Jakob den Ældre
Symboliseret ved staven i højre hånd og hatten hængende på ryggen. Modeleret af Pietro Marchetti.
Figur
Denne Jakob kaldes ofte Jakob den Ældre. Jakob er fremstillet som pilgrim med vandrestav og stor, bredskygget hat, der hænger på hans ryg. Han ser, som den eneste af de tolv apostelfigurer, i en retning væk fra Kristusfiguren og med et fast blik mod menigheden, som den træder ind i kirken.
Historie
Jakob var søn af Zebedæus og bror til Johannes. Sammen blev de kaldt Tordensønnerne. Han skal have virket som apostel i Syrien og Judæa og blev henrettet af Herodes i år 44. En legende knytter ham til Nordspanien, hvortil det fortælles, at hans lig blev ført til Santiago de Compostella, måske som et led i kampen mod maurerne i Spanien.
En pilgrim er en, der af religiøse grunde besøger – valfarter til - hellige steder. De store vigtige pilgrims- eller valfartssteder er først og fremmest Bethlehem, Jerusalem og andre bibelske steder, eller Peters og Paulus’ grave i Rom, men der opstod i middelalderen også andre, vigtige religiøse steder.
Jakobs grav i Santiago di Compostella i Nordspanien er således et af de store valfartssteder, hvortil pilgrimme – også den dag i dag - vandrer langvejs fra. I middelalderen var pilgrimsrejsen/valfarten ofte et udtryk for ydmyghed og fromhed, men man kunne også pålægges at gå på valfart, som straf for en forbrydelse.
Fakta
Figuren modelleres i slutningen af 1821 af Pietro Marchetti efter Thorvaldsens skitse.
Apostlen Jakob den Ældre i Vor Frue Kirke af billedhugger Berthel Thorvaldsen. Foto: Jakob Faurvig
English
James the Apostle, brother of John
The statue
This James is often referred to as James the Greater. James is portrayed as a pilgrim with a walking stick and a large, broad-brimmed hat hanging on his back. He glances, as the only one of the twelve apostle figures, in a direction away from the Christ figure and with a stern gaze on the congregation entering the church.
The story
James was a son of Zebedee and brother of John, and the two are also known as ’The Sons of Thunder’. He preached in Syria, Judah and was beheaded by Herod in the year 44. A legend attaches him to the North of Spain, in which it is told that his corpse was taken to Santiago de Compostela, maybe as part of the war against the Moors in Spain.
A pilgrim is a person who, for religious reasons, visits or travels to holy places. The great, important locations for pilgrimage are first and foremost Bethlehem, Jerusalem and the other Biblical locations, or the tombs of Peter and Paul in Rome. But in the Middle Ages other important religious locations came to be. The tomb of James in Santiago de Compostela in the North of Spain is thus one of the great places of pilgrimage whereto pilgrims flock from far away. In the Middle Ages the pilgrimage was seen as an expression of humbleness and piety, but going on a pilgrimage could also be imposed on a person as a punishment for a crime committed.
The facts
The figure was sculpted in the end of 1821 by Pietro Marchetti from Thorvaldsen’s sketch.
