roy al m onum ent in the C hurch. H ere,

b u t se p a ra ted b y an iron railin g from the form er,

a re also four splendid m onum ents in w hich lie the