Naumburg Cathedral Choir Screen Analysis

Built around 1245 by the anonymous Naumburg Meister, the west choir screen at Naumburg Cathedral in Saxony-Anhalt is one of few screens which have survived post-Reformation ambonoclasm (fig. 1).1 Although not original in its entirety, two of its reliefs having been replaced after a fire in 1532, the excellent state in which it has been preserved and its presence in situ can help the art historian uncover how choir screens were thought about in the mid-thirteenth century. Used as an example, it can mediate between different opinions within the art historical community on whether screens were purely dividers between clergy and laity, and, as Bony put it, incompatible with Gothic architecture, or if they can be seen as a unifying and essential …show more content…
However, it can be misleading to think of the spatial and social organisation of the Gothic cathedral in such Manichaean terms. It is possible to see the choir screen, indeed as a partition, but as a constructive partition, and concealing not as a negative act but the driving force for lay engagement with religious institutions. Moreover, an understanding of choir screens outside of their local context cannot be complete.15 The purpose of the Naumburg west screen's decoration is tightly linked to the political situation of the Bishopric in the 1240s after the appointment of Bishop Dietrich by his half-brother Margrave Henry. Dietrich was indeed in constant state of either conflict with or dependence on him, in short, he was at his political mercy.16 This explains why the cycle of Passion, instead of offering a typical Biblical narrative, shifts its focus away from Christ and focuses on the characters of Peter and Judas. The marking of Judas as traitor primes over the establishing of the Eucharist in the Last Supper, and Peter slaying Malchus's ear is the central …show more content…
The screen thus does not prevent passage, but encourages it and marks it as an extraordinary act.21 This act, not only physical, is also visual, as the screen promises access to a new state without physical movement through the celebration of the Eucharist. The screen's double gate would have indeed remained open during the Elevation of the Host, allowing congregants to witness this crucial liturgical moment. This practice, known as ocular communion, was particularly popular as believers were fearful of approaching and consuming what they believed to be the literal body of Christ.22 As the Host was elevated, it would have visually merged with the life-sized crucifix on the trumeau, which is perpendicular to the altar, enacting this process of transubstantiation. The choir screen thus acted as a mediator between Host and congregants, allowing them to partake in the celebration of the Eucharist from the nave. The role of the screen is therefore also one of frame, structuring the moment where the bread and wine became the body and blood of Christ. Dramatizing this moment as if it