DONÁTORSKÉ SCÉNY V KOSTOLE SV. JURAJA V KOSTOĽANOCH POD TRIBEČOM

Wall paintings in the Church of St. George in Kostoľany pod Tribečom discovered 60 years ago, belong to the oldest early medieval frescoes preserved on the contemporary territory of Slovakia dated from the middle of 11th until 12th centuries. Just Josef Krása and Ján Bakoš interpreted the lower part of frescoes in the context of Christology iconography primarily devoted to the Nativity of Jesus Christ. Only two registers of frescoes situated next to the triumphal arc of presbytery have not been correctly interpreted yet. This study is devoted to analysing especially those parts of the frescoes which have to be associated with Donor iconography. On the nave‘s south wall is a profane scene with the depicted prince of Poznan family with his two sons. The church founders, accompanied by St. George, offer a model of the church to Jesus Christ. On the north part of the nave, there is a religious scene depicting probably an anonymous abbot of Zobor Monastery accompanied by St. Adalbert praying before sitting Holy Mother with child Jesus on her knees. This scene was created on the occasion of the donation of a church by the Poznan nobleman family to St. Hippolytus Monastery. The author of the study puts the origin of frescoes into the context of historical events nearly linked with activities of Benedictine monks who came from the monastery of St. Boniface and Alexis on Aventine Hill in Rome, arrived in Central Europe together with St. Adalbert in 992. Frescoes could be made after St. Adalbert’s martyr death and before his canonisation in 999.