Roger of Helmarshausen (fl. 12th century) was a well-known
goldsmithA goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a Goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual Goldsmiths are rare...
and metalwork artist, and also a Benedictine monk.
Roger is first heard of in connection with
Stavelot AbbeyStavelot is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Stavelot had a total population of 6,671. The total area is 85.07 km² which gives a population density of 78 inhabitants per km².-History:...
in the
MeuseThe Meuse , is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
valley, a centre of
Mosan artMosan art or Rheno–Mosan art is a regional style of Romanesque art from the valleys of the Meuse and Rhine, in present-day Belgium, especially in Wallonia, and the Rhineland, with manuscript illumination, metalwork, and enamel work from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.The Mosan region was...
, and especially goldsmith's work. He worked between 1100 and 1107 in St. Pantaleon's church in
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
. At least two portable
altarAn altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place. Altars are usually found at a shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s made by him are in the treasury of
Paderborn CathedralThe Paderborn Cathedral St. Liborius is the Cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn. It is located in the city centre of Paderborn.-Patron Saint:...
. In 1107 he moved to
Helmarshausen AbbeyHelmarshausen Abbey was a Benedictine monastery situated in the small town of Helmarshausen, now part of Bad Karlshafen in Hesse, Germany.-History:...
, where he established a goldsmith's workshop.
Roger of Helmarshausen (fl. 12th century) was a well-known
goldsmithA goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a Goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual Goldsmiths are rare...
and metalwork artist, and also a Benedictine monk.
Artistic career
Roger is first heard of in connection with
Stavelot AbbeyStavelot is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Stavelot had a total population of 6,671. The total area is 85.07 km² which gives a population density of 78 inhabitants per km².-History:...
in the
MeuseThe Meuse , is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
valley, a centre of
Mosan artMosan art or Rheno–Mosan art is a regional style of Romanesque art from the valleys of the Meuse and Rhine, in present-day Belgium, especially in Wallonia, and the Rhineland, with manuscript illumination, metalwork, and enamel work from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.The Mosan region was...
, and especially goldsmith's work. He worked between 1100 and 1107 in St. Pantaleon's church in
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
. At least two portable
altarAn altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place. Altars are usually found at a shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s made by him are in the treasury of
Paderborn CathedralThe Paderborn Cathedral St. Liborius is the Cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn. It is located in the city centre of Paderborn.-Patron Saint:...
. In 1107 he moved to
Helmarshausen AbbeyHelmarshausen Abbey was a Benedictine monastery situated in the small town of Helmarshausen, now part of Bad Karlshafen in Hesse, Germany.-History:...
, where he established a goldsmith's workshop. In conjunction with the
scriptoriumScriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...
this produced several important works in the
RomanesqueRomanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
style, including various illuminated codices, above all the
Gospels of Henry the LionThe Gospels of Henry the Lion were intended by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, for the altar of the Virgin Mary in the church of St. Blaise's Abbey, Brunswick, better known as Brunswick Cathedral. The volume is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque book illumination of the 12th century.The gospel...
, as well as many pieces of jewellery.
De diversis artibus
It has been suggested, principally by the German academic Eckhard Freise, that Roger is identical with
Theophilus PresbyterTheophilus Presbyter was a Benedictine monk and author of a Latin text containing detailed descriptions of various medieval arts. The collection of his writings is designated Schedula diversarum artium or De diversibus artibus and was written between 1100 and 1120...
, author of the medieval treatise
De diversis artibus (also
Schedula diversarum artium) on applied arts and in particular, metalwork. This identification is not universally accepted.