Church of the Holy Blood of Christ, Armsheim, church building in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
The Church of the Holy Blood of Christ in Armsheim is a late Gothic church with a nave of 3½ bays and two side aisles almost as tall as the central nave but half as wide, their cross-rib vaults resting on stout round pillars. The choir, begun in 1431, closes on five sides with three-part tracery windows. The tower, built after 1471, rises over 60 m, its square lower storeys carrying an octagonal upper stage with a walkable gallery.
A church dedicated to Remigius of Reims stood here before the present late Gothic building, whose star-vaulted choir was begun in 1431; its builders came from the circle of Madern Gerthener's school. The nave of 3½ bays is attributed to the Oberdiebach or Oberingelheim masters, and the vaults received painted decoration in the second half of the 15th century. The tower was started after 1471 and finished around 1500. In 1556, during the Reformation in the Electoral Palatinate, the parish became Protestant; the high altar was replaced by an altar table and the pulpit moved.
The church is dedicated to the Holy Blood of Christ, and a relic said to contain the miraculous blood is displayed in the choir and venerated by pilgrims. The name refers to this relic, not to the Holy Grail. The pulpit, moved during the Reformation, has a medieval base from 1500 carved with evangelist symbols and the Arma Christi.
The south side holds the main entrance, sheltered by a porch with a net vault and floral painting; a founding stone there records the 1431 laying of the first stone. The tower rises over two square lower storeys to an octagonal upper stage with a walkable gallery, and it stands close to the old town wall. The organ loft holds the 1739 Stumm organ with 20 registers on two manuals and pedal.
The interior of the church features humorous faces and masks carved to look like jesters, gazing down from the vaults toward visitors. These unexpected ornaments give the space a playful quality that is rarely found in Gothic churches.
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