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Introduction:

"Hedwig's Glass" owned by Martin Luther

Hedwig glass, otherwise known as Hedwig beakers, are a set of glass beakers dating somewhere between the 10th and 13th centuries BC. They were named after the Patron Saint of Silesia, Saint Hedwig (1174-1245), who was said to have performed small miracles with these very vessels. The beakers form a modestly sized collection of fourteen glasses and ten fragments, uniform in their thick colorless walls and uniquely stylized reliefs. While some attribute the distinctive relief carvings to be of Islamic influence, there is still much scholarly debate over the exact origins of the series with some notable suggestions including Syria, Egypt, Iran, Central Europe, and Norman Sicily.

Medieval Context:

Illustration of Saint Hedwig from the Hedwig Codex (1353)

Hedwig glass derives its name from the Silesian Saint Hedwig (ca. 1178-1243, canonized 1267), Duchess of Andechs-Meran and wife the Duke of Wroclaw. According to the legend of Saint Hedwig, recorded in a manuscript from the court of Duke Ludwig I in 1353, she used the beakers for the miraculous transformation of water into wine. The direct association of the beakers with the miracles of Saint Hedwig lead the glass series to be highly sought after, with almost all of them being immediately absorbed into monastic and cathedral treasuries. The relation of the beakers to the Patron Saint of Silesia led to a quasi-relic status of the series, with six out of ten glasses transformed into chalices, ostensories or reliquaries indicative of their high-status within medieval treasuries. This elevated status led many to believe in their protective and healing abilities, perhaps most notably the women of the House of Wettin who regarded the beakers as an insurance of safe childbirth. Additionally, a Hedwig Beaker was even said to come into the possession of Martin Luther, rendered in a drawing by his Cranach workshop in 1507. Considering all of these factors, scholars generally conclude that the religious status of the beakers was just as important as the material status.

Origins:

Hedwig Glass with eagle detailing held at Rijksmuseum

Most scholarship in the last century contemplating Hedwig glass is in relation to their elusive origins and unprecedented collection of iconographies. Despite decades of deliberation, scholars have reached no clear consensus beyond the fact that the glasses must have been made at a distinct cultural crossroads that allowed Christian and Islamic vernaculars to converge. Eugen von Czihak was the first to make the connection to Fatimid Rock Crystal, suggesting the Hedwig Glasses were made by Islamic glass makers in Cairo and were brought to Europe during the Crusades. Czihak observed that the mold blown glass technique used to make the collection of beakers would have been unknown to Europe at the time of production, thus making European origin unlikely. The theory that it was made in the Middle East was continued by academics like Robert Schmidt and Carl Johan Lamm, however the proposal that the series came out directly of a Middle Eastern glass workshop was later contested due to the fact that no fragments or shards of the beakers have ever been excavated in the Middle East despite detailed archeological surveys of found glass workshops. The most recent proposal was made by Rosmarie Lierke in her book “Die Hedwigsbecher” (2005). Lierke argues that the vessels are of Sicilian origin, citing that the Christian city of Palermo would have housed many Islamic craftsmen who would have been trained to work with mold-blown glass. Lierke proposes that the Christian patrons and Islamic craftsmen of Sicily could have produced the unprecedented imagery that incorporates Islamic characteristics and Christian emblems such as the Tree of Life. Furthermore, almost half of the glasses bear the Sicilian emblems of either lions, griffins or eagles, animals that were widely circulated locally. While there has been no full consensus reached, it appears as though most scholars seem to lean towards the Middle East or the regions of the Mediterranean as being the plausible origins of Hedwig Glass.

In 2009, an archeological study was performed by the University of Gottengen, that has since been helpful in clarifying the origins of the Hedwig Glass. The researchers involved, compared samples of Hedwig glass, with soda ash glass from the Levant, and soda ash glass samples from the mainlands of Egypt, Persia, and Syria. The study found that the Hedwig samples were especially low in Magnesium Oxide, similar to the glass samples from the Levant. Meanwhile, the samples from Egypt, Persia, and Syria contained distinctly higher MgO concentrations, indicating that the origins of the Hedwig glass are likely the Levant. This study into the chemical composition of the glasses, has further assisted in discrediting the theories that attribute their origin to be Central Europe. Additionally, this new evidence helps support theories that argue the origins to be the coastal regions of the Middle East, and also scholars whom argue Sicily, considering they are all along the same coast.

Design:

Illustration of Hedwig Design

The appearance of the Hedwig beakers resemble rock crystal, or quartz probably due to the fact that they are made of a specific type of glass, called soda ash glass, which is composed of plant ash and quartz sand. Although no two look exactly alike, all have a similar conical shape, thick walls, and wheel-cut ornamentations. The beakers differ both in size, ranging from 8 to 15 centimeters, and also in color, with some being ash grey, to others, golden yellow, and also green. Their engravings seems to fall into two distinct groups. The first being imagery that depicts plant and animals, including eagles, lions, griffins, almonds, and palm trees. The second set of beakers incorporates palmettes, crescents, geometric shapes, as well as vegetation into the exterior design. These ornamentations are in high relief, meaning they are raised from the surface, and give the beakers a sculpture-like appearance. Furthermore, all the beakers have engraved parallel lines cut into them, that work with the translucent nature of the glass to create patterns of shadow and light along the surfaces. Various scholars recognize that the Hedwig glasses were likely made to emulate the rock crystal carved vessels made earlier in Fatimid Egypt, objects which have survived in church treasuries. Similar to the rock crystal vessels, a number of the Hedwig glasses were turned into chalices and reliquaries. In the Treasury of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, there are certain rock crystal vessels which have been used to show Islamic influence on the imagery of the Hedwig glasses. Particularly notable, is a rock crystal bowl at the Treasury with a lion that is distinctly similar to those that appear on the various Hedwig glasses.

Distribution:

Because the completed Hedwig glasses and fragments were originally found in the churches and noble households of Western Europe, they now reside in European monasteries and museums, where they are preserved and studied. The distribution of completed Hedwig glasses is as follows: three in both London and Poland, five in Germany, and one in Holland, Belgium, and the United States. As far as the fragments are concerned, they are held predominantly in Germany, Russia, Poland, and Hungary. Examples of Hedwig glass found in Europe include the excavation of Rua dos Correeiros in Lisbon and in the restoration project of Jiri-Mahen Library in Czech Republic, where glass fragments were found.

These are the locations where the fourteen known Hedwig Glasses and the ten fragments can be currently found:

Complete:

• British Museum, London
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Holland
• Corning Museum of Glass; Corning, New York, USA
• Germanisches Nationalmuseum; Nuremberg, Germany
• Veste Coburg; Coburg, Germany
• Minden Cathedral; Minden, Germany
• Schloss Friedenstein Museum; Gotha Germany
• Halberstadt Cathedral; Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
• Wawel Cathedral; Krakow, Poland
• Wroclaw Museum; Wroclaw, Poland
• Abbey of the Soeurs de Notre-Dame de Oignies; Namur, Belgium

Fragments:

• Bommersheim, Germany
• Gottingen, Germany
• Navahrudak, Belarus
• Hilpoltstein, Germany
• Weinsberg, Germany
• Budapest History Museum, Hungary
• Brno, Czech Republic
• South-west Russia
• Muzeum w Nysie; Nysa, Poland
• Russian Federation at Azov Museum-Reserve; Kyrmsk, Russia