Benedictines in the Heart of Europe












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            * Benedictines in the Heart of Europe
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            Recently I had the pleasure of visiting a temporary exhibition at the Wallenstein Riding S

            Malá Strana, Open the Gates of Paradise, The Benedictines in the Heart of Europe 800-1300,
            in collaboration with the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague [ U
            www.ktf.cuni.cz/"] . This fascinating exhibit gave an amazing insight into the growth of B

            monasteries from the 9th century onward in Central Europe.
            Along with the incredibly detailed descriptions of every single item on display, there wer
            interesting pieces of writing describing the everyday lives of the monks who lived in thes

            I found myself captivated as I walked around the enormous exhibit, stuck into reading the 
            detailed descriptions of a monk’s life.       

            There were some extremely interesting items on display. Along with incredible illuminated 
            books which the monks would have spent thousands of hours scrawling in the scriptorium, of
            good deal of their sight in the process. It was truly incredible to look at these pieces o

            my eyes and think about the hand that wrote them, a monk sat at a table almost a thousand 
            laboriously and lovingly covering each page with a fierce dedication.
            One thing I took note of was the number of gold, silver, and even ebony items on display. 

            items, such as the staffs, belonged to the abbots of the monasteries. It seems that even a
            lives of the monks, some grandiosity did exist.
            There were two particularly intriguing, albeit slightly morbid, items on display, in my op

            the so-called “Reliquary of the Five Holy Brothers”, crafted in Bohemia in the 13th centur
            Brothers were a group of martyrs who came to Poland doing missionary work in 1001. They we
            killed by robbers in 1003. Their corpses were exhumed, with pieces stolen several times un

            St. Wenceslas was built, and four of the martyrs’ arm bones were placed in this golden rel
            on display.
            Perhaps more fascinating for native Czechs is yet another reliquary, this time with the ar

            Ludmila herself, grandmother of Czech national patron saint St. Wenceslas, on display, on 
            Convent of St. George at Prague Castle. Embossed in gold and silver gilt and precious ston
            a harrowing experience to stand before this legendary woman’s hand, reaching upward into e

            glass case.
            One last piece which intrigued me was yet another reliquary panel from the same convent. A
            looked the same as many of the other reliquaries on display; it was only when I stepped cl

            inscription that I saw that it claimed to contain pieces of the True Cross (the purported 
            was crucified on) under its central piece of glass, surrounded by beautiful gemstones and 
            was quite an experience to find myself standing in front of such a legendary piece.

            All in all, the exhibit was truly fascinating. The way in which these pieces were displaye
            vivid, imagination-evoking descriptions of the day-to-day lives of these solitary monks wa
            with learning a great deal, I had the chance to view such incredibly preserved pieces of t

            priceless treasures, just feet away behind their protective glass. I was truly blown away.
            International exhibition project entitled Open the Gates of Paradise. The Benedictines in 
            collaboration with the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague, The C
            Library of the Czech Republic. The exhibition was held from November 7, 2014 to March 15,