The baldachin and its different typologies
The baldachin is one of the most typical elements of medieval liturgical furnishings. It is a kind of canopy that was raised above the altar, which took various forms and had a protective, symbolic and honorific function. Its origins lay in the Orient and it grew out of the notion of providing figures of great authority with some form of shelter. In fact, the word baldekinus derives from Baldacco, the old Italian name for the city of Baghdad, from where, up until the 11th century, gorgeous silk cloth was imported. This name was applied in a generic way to mean ‘rich cloth’ and, by extension, to the canopy of cloth supported on poles that formed the baldachin.
However, in the Middle Ages in Catalonia the most commonly used name for this kind of structure, in wood or wood covered in metal, was that of ciborium, tabernacle or propitiatory. There are two main types. The first of these, the more common in medieval Europe, is known as the baldachin-temple, that is, a cupola-like structure supported on four columns that was to be found in the great monastic churches, Ripoll |
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and Cuixà (11th century) for example, and the cathedral churches, and that normally combined silver plated wood and marble. Its design drew on the liturgical furnishings of the great Roman basilicas, like St John Lateran, St Peter’s of the Vatican or St Mary Major. A rural version, in painted wood, of these grand baldachins would be that from Toses (13th century) (Ripollès).
The second type, very characteristic of Catalonia but practically unknown elsewhere in Europe, is that known as the altar canopy. It consists of a curious simplification of the structure, which is reduced to a panel, acting as a kind of ceiling, that is raised above the altar, supported by a front beam, which is normally fixed in the triumphal arch, and two transverse beams slotted into the structure of the church wall. In addition, in some cases, the whole was crowned by crestwork. The entire structure is in painted wood and decorated with images. The altar canopy from Ribes (12th century), Sant Serni de Tavèrnoles and Tost (13th century) are examples of this type. |
