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213 posts categorized "Royal"

07 June 2020

Remembering the Field of Cloth of Gold

Five hundred years ago, on 7 June 1520, in a field in northern France, two monarchs rode to meet each other, doffed their caps, dismounted, and embraced as brothers: they were François I of France (1515–1547) and Henry VIII of England (1509–1547). The two kings met south of the village of Andres, roughly halfway between the French castle at Ardres (Cotton MS Augustus I II 74) and the English castle at Guînes (Cotton MS Augustus I II 12), watched and cheered by their assembled courts. The site had been chosen because it lay on the southern border of the Calais Pale, a territory held since 1347 by the kings of England as part of their claim to the kingdom of France.

Portrait of King François I

Portrait of King François I of France by Godefroy le Batave, 1519: Harley MS 6205, f. 3r

Portrait of King Henry VIII

Portrait of King Henry VIII of England by an unknown artist, c. 1520: National Portrait Gallery 4690

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was the driving force behind the meeting between François and Henry, motivated in part by his own personal ambition and a genuine desire to promote peace, but also by the need to create the means whereby his master, Henry, could achieve comparable status to his wealthier and more powerful brother monarchs. To that end, Wolsey had negotiated the 1518 Treaty of London, binding Pope Leo X, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and his grandson, the king of Spain, as well as François, Henry, and more than a dozen other princes and states, to a non-aggression pact. This ‘universal peace’, first proposed by Leo, only for Wolsey to appropriate the idea, made Henry the arbiter of Christendom. But it served the further purpose of reining in François, who had invaded Italy and conquered the duchy of Milan within months of becoming king.

A bird's eye view of the fortification of Ardres

Plan of the French castle at Ardres by Giovanni Rossetti, c. 1543: Cotton MS Augustus I II 74

When Maximilian died in 1519, his grandson succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, ruling over Austria, Spain (and its New World empire), the Netherlands, and Naples, making him the most powerful man in Europe. His only real rivals were François and the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent. It was in order to forge a powerful place for Henry, under changing geopolitical circumstances, that Wolsey invited Charles to England for talks in late May 1520 before Henry’s departure to meet François. Henry had two options for influencing Charles and François: make magnificent war or make magnificent peace, always with the purpose of playing one off in his favour against the other.

A pen-and-ink drawing of the fortification at Guînes

View of the English castle at Guînes, 2nd quarter of the 16th century: Cotton MS Augustus I II 12

On 31 May 1520, Henry and Queen Katherine of Aragon embarked for France, accompanied by 6,000 of their subjects and all the rich splendour of the court. The meeting with François was to take the form of a tournament, to inaugurate the peace between England and France. Traditional enemies, the two kingdoms had been at war as recently as 1514. Mistrust and hostility persisted. The French were ‘dogs and knaves’, viewed as cowardly and duplicitous; they, in turn, regarded the English as backward and brutish (Correspondance politique de MM. de Castillon et de Marillac, ed. J. Kaulek (Paris, 1885), no. 247).  Yet Henry spoke French well, and French culture had a profound influence on his court and its tastes. Before his meeting with François, for example, the clean-shaven Henry grew a beard in imitation of the French king, giving him the appearance by which we know him today. François was equally cultured. Both men were tall, strong and athletic. Both loved the noble pastimes of hunting and jousting. At François’s request, Henry had his armour adapted to the latest French fashion prior to the tournament.

One of Henry's tents at the Field of Cloth of Gold

A pavilion in the green and white livery colours of the Tudors: Cotton MS Augustus I II 76

After that initial meeting on 7 June 1520, François and Henry demonstrated their princely power and prestige in a daily round of tournaments, entertainments and banquets lasting more than two weeks. Massive temporary palaces were erected to house both the kings and their courts. Some original designs for Henry’s tents survive. One shows a pavilion in the green and white livery colours of the Tudors (Cotton MS Augustus I II 76). The two larger central tents depicted here are linked by galleries. All are decorated with candelabra, arabesque and foliage motifs, showing the influence of the Italian renaissance on the English court (as mediated through France and the Netherlands). So costly and sumptuous were the tents, the tapestries and the hangings decorating and subdividing them, and the clothes worn by the monarchs and their courts, that they lent the meeting its name: the Field of Cloth of Gold or Camp du Drap d’Or. Cloth of gold was fabric woven with silk and gold thread fit for a king.

