Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/195

SCULPTURE AND PAINTING 183 sumption and the coronation of the Virgin, was much admired at the time, and for more than a century enjoyed a widespread reputation. The ' Calvary ' is the finest specimen of mediaeval sculpture which Frank- fort possesses. It consists of seven figures larger than life-size, all of them marvels of lifelike work and finished chiselling. Particularly beautiful is the majestic figure of the Christ, whose drooping head and sorrow-stricken countenance are exceedingly impressive. At the base of this group is the following inscription in Latin : ' In the year 1509 this was erected by Jacob Heller and his wife, Catherine von Molhaim, inhabitants of Nuremberg, in their own name and that of their ancestors, to the honour of our glorious Conqueror, Jesus Christ, and in the hope that God may grant grace to the living and eternal rest to the dead.' The Bible texts which are interspersed here and there among the group and in the folds of the drapery are extremely interesting, as showing the spirit in which the monument was erected. The final text, ' And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar,' 1 had evident reference to his own name and to the fact that the ' Calvary ' was erected to the memory of the living and the dead, and as a place of devotion for present and future generations. He also directed that ' the rector of the school (St. Bartholo- mew's) and six boys should perform devotions in front of this crucifix in honour of the Passion every Friday of the year.' He left an endowment for keeping two lamps constantly burning before the ' Calvary ' in the Church of Our Lady. In those days Christians considered all i>ood works 1 Gen. xxix. 18.