Iconography: Tree of Life
Prov. Inv. 400/29, Inv. Neiov III/23. LKM 1300
(1300a = frame, 1300b = paper support for memorial poetry).
Frame restoration: Maria-Alexandra Unguraș, Master thesis, ULB Sibiu 2020
Paper support restoration: Cristina-Camelia Ghiţescu, Muzeul Olteniei Craiova
The 1697 epitaph of Michael Salmen appears in the 1967 Neicov Inventory of the Braller/Bruiu parish under III/23, with the location listed as the sacristy. According to Hermann Binder, until 150 years ago—when the church lost its side aisles as part of a major renovation—the epitaph likely hung near the pulpit staircase. It was probably assigned to the sacristy due to its poor condition.
In June 1991, the ECR Altar Restoration Workshop was dissolved. The items still usable were taken over by the Organ Restoration Workshop, including this epitaph. It is one of the few surviving examples from a politically turbulent era that was also marked by frequent plague epidemics.
The deceased, Michael Salmen, born in Großschenk/Cincu, was matriculated at Altdorf (Nürnberg) in 1672. He was ordained as a preacher in Cincu in 1681, served as pastor of Tarteln/Toarcla from 1685, and as pastor of Braller/Bruiu from 1691 to 1697 (Wagner, Evangelische Pfarrer, Prediger und Lehrer im 17. Jahrhundert / Evangelical Pastors, Preachers, and Teachers in the 17th Century, p. 268, No. 2998). He apparently continued the rhetorical tradition originating from Altdorf, of which this epitaph can be seen as an indirect product. Comparative research may reveal which parts of the memorial text consist of fixed formulas and which are occasional poetry—which in turn follows the aesthetic norms of the time—as well as other contextual connections.
The epitaph’s carved wooden frame was restored by Maria-Alexandra Unguraș as part of her master’s thesis at the ULB of Sibiu, under the academic supervision of Dr. Cristina Dăneasă, lecturer in the Department of Conservation and Restoration within the Faculty of History, Cultural Heritage, and Protestant Theology at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu; In October 2021, the frame was exhibited at the restoration symposium of Craiova. The restoration of the paper support was carried out by Cristina Camelia Ghiţescu, paper restoration specialist at Muzeul Olteniei Craiova.
HK, Sibiu, July 24, 2026