A drawing of blue tents for the Field of Cloth of Gold

A drawing of red tents for the Field of Cloth of Gold

A drawing of green and white tents for the Field of Cloth of Gold

Other designs for Henry VIII's tents at the Field of Cloth of Gold are found in Cotton MS Augustus III/1, ff. 11r, 18r, 19r

The universal peace that the Field of Cloth of Gold had celebrated proved short-lived, and England and France were once more at war in 1522. Yet Henry’s relationship with François remained complex, an unstable combination of admiration, emulation and enmity, of peace punctuated by war.

 

Alan Bryson

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23 April 2020

St George and the Garter

On St George’s Day (23 April) 1349, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, the first annual assembly was held by the Order of the Garter, England’s oldest Order of Chivalry. Dedicated to George, the Order was founded by King Edward III (1312–1377) who wanted to revive the Knights of the Round Table of Arthurian Legend. Edward had appointed himself as the Order’s Sovereign, his son Edward the Black Prince (1330–1376) as Royal Knight, and 24 of his most loyal men as Knights Companions. He had chosen the French maxim ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’ (‘Shamed be he who thinks ill of it’) as the Order’s motto, and a blue garter as its emblem, perhaps alluding to the girdle with which St George, according to medieval legend, had tamed a dragon before slaying it.

Two groups of men and women in blue mantles with blue garters on them, standing to the left and right of an altar on which St George on horseback impales a dragon with his lance. Behind him stands a woman with a pink gown and green headwear, and holding a white lamb on a leash, who represents the princess who, according to medieval legend, had been selected through a lottery to offer herself as food to the dragon.

An assembly of Knights and Ladies of the Garter (women were accepted soon after the Order’s foundation), before an altar of St George (Rouen, 1444–1445): Royal MS 15 E VI (The Talbot Shrewsbury Book), f. 439r

The rituals and symbols of the Order of the Garter are described and depicted in many richly decorated medieval and early modern manuscripts. The Pageants of Richard Beauchamp (Cotton MS Julius E IV/3), for example, features an early depiction of the Order’s ceremony for installing new Knights. This ceremony requires the Sovereign, aided by senior Knights, to place the garter — a dark blue velvet riband with a gold buckle and edges — around the newly-elected Knight’s lower left leg, just below the knee. In this manuscript, King Henry IV can be seen giving the garter to Richard Beauchamp (1382–1439), 13th Earl of Warwick as a reward for successfully defeating the Welsh at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1405. (You can read more about the Pageants of Richard Beauchamp in this blogpost.)

A pen drawing showing Richard Beauchamp in full armour receiving the garter around his left leg from a Knight who kneels below him. To his left stands King Henry IV. They are surrounded by other Knights of the Garter

Richard Beauchamp receives the garter from King Henry IV (England, 4th quarter of the 15th century): Cotton MS Julius E IV/3 (The Pageants of Richard Beauchamp), f. 4v

Many manuscripts describe the history of the Order of the Garter (Harley MS 5415) or explain its statutes and ordinances about membership, functions, qualifications, costumes and ceremonies (Cotton MS Nero D II, ff 252r–265v, Harley MS 235, Harley MS 278, Lansdowne MS 783, Lansdowne MS 1207). These books indicate that the Knights had few obligations, apart from attending the annual assembly, participating in religious services, and wearing the garter whenever appearing in public. Their privileges were both honorific and spiritual: members could hang their swords, helmets, banners, stall-plates with their names, and heraldic devices at St George’s Chapel at Windsor. After death, the remaining Knights would perform large numbers of masses (100 for Knights and 1000 for the Sovereign) for the benefit of their souls.

An opening at the beginning of a manuscript containing the statutes and ordinances of the Order of the Garter, with, on the left page, a full-page drawing of the royal arms of the Order: an escutcheon encircled by the blue garter and with a royal crown in gold and red on top. The escutcheon has two halves: in the left half is the red cross of St George on a silver ground, and in the right half are the quartered royal arms of Queen Elizabeth I, featuring two quarters in blue with three fleurs-de-lis in gold, and two quarters in red with three lions in gold. On the right page, we see the opening of the statutes and ordinances, marked by a gold initial ‘T’, and written in a Gothic script with black ink

The Statutes and Ordinances of the Order of the Garter (England, after 1572): Lansdowne MS 1207, ff. 1v–2r

One important category of manuscripts relating to the Order of the Garter contains their members' coats of arms. Around 1415, the Order created its own officer of arms, known as the Garter King of Arms. In the 1430s, William Bruges (c. 1375–1450), the first to hold that office, created the Order’s first extant armorial, now known as the Bruges Garter Book (Stowe MS 594). The manuscript contains illustrations of the King and the 25 Founder Knights, all wearing heraldic tabards and Garter mantles and displaying their coats of arms. William Bruges himself, as the Garter King of Arms, is shown kneeling before St George.

