DACOCD 700

Forord v. Hans Edvard Nørregaard-Nielsen:

Ribe ligger ældgammel og nynner på en lille, sprød folkevisemelodi, der har salmetonen i sig og ligesom himlens fugle hører hjemme over jorden oppe under himmelhvælvingen. Sangen løfter sig herfra, hvor vi står, men den folder sig først ud et sted oppe under stjernerne, hvor den i lykkelige, vægtløse øjeblikke kan blive et stævnemøde med det inde i os selv, som vi helst vil dele krop med. Der er i en længsel i den efter i live at kunne iføre sig vinger, og derfor sidder man pågrebet i sit inderste og lytter. Det sker bedst i et rum, der ligger urokkelig fast, men også er parat til at lade sig fylde indtil det bristefærdige. Sådan er det med Ribe Domkirke. Vi har ikke bare lov, men nu også grund til at tro, at den med Ansgar har rod i mere end 1100 års dansk kristendom, og herfra groede og blomstrede med det gode budskab, som med barnet blev bragt ind i verden gennem Jomfru Maria. Hun er siden blevet i den danske sommer, jomfruens ynde og moderens modenhed forenes som i oplevelsen af Maria Sengehalm, og i vores drømme er hun lige så fjern som stjernen, men også nær som solen. Tilbedelsen af hende har fået sine rum i kirke efter kirke, domkirken i Ribe rejser sig stadig som et af de mægtige eksempler her i landet, og man kan ikke komme tættere på en tid, som sort af middelalder tændte dette lys i mørket. Domkirken står i dag som arkitekten H.C.Amberg og kirkens historiker Jacob Helms efter en særdeles omfattende restaurering kunne give den videre i 1904. Det er i en form, der respekterer og fremhæver den solide romanske bygningskrop, der hviler på en sokkel af jysk granit, men ovenover rejser sig med grågule tufsten fra Andernach ved Köln og Wesersandsten. Senere udvidedes kirken til et femskibet anlæg gennem de to ydre sideskibe af de smukkeste røde teglsten her i landet. Der er det vældige borgertårn fra engang omkring 1300, og ved den søndre korsarm samles nogle markante dele af kirkens skulpturelle udsmykning omkring den såkaldte Kathoveddør med den korsnedtagelse i granit, der er nået frem til os som selve indbegrebet af den danske middelalder. Domkirken er en sum af detaljer, der udgør en helhed, hvor vi ser Kathoveddøren, som Valdemar Sejr og dronning Dagmar gik gennem den for at blive gift foran højalteret i den kirke, der dengang stadig og da for resten lige siden er blevet bygget på. Man kan kalde materialerne ved navn, men de er med tiden først og fremmest blevet til levende stene, der nu atter samler sig om den sang til jomfru Maria, kvindernes sol, der altid har hørt hjemme her.

Preface by Hans Edvard Nørregaard-Nielsen.

Ancient as it is, the city of Ribe is humming a crisp little folk tune with the air of a hymn in it, which like the birds in the sky belongs above ground below the firmament. The song rises from where we are standing, but does not unfold until it is way up under the stars, where in happy, weightless moments it may bring about a fusion of mind and body. It incorporates a longing to put on wings while alive, and therefore one is deeply affected by the sound of it. This presupposes a room which remains immovable, but which is also ready to be crowded to bursting point. Such a room is Ribe Cathedral. Not only do we have permission, but now also every reason to believe that with Ansgar it is rooted in more than 1,100 years of Danish Christianity and that from then on it grew and flourished with the glad tidings brought into the world with the Infant through Virgin Mary. Ever since then she has stayed in the Danish summer, the grace of the virgin and the maturity of the mother joining like in the experience of Lady¹s Bedstraw, and in our dreams she still remains as remote as the star, but also as near as the sun. The adoration of Virgin Mary has its rooms in countless churches, Ribe Cathedral being one of the most outstanding examples of this, and one cannot get closer to a time which, black with the Middle Ages, lit this candle in the dark. Today the Cathedral appears in the state given to it in 1904 by Architect H. C. Amberg and Scholar of Church History Jacob Helms after an extremely thorough restoration. It is a state which agrees with and accentuates the solid Romanesque body of the building, resting on a base of Jutlandic granite, but which above it rises with yellowish-grey tuff stones from Andernach by Cologne and sand stones from the Weser River. Later on the church was extended to comprise five sections through the two exterior aisles built of the most beautiful red brick in this country. There is the large Commoner¹s Tower from approximately 1300, and by the southern transept some remarkable parts of the sculptural decorations of the church gather around the so-called Cat¹s Head Portal with the granite relief showing Jesus being taken down from the cross, which has survived as the very epitome of the Middle Ages in Denmark. The Cathedral is a sum of details making up a unified whole where we see the Cat¹s Head Portal the way it was when Valdemar the Victorious and Queen Dagmar went through it to be married in front of the high altar in the church, which was then and has ever since been, by the way, in the process of being built. One may mention the components by their names, but first and foremost time has turned them into living stones, which now again assemble in the song to Virgin Mary, sun of women, which has always belonged here.

