The Luneburger convents house a large collection of medieval furniture. Some of the chests and armoires and cabons of Kloster Isenhagen and Wienhausen have already been shown in previous posts. With our latest visit to Kloster Lune, Kloster Medingen and Kloster Ebstorf we can show you more of the medieval furniture present in these convents. Most of the images shown here are from books, as photography is not allowed in these three convents.
The convents have hundreds of chests, but the amount of armoires is amazingly large as well. I started counting the armoires at the convents, which are the minimal number, as we did not see all rooms and likely did not see all armoires.
- Kloster Lune: minimal 12 plus 1 mural armoire
- Kloster Medingen: minimal 14
- Kloster Ebstorf: minimal 10
- Kloster Isenhagen (counting the photos on the blogposts): minimal 10 plus 7 mural armoires (cabons)
- Kloster Wienhausen (also from the blogpost): minimal 11 plus 2 cabons
Most armoires are found at Kloster Medingen, which is a bit curious. The armoires at this convent are large and heavy, and not easily moved. How they could have survived the fire that destroyed the convent in 1781 is a mystery to me. But anyway, I am glad they did survive. In the entrance hall of the convent are two armoires; still in use to store guidebooks and tickets (other armoires in the convent are also still in use, for instance to store marmelade). We had to wait for a while here before the guided tour started, so I took my chance to do some measurements of the most interesting one. This armoire has two surviving doors on top of each other, with a gap in-between. This gap also seems to have had a door or a drawer. Traces on the armoire of a lock and hinges make it more likely that it was a small door. The armoire stands on so-called kufen.
Most armoires in Medingen are men-high, have two doors next to each other, or on top of each other. They either stand on kufen or on the sideboards. There are of course some exceptions, such as the armoire at the entrance and two with three equally sized doors on top of each other.
The oak armoire at the entrance hall at Kloster Medingen. Boards are 3 to 4.5 cm thick, locks are incomplete. Also the rail below the bottom door is missing. The style of the hinges make it likely that the armoire dates from the 15th century.
Most armoires in Medingen are men-high, have two doors next to each other, or on top of each other. They either stand on kufen or on the sideboards. There are of course some exceptions, such as the armoire at the entrance and two with three equally sized doors on top of each other.
A large armoire on kufen in one of the hallways of Kloster Medingen with three rows of double doors on top of each other. Image scanned from the Guidebook Kloster Medingen.
A rough sketch of another, 3-row single doored armoire found in kloster Medingen.
There is also an armoire with a peculiar round hole at the top of both sideboards. This is not for a rail to hang clothes on, as the armoire has several shelves (I did peek in to check). The option for a rail to carry the armoire is also not very likely. The diameter of the rail would be too small to carry the weight, and the placement is to high to be convenient. So these holes remain a mystery.
This oak armoire (Med Ba 6) is dated from 1299. It has two large doors with a simple lock. At both sides is a peculiar hole at the top. The shelves of the armoire also go through the side board as tenons. Sizes of the armoire are 179.5 cm high, 106.5 cm wide and 62 cm deep. Inside are 4 boards. Image from T. Albrecht Schrank, Butze, Bett vom Mittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert am Beispiel der Luneburger Heide.
More armoires in Kloster Medingen have boards that go though the sideboards. This is a rough sketch where the shelve boards are very thick and the board tenons are secured with a wedge.
An oak armoire (Med Ba 5) dating from the start of the 14th century, as can be seen from the simple lock and ironwork. Sizes are 205 cm high, 171.5 cm wide and 57 cm deep. Image from T. Albrecht Schrank, Butze, Bett vom Mittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert am Beispiel der Luneburger Heide.
Lock from a armoire on kufen dating from the first half of the 14th century. Image from T. Albrecht
Schrank, Butze, Bett vom Mittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert am Beispiel der Luneburger Heide.
In Kloster Medingen stands also an armoire with painted letters (KR and ZR) next to the armoire doors. They could possibly be the initials of the names of the nuns that stored their property inside the armoire. In Kloster Lune we were told that the small armoires were used by two nuns.
The armoires from Kloster Lune and Kloster Ebstorf are quite different from those of Kloster Medingen. Most of them are much smaller armoires. This also allows to place items on top of the armoires, or even to have a top door. Some of the locks and hinges have a red background made of semi-soft elastic material. We think it this painted leather, and used for the same reason as the velvet cloth seen in the chest from the medieval furniture from Koln, to prevent discolouration of the oak by the (oxidizing) iron.
Before I noticed that photography was not allowed I already had taken two images of this armoire in the entrance hall of Kloster Lune.
Two armoires in the cloister hallway. They are painted in colours that are reminiscent of the 18th century. Interestingly there is a bench trep attached to the two armoires allowing easy reach of the upper shelves of the armoire. Image scanned from a postcard.
This armoire from the winter refter has two doors on top of each other at the front, and a third on top of the armoire (see sketch below), beneath which is a small storing place. Image from J.U. Brinkmann. Die blauen Bucher - Kloster Lune.
Left: Top of the armoire in the winter refter with hinges and a pull ring.
Right: High edges at the top of the armoire also provide a space for storing goods.
An oak armoire standing on the side boards (Lun Ba 42). The armoire dates from the late 15th century and has a height of 120 cm high, width of 52.5 cm and is 42 cm deep. They are of much smaller size than the Medingen armoires.
A row of small armoires in the sleeping quarters (the owls hallway) of the convent. The armoire in front has very richly decorated hinges and locks and likely dates from the late 15th or 16th century. You can see that some of the armoires are standing on the side boards, while others stand on kufen. Image scanned from a postcard.
In Kloster Ebstorf a small armoire is found which has some carved decoration on the top rail, as well as the top door. Left: Sketch of the decoration on the top rail. The dark parts are deepened. Right: A sketch of the armoire with two doors and standing on kufen. In the middle of the top door is a carved pentagram. This pentagram is also found on the coat of arms of the abbess Mette von Jungersleben. Likely this armoire was her personal possesion, which also precisely dates the armoire to 1518. Her coat of arms can also be seen on the glass window opposite the armoire.
Left and right photo: Several small armoires and chests are standing in the hallways of Kloster Ebstorf.
An armoire standing on the side boards dating from 1500 (Ebs Ba 25). It has two doors on top of each other and a simple carved top rail.The armoire measures 139 cm high, 70.5 cm wide and 44.5 cm deep. Image from T. Albrecht Schrank, Butze, Bett vom Mittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert am Beispiel der Luneburger Heide.
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A double doored armoire on kufen of the end of the 15th century (Ebs Ba 10). It is made from oak and measures 191 cm height, 156.5 width and 75.5 cm deep. Image from T. Albrecht Schrank, Butze, Bett vom Mittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert am Beispiel der Luneburger Heide.
Drawing of an oak armoire on kufen dating around 1500 (Ebs Ba 8). Height 138 cm, width 73 cm and 43 cm deep. Image from T. Albrecht Schrank, Butze, Bett vom Mittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert am Beispiel der Luneburger Heide.
Oak armoire dating from the first half of the 15th century (Ebs Ba 38). Height 155 cm, width 88.5 cm and 45.5 cm deep. Also this armoire was not seen during our visit to Ebstorf. Image from T. Albrecht Schrank, Butze, Bett vom Mittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert am Beispiel der Luneburger Heide.
A rough sketch of a small cabon in the souvenir shop in kloster Ebstorf. The height is something between 1 and 1.2 metre. Note that the top door has a pull ring, while the bottom door has not.
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