St George in full armour and with a pink mantle, holding a jousting shield with a red cross on a white ground, and a lance and a sword with which he holds a green dragon down at this feet. To his right is the Garter King of Arms who is wearing a crown and a heraldic tabard with the coat of arms of Henry V (the same as those of Queen Elizabeth I), and is kneeling in prayer

William Bruges wearing a heraldic tabard that displays the arms of King Henry V, kneeling in prayer before St George (England, 1430s): Stowe MS 594, f. 5v

Other heraldic manuscripts from the Order contain collections of the arms of its then members. Their arms are easy to recognize since members had the right to encircle the shields (escutcheons) of their coats of arms with the blue garter, the Order’s emblem.

A list of the Knights of the Garter in the first year of the reign of King Henry V with in the page’s margins the coats of arms of its 26 members, including those of the King. Two have been left unfinished.

Armorial of the Order of the Garter (? London, 1588): Harley MS 1864, f. 2v

An important literary manuscript that is associated with the Order of the Garter’s early history is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, perhaps the most famous medieval English romance. This Middle English poem sees Gawain, one of King Arthur's most valiant knights, undertake a quest during which he acquires a magical green girdle. Upon his return to Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table agree to wear a green sash in memory of Gawain’s quest, just like the Knights of the Garter, who would wear their garters on ceremonial occasions. What is more, an early owner of the unique copy of the poem (Cotton MS Nero A X) inscribed a motto below the text that is almost identical to that of the Order: ‘hony soit q[ui] mal penc’. This raises interesting questions about the poem's underlying meaning, and whether it comments on the ideals and practices of the Order.

Above, we can see the inscription of the Order of the Garter’s motto in brown ink in the manuscript of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Below this image is full-page miniature from the same manuscript, showing Gawain in full armour, kneeling before King Arthur, wearing golden crown and a blue mantle, and Queen Guinevere, wearing a golden crown and a green dress.

The Order of the Garter’s motto (above) and a full-page miniature of Sir Gawain returning to the court of King Arthur after completing his quest in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (North-West Midlands, c. 1400): Cotton MS Nero A X/2, f. 128v and f. 130r

The Order of the Garter was celebrated in other poetic manuscripts. For example, we have a poem by William Tesshe of York, uniquely surviving in Harley MS 3437, in which he praises the Order’s Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth I, and honours each of its Knights separately. The manuscript is decorated with their coats of arms in colours and gold.

Another unique poem, extant in Harley MS 6103, is dedicated to George Villiers (1592–1628), who was Marquess of Buckingham and Lord High Admiral of England when he was admitted to the Order in 1620. The poem styles him as St George, his namesake, and claims that he too will curb ‘The conquerd dragon which hee [St George] leadeth tame’. An accompanying full-page illustration adorns Villiers with attributes that are rife with Garter imagery. It displays him as a knight wearing full armour, riding a horse with the arms of the Order on its caparison, holding a lance with a banner that displays St George slaying the dragon in one hand, and a dragon on a leash in the other. The dragon is apparently tamed by the garter that is hanging from its neck, suggesting an analogy between the Order’s emblem and the girdle with which St George subjugated his dragon.

This illustration shows George Villiers in full armour and riding a horse with a red caparison (horse cape) which displays the Order of the Garter’s coat of arms (the red cross of St George encircled by the blue garter). In his right hand, he is holding a lance with a yellow banner that features an image of St George slaying the dragon. In his left hand, he is holding a blue leash that goes around the neck of a small winged red dragon below him. From the dragon’s neck, and attached to the leash, hangs the blue garter with, what appears to be, a sketch of St George slaying the dragon inside it.

George Villiers with the symbols of the Order of the Garter (England, after 1620): Harley MS 6103, f. 3r

Music was central to the Order of the Garter’s religious celebrations at Windsor. The canons who performed its liturgical music produced original music compositions, and they were perhaps responsible for a creative and artistic rendering of a 16th-century melody for the Order’s motto (‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’) that has been inserted on a paper sheet into Royal MS 8 G VII. The music has been written on two 5-line staves that are shaped like the garter and a lance with which a knight charges a dragon. The composition is dedicated to the Earl of Arundel, probably Henry Fitzalan (1512–1580), the 12th Earl, who was admitted to the Order in 1544.

