88 Christian Antiquities of the Lower Rhine 



the Lower Rhine, but one of them, the Cathedral of Cologne, 

 surpasses all other Gothic churches in beauty and size. The 

 majority of the churches at Cologne were built in the time 

 of Henry the Fowler, Otto the Great, and Adalbert, the son 

 of Henry the First, who was for some time Bishop of Cologne. 

 Gothic art in Germany was especially cultivated in the low- 

 lands of the North and East. The main difference in the 

 appearance of the mediaeval church and the modern church was 

 in the colour. Some of those churches have been restored. 

 At the time of the Reformation all these polychrome churches 

 were whitewashed, and at the beginning of the century no 

 archaeologist had the faintest idea of the appearance of a 

 mediaeval church. The lecturer then went on to describe the 

 church furniture used in mediaeval times, especially wood- 

 carving, representations of which were exhibited. He then 

 went on speak of the goldsmiths' and enamellers' art, and 

 pointed out that the best illustrations of the former are to be 

 found in the Rhenish churches. The Shrine of Anno has 

 been greatly despoiled during various invasions, and for some 

 time it was hidden in a barn, and, although nearly all the 

 ornamentation is gone, sufficient remains to show its great 

 beauty. The most famous shrines for workmanship and costli- 

 ness are those of the Three Kings, or the Magi, at Cologne, 

 and that of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle. The lecturer 

 here exhibited some representations of processional crosses of 

 the Convent of Essen, after which he gave some interesting in- 

 formation regarding embroidery and painting, and concluded 

 by stating that throughout the Middle Ages art was anony- 

 mous. We do not know the names of the architects or 

 painters, but only know the names of the founders and donors, 

 and in that respect mediaeval art differs from classical and 

 modern art. 



