The tomb of Queen Gertrude

The burial site and fragments of the tomb of Queen Gertrude of Andechs-Meran, first wife of King Andrew II (1205–1235) and a victim of assassination in 1213, were discovered during the excavations carried out in the Cistercian church of Pilis between 1967 and 1982. Her tomb was found along the central axis of the church, in the crossing. The present study, which includes the complete catalogue of the known fragments, attempts to establish the typology, iconography, and stylistic context of the artwork. New reconstructions are proposed for the two short sides of the sarcophagus-shaped tomb, which each bore distinct forms: one contained a wide, shallow niche, while the other depicted two standing figures under a double arcade. The figural ornaments on the sides of the tomb and the gisant with angels on the lid occupy an important place in the history of funerary art. In fact, the tomb displays one of the first examples of this type of decoration. The seated figures on the side relief probably represent the choir of saints in heaven, who provided companionship for the soul of the deceased queen. Gertrude herself is represented not only on top of the tomb, but also appears as a donor in one of the reliefs. Stylistic analysis of the figures proves that their master came from the workshop responsible for the Last Judgment and Callixtus portals of the cathedral of Reims. He must have left the workshop around 1220, before the portals were completed and installed in the façade of the northern transept. At about this time, Villard de Honnecourt also embarked on his travels that took him from Reims to Hungary. The style of Gertrude’s tomb bears similarities to the Villard’s drawings, even if we do not wish to attribute the sculptures to him. A team of masons from Reims also arrived in Pannonhalma during this time frame and worked on the abbey church there. Their most important work in Pannonhalma is the southern portal of the new church, the Porta Speciosa. The complicated nature of these construction histories reminds us of the need for caution when attributing one work of art to one person. Both Gertrude’s tomb and the Porta Speciosa are prime examples of the cultural and artistic period that began in the late 12th century, when the Kingdom of Hungary was a leader in the region in the reception of French Gothic.