A 5-line music staff with neumes shaped in the form of the garter with inside it a knight charging a dragon with a lance that is made of another 5-line music staff with neumes, forming a melody for singing the Order’s motto in canon.

A canon for the Order of the Garter’s motto written on music staves that are shaped like the garter and a knight’s lance (England, 16th century): Royal MS 8 G VII, f. 1v

The Order of the Garter is nearly 700 years old. The rituals and symbols that its members practise today are preserved in manuscripts of great artistic and cultural value, many of which themselves date back centuries.

 

Clarck Drieshen

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17 April 2020

Henry VIII: the possessions of a Tudor monarch

King Henry VIII of England (1509–1547) was an extraordinary collector of beautiful and expensive things. Portraits of this Tudor monarch attest to the richness of his wardrobe and possessions. Cloth of gold and crimson velvet, jewelled fabrics, feathered caps, embroidery and fur all feature prominently in these illustrations. We can see evidence of this in a tiny girdle book (Stowe MS 956) that is thought to have been owned by Henry’s second wife Anne Boleyn (d. 1536), containing an English translation of the Book of Psalms.

A small portrait of Henry VIII, from a 16th-century girdle book possibly owned by Anne Boleyn

King Henry VIII’s portrait from a girdle book possibly owned by Anne Boleyn: Stowe MS 956, f. 1v

Surviving manuscripts from the height of the Tudor period give an insight into the enormous scale and variety of Henry’s possessions. In September 1547, 6 months after the King’s death, commissioners were appointed to compile an inventory of all his moveable goods and the contents of his 55 palaces. The task was so monumental and the administrators were so meticulous that it took them 18 months to complete.

A page from a 16th-century manuscript, showing the opening of the second part of the inventory of Henry VIII’s moveable goods

The opening of the second part of the inventory of Henry VIII’s moveable goods, compiled after his death in 1547: Harley MS 1419/1, f. 4r

The finished inventory records thousands of objects that present a detailed picture of the splendour and opulence at the heart of the Tudor court. It consists of two parts. The first (now Society of Antiquaries MS 120 A and B) includes lists of money, jewels, books and plate, the munitions in the King’s forts and the King’s ships, as well as the contents of his armouries and stables. The second (now bound in two volumes as British Library Harley MS 1419/1 and Harley MS 1419/2) details the contents of each of the King’s palaces and the various specialist wardrobes in his possession, as well as those of his children and successors, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth. This second part of the inventory has been recently digitised and is now available to view in full online on our Digitised Manuscripts site.

A tapestry of the story of Abraham

A tapestry of the story of Abraham from Henry VIII's Great Bedchamber at Hampton Court Palace, now housed in the Royal Collection

The inventory records some extraordinary items that belonged to the royal household. These include:

  • One of the largest collections of tapestries and wall hangings ever recorded, comprising over 2000 items, made from silver, gold, silk and wool.
  • Around 800 carpets, over 200 of which were housed at Hampton Court alone.
  • A stockpile of textiles, including expensive silk cloth of gold and linen, embroidered damask, satin and taffeta, as well as velvet and sarsenet. Their combined value amounted to well over £50,000.
  • A variety of animal furs, from squirrel and lynx to sable and mink, and even leopard, is mentioned in the inventory. These were principally used to line and decorate gowns and robes for members of the king’s household.
  • Collections of brightly coloured feathers to adorn hats and bonnets.
  • Theatrical props and costumes for performances at court, belonging to the Master of the Revels.
  • Huge quantities of jewellery.
  • Numerous items of furniture: chairs, four-poster beds, footstools and dining tables.
  • Musical instruments: cornets, flutes, a harpsichord, portative organs (small handheld pipe organs), viols, virginals, a taberde and bagpipes, including one made of purple velvet and four fashioned out of ivory. Many of these instruments were additionally embellished with gold and fabric, or painted.

