The author presents the complex reasons and circumstances which had lead Leopold VI to his decision to re-establish the monastery Gairach. As the older literature only emphasised that for Leopold the charterhouse represented a strategically important settlement, the newly presented findings are of crucial importance; they proove that the founding was in close interrelation with political and church activities of Leopold. A special attention was given to the analysis of his relations with the family of the Andechs, especially with Ekbert of Andechs, thus shedding light on their role in the re-establishing the Charterhouse. This original scientific paper has been acknowledged the outstanding scientific achievement of the year 2012 by the Scientific Board of the Humanities at the Slovenian Research Agency. Link: http://videolectures.net/znanstveni_dosezki2012_oter_gorencic_kartuzija/
COBISS.SI-ID: 35095597
The author analyses the role of the Andechs as co-founders of Gairach Charterhouse together with Leopold VI of Babenberg. The paper focuses on the patrocinium of Saint Mauritius and reveals its political meaning for the secular sovreigns of the Early and High Middle Ages. Furthermore in reference to Ekbert of Andechs, the presented findings shed light on the reasons for selecting this particular saint for the patron saint of Gairach Charterhouse. Finally the article includes a critical overview of the hitherto published theses on architecture of Gairach monastic church.
COBISS.SI-ID: 34981165
Very important original scientific paper is the first international publication of the comprehensive survey on all types of architectural sculpture in all early charterhouses, founded in Europe up to 1225. This study by project leader candidate is the first research of this kind. The detailed knowledge of the preserved material and the comparative artistic monuments, mostly architectural sculpture of other monastic orders, founded in the so called monastic-reform movement, enabled the first survey of this field of Carthusian art and its role in the context of High Medieval monastic architecture and architectural sculpture.
COBISS.SI-ID: 32992301
This paper reflects upon current hypothesis on the (non-)existing relations between ecclesia maior and ecclesia minor in Žiče Charterhouse and ecclesia maior in Jurklošter, and its relations with Early Gothic of the Babenbergs. In contrast with earlier literature it assumes that French builders, who realised Leopold VI's Austrian projects, did not come from Žiče Charterhouse, but directly from France. The stylistic characteristics of the Early Gothic monuments of the Babenbergs are namely also »French« but differ from the architectural features and architectural sculpture of both churches in Žiče. Therefore, we can assume that Leopold VI. acquired builders elsewhere. In other words, at the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century several groups of French masters were active in South Styria and Lower Austria. Leopold VI had contacts with France not only through Carthusians but also through Cistercians and due to his own travels to South France in 1212. Moreover, his close relations with Imperial court and, after all, with the Andechs-Merans had a crucial role in his commissions. In relations with Jurklošter Charterhouse, the author, in contrast to older literature, believes that by the time of the second founding of the monastery, the church had already been built and was then only vaulted. Based on the quality of vault and architectural sculpture, the builders of Jurklošter were (Franch) Carthusian monks or lay brothers or builders commissioned by them and not, as was believed before, builders who worked in Cistercian monasteries in Heiligenkreuz and Lilienfeld in Lower Austria. The differences in architectural scheme and the individual elements of architectural sculpture are namely too large to reveal real connections. This was also revealed by formal analysis of architectural sculpture. In terms of typology, the corbels carrying the vault match the corbels in early Carthusian architecture and, at the same time, differ from those in Austrian Cistercian monasteries. These new findings are of crucial significance not only for Slovenian art history, but also for Austrian and wider Central-European art. The article is in print.