Lion’s Mouth Knocker (Right)

Lion’s Mouth Knocker (Right)

The custom of placing knockers shaped like a lion’s mouth dates back to antiquity, where they held apotropaic significance. The lion knocker appeared only on temple doors, with the lion serving to ward off demons from the sanctuary.

The knocker on the right wing of the Płock Doors (similar to the one on the left side) has a grotesque mask-like appearance, stylized with ornamental treatment of the mane, prominent forward-facing eyes, and clearly defined nose and jaws. This stylization partially obscures its resemblance to a lion. It reveals characteristics of the lion from Christian symbolism, mixed with the mythical wolf Fenrir from Norse mythology (Fenriswolf). While there is only one head in the enormous mouth, rather than five as in the knocker on the left side of the Doors, the message of this depiction is identical.

The symbolism of the lion’s mouth in sacred art indeed has deep roots in the imagery of hell and redemption. The motif of a devouring lion was often used as an allegory for hell consuming sinners while simultaneously pointing to the hope of salvation through Christ. Representations in which human heads are partially visible from the mouth may symbolize the purification of souls through fire, consistent with some medieval interpretations of purgatory. This duality of symbolism—consumption and release—reflected the idea of the Last Judgment, where evil and good ultimately clash, and Christ is a key figure in the process of salvation.

The fact that artists from the Magdeburg foundry used such representations in their works, such as knockers, shows how popular and influential these motifs were. The influence of the Płock knockers on other works, like those from Czerwińsk, Halle, and Hadmersleben, also testifies to the intermingling of styles and artistic ideas during this period.

The motif of the lion, or beast, as “leo rugiens”—the roaring lion that does not entirely consume souls, leaving hope for their redemption—was a powerful means of expression used by artists to depict the complex nature of faith, sin, and salvation.

Both knockers, along with the panels of the Descent into the Abyss and Maiestas Domini, proclaim the truth of the Last Judgment in the language of Romanesque art.

Płock Doors

The Płock Doors, also known as the Magdeburg Doors, Korsun Doors, or Sigtuna Doors, were bronze doors once located in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Płock. This is a relic of Romanesque art. Currently, the original doors are in the western portal of St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, and a bronze casting (copy) has been in the Płock Cathedral since 1982.

Research indicates that the doors were probably in Płock for about 250 years before they adorned St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod. It is unclear how the doors ended up in Novgorod. According to a 15th-century legend, they were brought from Byzantium by Prince Vladimir the Great via Korsun in Crimea (hence the name Korsun Doors), although this is unlikely.

According to some historical hypotheses, they were looted in the 13th century by Lithuanians during their raid on Masovia. Other historians believe they were given as a gift by the Polish clergy or the dukes of Płock to Prince Lingwen Olgierdovich of Novgorod, brother of Władysław II Jagiełło. Some sources say they arrived in Novgorod as early as 1170, shortly after being made, while others suggest before the mid-15th century. According to a version announced in 1823 by Friedrich von Adelung, the doors are a military trophy of the Novgorodians (specifically Karelians, Estonians, Izhoras, and northern Russians), who captured them in 1187 during an expedition to the then-capital of Sweden, Sigtuna (hence the 19th-century name Sigtuna Doors).

The doors for the Płock Cathedral were ordered by Bishop Alexander of Malonne (died 1156). Master Riquin, with assistant Waismut, cast them in bronze using the lost-wax technique between 1152 and 1154 in one of the Magdeburg foundries. It is uncertain whether it belonged to the local fabrica ecclesiae, operating at the cathedral, managed by Bishop Wichman of Wettin (c. 1110–1192).

Figures of bishops and craftsmen are among the reliefs, to which in the first quarter of the 15th century, the representation of a Russian caster, Master Abraham, was added. He also adapted the doors to the western portal of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod, adding Cyrillic inscriptions translated from Latin. It is hypothetically assumed that the doors were looted from Płock at the end of the 13th century and, after various fates, were hung as a “copper icon” in an Orthodox church at the beginning of the 15th century.