A miniature in an illuminated manuscript showing a group of 3 musicians playing their instruments

A miniature of musicians with a pipe and tabor, trumpet, harp and dulcimer, in the Henry VIII Psalter (London, c. 1540–1541): Royal MS 2 A XVI, f. 98v

As part of their work, the commissioners of the 1547 inventory also provided lists of the books and manuscripts that Henry housed in his palaces. Many of Henry’s books were transferred to the Old Royal Library after his death, and subsequently became part of the British Library’s collections when they were presented to the nation by King George II (1727–1760) in 1757. Excitingly, it is possible to identify several of the books mentioned in the inventory from the descriptions provided.

The crimson velvet binding of a manuscript, which belonged to Henry VIII

A manuscript with a crimson velvet binding, recorded in the 1547 inventory of Henry VIII’s moveable possessions: Royal MS 20 A IV

One item, for example, is recorded in the inventory as:

a description of the holy lande and a boke covered with vellat enbrawdred with the kings armes declaring the same, in a case of blacke leather with his graces Armes.

The text referred to here is in fact a French work entitled ‘Tresample description de toute la Terre Saincte’, written by a man who identifies himself as Martin de Brion of Paris. The manuscript is now housed in the British Library (as Royal MS 20 A IV), along with its beautiful crimson velvet binding, embroidered with the arms of England and France with fleur-de-lis, roses and crowns, and the letters H. H. on either side.

An illuminated page from a 16th-century manuscript, showing a dedicatory letter to Henry VIII, written in gold ink on a red background.

A dedicatory letter to Henry VIII, from a 16th-century manuscript once part of the king’s possessions: Royal MS 20 A IV, f. 2r

In addition to the description of the Holy Land, the book also includes a dedicatory letter and poem addressed to Henry, which begins:

Au tres illustre Prince Henry huyctiesme de ce nom Roy d’Angleterre et de France, seigneur d’Hybernie, & defenseur de lay foy, Martin de Brion Parisien donne salut immortel.

'To the most illustrious Prince Henry eighth of this name, King of England and France, lord of Ireland, and defender of the faith, Martin de Brion of Paris sends immortal greetings.'

A chemise binding for a 16th-century manuscript, made of burgundy velvet, with five painted enamel badges pinned its covers and a small tassel attached to its top left-hand corner.

The original chemise binding of a manuscript once belonging to Henry VIII: Harley MS 1498, upper cover

Another fascinating manuscript that was in Henry’s possession and still survives was originally made for his father, Henry VII (1485–1509). It is listed in the inventory as 'Item a booke of Kynge Henry the viith his foundacion of his chappell at Westminster'. The book was apparently stored in the little study next to the king’s old bedchamber in the palace there. The small volume (Harley MS 1498) has an original chemise binding, made of burgundy velvet and pinkish gold damask, with five painted enamel badges pinned to its upper and lower covers. A small tassel is affixed to the top left-hand corner, made from gold and burgundy thread.

A detail from a 16th-century manuscript, showing an enlarged decorated initial with a representation of Henry VII bestowing a manuscript a group of kneeling monks.

Henry VII bestows the manuscript to a group of kneeling monks from Westminster Abbey: Harley MS 1498, f. 1r (detail)

The manuscript preserves a series of four agreements (indentures) made on 16 July 1504 between Henry VII and the abbot and monks of Westminster Abbey, concerning the planned construction of the King’s new burial chapel. This copy seems to have originally belonged to the abbey, but probably became part of Henry VIII’s personal library after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The volume opens with an enlarged decorated initial, containing a representation of a crowned and enthroned Henry VII bestowing the manuscript to a group of monks kneeling before him. If you look closely, you can see that the book in Henry’s outstretched hand shows the same five enamel badges and the burgundy and gold tassel that remain part of the manuscript’s binding to this day.

A sketch of the Palace of Whitehall made in 1544

A sketch of the Palace of Whitehall in 1544 by the Flemish artist Anton van den Wyngaerde

For more insights into life at the Tudor court during the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII, we recommend this blogpost. You can read more about the libraries of King Henry VIII in James Carley, The Books of King Henry VIII and his Wives (London: The British Library, 2004). The inventory itself has been edited by David Starkey, The Inventory of Henry VIII. Society of Antiquaries MS 129 and British Library MS Harley 1419: The Transcript (London: Society of Antiquaries, 1998).

We hope you enjoy searching the inventory of Henry VIII’s moveable goods online, and that you can spot more treasures recorded in its pages.

 

Calum Cockburn

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19 October 2019

Drawing a blank: an attempt to save the life of Charles I?

Leafing through Harley MS 6988, it would be easy to flick past an unobtrusive empty page towards the end of the manuscript. Upon closer inspection, however, this ‘blank’ may be one of the central documents of the trial and execution of King Charles I in 1649.

