science

Wheel chandelier

Wheel chandelier is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wheel chandelier rather than just read about it. In short: A wheel chandelier is a lighting installment, in the form of a chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the form of a spoked wheel. The oldest and most important examples derive from the Romanesque period.

Key takeaways

Wheel chandelier belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wheel chandelier to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wheel chandelier from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A wheel chandelier is a lighting installment, in the form of a chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the form of a spoked wheel. The oldest and most important examples derive from the Romanesque period. Wheel chandeliers were made for the practical purpose of lighting the great churches and other public areas, but in religion they also had symbolic significance, depicting the Garden of Eden or the Kingdom of God. The wheel, its gates, and its towers, which are usually decorated with Prophets and Apostles or inscribed with their names, symbolise the city walls of the New Jerusalem. The buttresses, towers, and candles number twelve or a multiple of twelve, after the numerology of the Book of Revelation. This symbolism is first found on two wheel chandeliers of Hildesheim Cathedral. The great wheel chandelier of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was an inspiration.

Romanesque wheel chandeliers In Germany there are four great Romanesque wheel chandeliers. The fact that they are made from fire-gilt copper and not from pure gold has saved them from being melted down. They were decorated with Prophets and angels in silver and with precious gemstones, but for the most part these have been lost.

The Barbarossa chandelier in Aachen Cathedral is attributed to Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190). Hartwig's chandelier in Comburg, Schwäbisch Hall, with a 5-metre diameter, from the 12th century (also called Himmlische Jerusalem(Heavenly Jerusalem) with saints and soldiers in the towers. Hezilo chandelier in Hildesheim Cathedral with a 6-metre diameter, a donation of Bishop Hezilo of Hildesheim (1054–79). Azelin chandelier in Hildesheim Cathedral with a donation inscription of Bishop Thietmar of Hildesheim (1038–44).

Gothic wheel chandeliers The wheel chandeliers of the Gothic period in Germany are smaller in size than the Romanesque ones, and they are no longer representations of Jerusalem. The chandelier made of brass in Münster Cathedral has a circular pierced rim decorated with a few statuettes on its side, and ornamented with tracery-work like filigree and pinnacles. In the Minster Church of St. Alexander in Einbeck there is a later gothic wheel chandelier of painted brass with a diameter of c. 3.5 metres. The inscription on its bracket dates it to 1420. It was presumably gifted by Degenhard Ree, a canon of the collegiate church. The composition ought to go back to a lost example in Pöhlde Cloister. Another Gothic example is one in bronze found in the Cathedral of St. Stephan and St. Sixtus in Halberstadt (1516).

Neo-Romanesque wheel chandeliers

In some neo-Romanesque churches there are large wheel chandeliers too. Some of these were electric even when they were first installed Some examples:

St. Godehard's Basilica in Hildesheim, gifted in 1864 by Marie of Saxe-Altenburg St. Cäcilia in Harsum (c.1886) Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune in Strasbourg (c.1890) Bethlehemkirche in Hannover (c.1904) St. Elisabeth in Bonn under contemporary frescoes in the dome (c. 1910) (electrified from installation)

Contemporary wheel chandeliers

There are also contemporary wheel chandeliers, which continue this tradition:

Herrenhäuser Kirche in Hannover (c. 1990) Great St. Martin Church in Cologne (before 1993) Church of Kloster Lippoldsberg (1999)

Wagon wheel Another type is the wagon wheel chandelier. As its name suggests, it is usually made from old wagon wheels. As opposite to most of the wheel chandeliers, wagon wheel chandeliers were usually created as a cheap way to lighten the common spaces of large houses, businesses and public halls. Most of them were made from wood reinforced with steel.

References

Bibliography Sedlmayr, Hans (1993). Die Entstehung der Kathedrale (in German). Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder. pp. 125–130. ISBN 978-3-451-04181-5. Clemens Bayer: Die beiden großen Inschriften des Barbarossa-Leuchters. In: Celica Jherusalem. Festschrift für Erich Stephany. Hrsg. Clemens Bayer. Köln 1986. S. 213–240 Bernhard Gallistl: Bedeutung und Gebrauch der großen Lichterkrone im Hildesheimer Dom. In: Concilium Medii Aevi 12 (2009) S. 43–88 (PDF; 2,9 MB) Rolf Dieter Blumer, Ines Frontzek: Recherchiert und kartiert. Der Comburger Hertwig-Leuchter. In: Denkmalpflege in Baden-Württemberg, 41. Jahrgang 2012, Heft 4, S. 194–199 (PDF Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine) "Kloster Groß-Comburg". Zentrale für Unterrichtsmedien im Internet e.V. (in German). Retrieved 22 February 2024. Lubke, Wilhelm (1873). Ecclesiastical Art in Germany.

External links Official website (in German)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wheel chandelier

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wheel chandelier claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wheel chandelier before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wheel chandelier ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wheel chandelier

In research: Wheel chandelier appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wheel chandelier in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wheel chandelier is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chandeliers, Christian religious furniture, Light fixtures, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wheel chandelier outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Wheel chandelier” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Wheel chandelier in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wheel chandelier means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wheel chandelier out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wheel chandelier in simple terms?

Why does Wheel chandelier matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wheel chandelier?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wheel chandelier.