St. Ursula Shrine facts for kids

The Shrine of St. Ursula

The Shrine of St. Ursula is a special box made of carved and gilded wood. It holds important religious items, called relics. This beautiful artwork was created by the artist Hans Memling around the year 1489. It is now kept in the Hans Memling Museum, which is part of the old Old St. John's Hospital in Bruges, a city in Belgium.

The hospital itself asked Memling to create this shrine. Unlike some of Memling's other famous works, like the Triptych of the Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine, this shrine does not have his signature or a date on it. It was made to hold the relics of Saint Ursula. People could usually see the relics inside the shrine only on her special feast day. The relics were officially placed in the shrine on November 21, 1489.

What is the Shrine of St. Ursula?

The Shrine of St. Ursula looks like a small, fancy Gothic chapel. This style was often used for valuable metalwork. It has a very steep, pointed roof, which is common in northern European art. On each side of the roof, there are three round paintings called tondoes.

Who Painted the Tondoes?

Experts believe that Memling's workshop, meaning his assistants, painted these tondoes.

• On one side, they show the First Eleven Virgins with important figures like the Pope, a Cardinal, a Bishop, and Etherius. These characters are part of the legend of Saint Ursula.
• On the other side, the tondoes show the Coronation of the Virgin with the Holy Trinity. This scene depicts Mary being crowned in heaven.

Arrival in Rome, one of the scenes on the shrine.

What Scenes Are on the Sides?

The two main ends of the shrine show different scenes.

• One end shows the Virgin and Child between Two Nuns. These two nuns were the people who donated money for the shrine, including the head nun (abbess) of the hospital.
• The other end shows St. Ursula Protecting the Holy Virgins. Both of these scenes are painted to look like they are inside a deep, open space, giving a feeling of depth.

Along the sides of the shrine, under small archways, there are six more paintings. These paintings tell the story of St. Ursula's life and her martyrdom (when she died for her beliefs). They look a lot like the beautiful stained-glass windows you might see in old churches.

• Arrival in Cologne: This shows Ursula arriving in the city of Cologne.
• Arrival in Basel: This scene depicts her arrival in Basel.
• Arrival in Rome: Here, Ursula reaches the city of Rome.
• Leaving from Basel: This shows her departure from Basel.
• Martyrdom of the Pilgrims: This painting shows the sad event where many pilgrims were killed.
• Martyrdom of St. Ursula: This final scene shows St. Ursula's own death.

All these scenes share a similar background, which looks like cities in northern Germany, such as Cologne. You can even see the unfinished Cologne Cathedral in one of the paintings. The artist paid great attention to small details of everyday life in these scenes.

What About the Carvings?

The shrine also has many beautiful carvings in a style called International Gothic. These carvings include tall, pointed decorations called pinnacles, and fancy patterns with holes called friezes. At the corners of the shrine, there are carved figures of saints like James, John the Evangelist, Agnes, and Elizabeth of Hungary.

Images for kids

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  Virgin and Child.

See also

In Spanish: Arqueta de Santa Úrsula para niños