Harley MS 6988 contains royal letters and warrants from between 1625 and 1655, chronicling the reign of King Charles I from his accession to his execution for treason, along with the development of the Civil War. Although one page towards the end of the manuscript is empty, this ‘blank’ is nevertheless as revealing as it is enigmatic.

On the right-hand side is the signature ‘Charles P’, while the left bears the Prince’s seal. In the hand of William Oldys (1696–1761), a previous owner of the document, is written: ‘Prince Charles his Carte Blanche to the Parliament to save his Father’s Head 1648’. A carte blanche is a blank paper on which a recipient can write their own conditions, essentially a pre-signed offer of full discretionary power.

A blank paper with Prince Charles’s signature and seal

The suspected carte blanche sent by the Prince: Harley MS 6988, f. 222r

Is this empty sheet a carte blanche sent by Prince Charles (the future King Charles II) to Parliament as a last-ditch offer in exchange for his father’s life?

The question has been discussed in an article by T.C. Skeat, who notes that several early historians thought it probable that the paper was genuine: according to an account in the 1663 book Flagellum: or the Life and Death, Birth and Burial of Oliver Cromwell, ‘a Blank with the Kings Signet, and another of the Princes’ was given to Colonel John Cromwell, ‘for [Oliver] Cromwell to write his own conditions in, if he would now preserve the life of the King’.

In 1766 the story was linked to the blank pages of Harley MS 6988, when William Harris wrote in his biography of Charles II that, ‘I know there is in the British Museum a blank paper, at the bottom of which, on the right hand, is written Charles P. and on the left, opposite thereunto, a seal is affixed’.

However, it is questionable whether Prince Charles would have made such an offer on the eve of his father’s execution. Letters from the King to his son had instructed against any concessions on religion. Earlier in Harley MS 6988, King Charles I wrote to the Prince, ‘I command you to do nothing, whether it concerns war or peace, but with the advice of your council, and that you be constant to those grounds of religion and honour, which heretofore I have given you’ (f. 208r).

A letter addressed to Prince Charles, signed by King Charles I

The King instructs his son to be constant in religion and honour: Harley MS 6988, f. 208r

On the other hand, as Skeat noted, the offer of a carte blanche was a familiar strategy during the period. Soon after the King’s execution, James, 1st Duke of Hamilton, was also sentenced to death for treason. His family protested, but Parliament refused to ‘hearken to the Earl of Denbigh, who proposed, on behalf of Duke Hamilton his brother-in-law, to give them a blank signed by the said Duke, to answer faithfully to such questions as should be there inserted’.

Royal figures are also found appending their signatures and seals to documents containing blank spaces to be filled in later, such as the 1601 licence in the Folger Shakespeare Library (MS X.d.70) signed by King James I, and the c. 1648 bond signed by Prince Charles now in the National Archives (SP 16/516 f. 225).

Although the empty page in Harley MS 6988 may have been ‘intentionally left blank’ by Prince Charles, it is not certain whether it was indeed a carte blanche intended to ‘save his Father’s Head’. Skeat concluded that the story was genuine, writing that ‘it seems almost perverse to refuse to accept the Carte Blanche as the very document with which the Prince of Wales sought to preserve his father’s life’. Despite uncertainties around its original purpose, the surviving leaf in Harley MS 6988 is a tantalising witness to a tempestuous historical moment, as well as a reminder of the potential of the blank page.

 

Amy Bowles

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13 April 2019

Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots exhibition project curator

We are pleased to offer a new, 18-month fixed-term curatorial position for an early career post-doctoral researcher, who will join the Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots exhibition project team. Working closely with the exhibition curators, project manager and other key internal and external stakeholders, the post-holder will contribute to the development and delivery of the exhibition, which is scheduled to open at the British Library in October 2020.

An opening from a 16th-century manuscript, with an illustration of the coat of arms of Mary Queen of Scots and Dauphiness of France, drawn in colours and gold.

Drawing of the coat of arms displayed by Mary, Queen of Scots, when Queen-dauphine of France: British Library, Cotton MS Caligula B X, f. 13r. 

The principal duties of the post-doctoral researcher will include:

  • applying their specialist skills to collaborate with the curators in the preparation for and delivery of the exhibition on Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots;
  • managing the administration of the curatorial content of the exhibition by maintaining digital databases and Excel spreadsheets relating to the object list and images;
  • and organising the exhibition advisory panel meetings.

