trained numerous sculptors who continued his work at
Modena and carried his style elsewhere. The two lateral
portals at Modena—Porta della Pescheria (north, by the
Master of the Artù) and Porta dei Principi (south, by the
Master of San Geminiano)—are products of the school
of Wiligelmus. These two portals follow Wiligelmus’s
basic scheme from the west portal, but with smaller,
less massive, though more lively fi gures. The Porta dei
Principi is the earliest example of the northern Italian
form of a two-story porch-portal supported by lions or
atlantes bearing columns. That this form developed in
the context of Wiligelmus’s workshop further indicates
his seminal role in the development of northern Italian
Romanesque sculpture.
Additional sculpture by the workshop of Wiligelmus
can be found at the Benedictine abbey of Nonantola,
the cathedral of Piacenza, the Pieve di Quarantoli,
and the Cluniac abbey of San Benedetto Polirole.
The most noteworthy pupil of Wiligelmus is Master
Nicholaus.
Further Reading
Crichton, George Henderson. Romanesque Sculpture in Italy.
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1954.
Francovich, Geza de. “Wiligelmo da Modena e gli inizii della
scultura romanica in Francia e in Spagna.” Rivista dell’Istituto
Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dett’Arte, 7, 1940, pp.
225–294.
Frugoni, Chiara. Wiligelmo: Le sculture del duomo di Modena.
Modena: F. C. Panini, 1996.
Gandolfo, Francesco. “Note per una interpretazione iconologica
delle storie del Genesi di Wiligelmo.” In Romanico padano,
romanico europeo, ed. Arturo Carlo Quintavalle. Parma:
Artegrafi ca Silva, 1982, pp. 323–337.
Lanfranco e Wiligelmo: Il duomo di Modena (Quando le cattedrali
erano bianche), 3 vols., ed. E, Castelnuovo, V. Fumigalli, A.
Peroni, and A. Settis. Modena: Panini, 1984.
Porter, Arthur Kingsley. Romanesque Sculpture of the Pilgrim-
age Roads, 10 vols. Boston: Marshall Jones, 1923. (Reissue,
New York, 1966.)
Quintavalle, Arturo Carlo. La cattedrale di Modena: Prob-
lemi di romanico emiliano, 2 vols. Modena: Editrice Bassi,
1964–1965.
——. Da Wiligelmo a Nicola. Parma, 1966.
——, ed. Wiligelmo e la sua scuola. Florence: Sadea-Sansoni,
1967.
——. Romanico padano, civiltà d’occidente. Florence: Marchi
e Bertolli, 1969.
——. “Piacenza Cathedral, Lanfranco, and the School of Wil-
igelmo.” Art Bulletin, 55, 1973, pp. 40–57.
——. Wiligelmo e Matilda: L’offi cina romanica. Milan: Electa,
- Salvini, Roberto. Wiligelmo e le origini della scultura
romanica.Milan: Aldo Martello, 1956.
——. La scultura romanica in Europa. Milan: Garzanti, 1963.
——. II duomo di Modena e il romanico nel modenese. Modena:
Cassa di Risparmio di Modena, 1966.
Wiligelmo e Lanfranco nell’Europa romanica. Atti del Convegno,
Modena, 24–27 ottobre 1985. Modena: Panini, 1989.
Scott B. Montgomery
WILLEM OF HILDEGAERSBERCH
(ca. 1350–1408/1409)
The most important author and performer of sproken
(short verse narratives) in Middle Dutch literature,
Willem was born around 1350 in Hillegersberg, near
Rotterdam (county of Holland). He died between June
1408 and April 1409. He was not of noble heritage and
seems to have received a rather restricted education. We
can probably take seriously the verses in which he states
that he is ashamed of his lack of knowledge of Latin.
Willem was an itinerant poet, performing at aristocratic
courts, in abbeys, and in towns. He maintained a close
relationship with the court in The Hague, judging by his
frequent appearances in the writings about the counts of
Holland. Between 1383 and 1403, Willem is mentioned
no fewer than thirty-two times.
Much of Willem’s oeuvre survives; 120 sproken can
be attributed to him. His name is mentioned in forty of
them. Two manuscripts contain almost all known spro-
ken written by him: The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek
(manuscript no. 128 E 6) and Brussels, Koninklijke Bib-
liotheek (manuscript no. 15.659–661), preserving 117
and 119 sproken, respectively. Fragments and sproken in
other miscellanies prove that Willem of Hildegaersberch
was very esteemed in his days.
The sproke, a short poetic genre, was performed from
the fourteenth century onward by itinerant artists in the
Middle Dutch area. It has an average length of 180 to
200 verses, but shorter as well as longer sproken are
found. The sproke can be mainly narrative as well as
demonstrative, mostly with no lyrical tenor. It generally
implicitly or explicitly moralizes or serves a didactic
purpose. Moral truth and Christian or worldly ethics
are often stressed. The genre of the sproke is very close
to the exemplum, the parable, and the sermon. Willem
mostly writes rhyming couplets, but he sometimes
switches to a strophic form.
Willem’s poems treat a large diversity of themes.
He speaks about religious subjects, such as Christian
virtues or the Easter gospel. On the other hand, he does
not hesitate to criticize the clergy. An important part of
Willem’s oeuvre was meant to be recited at court, and
these texts are consequently directly addressed to the
lords. Here he is concerned with worldly virtues like
honor and justice, especially complaining about their
decline. He considers it to be his duty to advise the lords
in matters of government and to confront them with the
truth. His criticism concerns especially the rogues who
surround the lords and deceive them. Willem of Hilde-
gaersberch was conscious that he depended to a very
large extent on the favor of the lords. This is why he
sometimes felt obliged to soften the truth. In those cases
he formulated his criticism in an indirect way. Thus,
no one had to feel offended, and the person in questionWILLEM OF HILDEGAERSBERCH