RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
A1 Cihla, Michal
A1 Holasová, Andrea
A1 Tryml, Michal
T1 All the more to the tombstone of St. Gunther in Břevnov MonasteryNochmals zur Grabplatte hl. Günthers im Stift Břevnov
JF Staletá Praha
YR 2024
VO 39
IS 2
SP 119
OP 131
DO 10.56112/sp.2023.2.06
UL https://staletapraha.cz/en/artkey/pha-202302-0006.php
AB St. Gunther (German: Gunther or Günther) belongs to the saints associated with the beginnings of monastic communities in Bavaria and the Bohemian Lands. There is plenty of written evidence about his activities and hermit life in the Šumava forests in the 1030s and 1040s. Although his cult was not one of the most widespread in the Bohemian Lands, he entered the historical cognisance especially thanks to his final resting place in the Břevnov monastery. His grave is commemorated by an ancient tombstone discovered during excavations in the 1st half od the 18th century, the age and stylistic classification of which have been the subject of long-standing discussions among historians. Does it belong to the stonework monuments of the 13th century, or is it significantly later? Did it originally depict another saint, secondarily modified to St. Gunther? By applying mechanoscopic analysis, i.e. the identification and subsequent interpretation of the tool marks, this article contributes to the solution of questions about the origin and the present form of this tombstone.