Forord v. Torben Bramming:

I Rimberts skildring af Ansgars liv fra ca. 875 fortæller han, at Ansgar i sin tidlige ungdom, hvor han er på gale veje, ser et syn, hvor hans døde mor vandrer med Maria og andre hellige kvinder i himlen. Imidlertid kan han ikke nå dem på grund af den glatte og mudrede vej, han er på. Derfor lover han at forbedre sig og på den måde komme nærmere på sin mor, som han mistede, da han var 5 år. Måske betyder denne historie, at allerede Ansgars første kirke i Ribe var indviet til Maria, som vi ved, den var i Hedeby. Vi ved nemlig nu fra de arkæologiske udgravninger ved Domkirken, at der allerede i 800 var kristne begravelser her, og at Ansgars kirke derfor sandsynligvis har ligget på samme sted som den nuværende kirke. Når man først havde indviet en kirke et sted til en helgen, skiftede denne sjældent, selvom kirkerne blev bygget om. Stenkirken, som vi kender Domkirken fra omkring 1150, er i hvert fald indviet til hende, hvad den lidt yngre vestfacade vidner om. Her ser man højt over indgangen Jomfru Maria med barnet hugget ud i sten. I middelalderen var det netop søvejen, man kom til Ribe ad, og når man sejlede ind til Ribe, var Domkirkens mægtige vestportal med Maria og barnet den første velkomst, man fik. I Domkirken vidner meget stadig om den enorme betydning, som Maria-kulten havde for kirken. Betlehemskapellet i søndre sideskib er fra 1294. Ved dette alter var det Jesu fødsel, der var i centrum. På den nordre side af det midterste sideskib kan man på en stenpille se et oliemaleri af Maria og barnet fra omkring 1525, som er ganske enestående i dansk middelalderkunst. Går man til nordre sideskib, ser man den sidste katolske biskop, Ivar Munks, gravsten fra 1539 af Claus Berg. Betragter man hans bispehat, ser man igen Maria. Det er bebudelsen, hvor ærkeenglen Gabriel træder frem for den unge pige i Nazareth, der illustreres. I Munks bispestav ses Maria med barnet afbilledet. Det betyder, at Maria har været lige så fremtrædende på præsternes messetøj, som hun var det i liturgien. Efter reformationen forsvinder helgenaltrene fra domkirken. Marias rolle bliver mindre. Hans Thomissøn, der af den danske kirkes reformator Hans Tavsen blev sat i gang med at finde tekster og melodier til de nye salmer på dansk, mens han var rektor på katedralskolen i Ribe og hver dag ledede sangen i domkirken, har dog en Maria-salme efter en gammel Maria-vise fra 1400-tallet, som blev sunget i Domkirken efter 1536. Den hedder: ²Maria hun var en jomfru ren². Billedet fra Ivar Munks bispestav af Maria og barnet er bevaret i den hvide messehagel, der bæres i julen og påsken. På den måde er hun endnu med i Domkirkens liv.

Preface by Torben Bramming.

In Rimbert¹s description of the life of Ansgar from about 875 he says that in his early youth when he is careless of spiritual matters Ansgar has a vision in which his dead mother is walking in the company of Saint Mary and other holy women in Heaven. However, due to the slippery and muddy road he finds himself on, he cannot reach them. Therefore he promises to mend his ways and in this manner get closer to his mother, who he lost when he was five years old. This story may mean that even Ansgar¹s first church in Ribe was consecrated to Saint Mary as was the church in Hedeby. As we now know from archaeological excavations by the Cathedral, Christian burials were performed here as far back as 800, and Ansgar¹s church was therefore probably situated in the same location as the present church. Once a church somewhere had been consecrated to a saint, the location hardly ever changed even if the churches were rebuilt. The stone church from around 1150 which we know was the predecessor of the cathedral was undoubtedly consecrated to her, as shown by the slightly younger western façade. Here you see Virgin Mary with the Infant, carved in stone high above the entrance. In the Middle Ages you came to Ribe by sea, and when your ship was approaching Ribe, the large west portal of the Cathedral with Mary and the Infant constituted your first welcome. In the Cathedral there are many proofs of the enormous importance of the cult of Mary in the church. The Bethlehem Chapel in the south transept dates back to 1294. By this altar, the birth of Jesus was a central feature. On the northern side of the nave on a stone pillar you can see an oil painting of Mary and the Infant from around 1525, which is unique in Danish medieval art. If you go to the north transept, you see the tombstone of the last Catholic Bishop, Ivar Munk, carved by Claus Berg in 1539. If you look at his mitre, once again you see Mary. What is depicted is the Annunciation, where the Archangel Gabriel is stepping forward in front of the young girl in Nazareth. In Munk¹s crosier you see Mary with the Infant. This means that Mary has played as prominent a part on the vestments of the priests as she did in the liturgy. After the Reformation the altars of the saints disappear from the Cathedral. The role of Mary becomes less conspicuous. However, Hans Thomissøn, who by protagonist of the Danish Reformation Hans Tausen was asked to find lyrics and tunes for the new hymns in Danish while he was Head of the Cathedral School in Ribe and every day led the singing in the Cathedral, has a Maryan hymn based on an old ballad from the fifteenth century which was sung in the Cathedral after 1536. It is called ³Mary was a virgin pure². The picture from Ivar Munk¹s mitre of Mary and the Infant has been preserved in the white chasuble worn at Christmas and Easter. In this way she is still a part of life in the Cathedral.