Key aspects of the job will be to conduct background research on items selected for inclusion in the exhibition; to write explanatory text for the exhibition, exhibition catalogue and online exhibition resources; and to prepare external visits and show & tells for the Library's Development Office and International visitors. The ability to describe and present manuscripts from the Tudor period clearly and accurately in English is essential.

The successful candidate will have completed recently a doctoral degree in 16th-century British history or another directly relevant field, and have specialist knowledge and research experience of the history of the British Isles in the second half of the 16th century. They will have experience of working with manuscripts and a strong knowledge of early modern palaeography, with the ability to read 16th-century English handwriting fluently. Because the post-holder will be working both independently and as team, the successful candidate will possess a high level of time-management skills and the ability to liaise effectively with colleagues in the Western Heritage Collections and other Library departments.

The interview may include questions about the date and content of a manuscript to be shown at the interview.

For further information and to apply, please visit www.bl.uk/careers quoting vacancy ref: 02724.

Closing Date: 6 May 2019

Interview Date: 16 May 2019

 

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12 February 2019

Picture this: portraits of Anglo-Saxon rulers

Only five contemporary manuscript portraits of identifiable Anglo-Saxon rulers survive. Recent visitors to the British Library or to this Blog are probably already familiar with one of them. This is the illuminated miniature featuring King Edgar (959–975) which forms the frontispiece of the New Minster Charter (Cotton MS Vespasian A VIII), confirming the rights of the reformed church at Winchester. It is the 'frontispiece' of our sold-out exhibition Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War, adorning the posters as well as the entrance to the Library.

In this blogpost, we look at some of these Anglo-Saxon ruler portraits, alongside contemporary European examples.

Portrait of King Edgar with the Virgin Mary, St Peter, Christ in Majesty and angels in the New Minster Charter

King Edgar with the Virgin Mary, St Peter, Christ in Majesty and angels (New Minster, Winchester, c. 966): Cotton MS Vespasian A VIII, f. 2v

In the New Minster Charter, made in around 966, King Edgar, facing towards the heavens, presents a golden copy of the document to Christ. The Virgin Mary and St Peter look on approvingly. The fact that he is surrounded by saints and handing the charter straight to Christ reminds the viewer of his status as a pious, Christian king, ruling with divine blessing. These themes were all central to the idealised representations of the royal office in the early medieval Christian West.

Depicting the king holding a politically important document, in the shape of a book, is more remarkable in the context of early medieval ruler portraits. This emphasised Edgar as a learned king, to whom the written word was significant, but also visually confirmed his politically motivated patronage of the New Minster. It exemplified the key motifs of the specifically Anglo-Saxon image of kingship and queenship, in which the ruler was shown to be actively involved with learning, patronage of the Church, and the production or use of texts and books. These motifs set the Anglo-Saxon ruler portraits apart from those of their early medieval contemporaries.

The Continental approach to portraying rulers makes this contrast clear. Throughout their mutual history the Anglo-Saxons and their neighbours across the Channel, the Carolingians, were in close contact. The most famous and influential ruler of the Carolingian dynasty (c. 714–877), whose empire covered most of western Continental Europe, was Charlemagne (768–814).

FIG 2 add_ms_37768_f004r
Portrait of Emperor Lothar I in the Lothar Psalter

Emperor Lothar I enthroned (the court of the Emperor Lothar, ?Aachen, c. 840–855): Add MS 37768, f. 4r

No contemporary illustrations of Charlemagne have survived, but there is a striking depiction of his oldest legitimate grandson, Lothar I (817–855), in the manuscript known as the Lothar Psalter (Add MS 37768).

Roman imperial portraits were the main source for early medieval ruler portraits. This link became even more important to the Carolingians when Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in 800. The resulting emphasis on imperial majestic splendour and military authority is clearly seen in Lothar’s portrait. His golden and jewel-encrusted crown is matched by an extravagant cloak of gold, covered in gems. The entire backdrop is a deep purple — the colour associated specifically with emperors since Antiquity because of the exceedingly high value of the pigment. In his hands he holds a long sceptre, recalling the sceptrum Augusti (sceptre of imperial majesty) of the Roman emperors, and the hilt of a sword, drawing visual comparisons to the military status of the imperial role.

The Anglo-Saxon ruler portrait closest in time to that of Lothar is also the earliest surviving. In a manuscript containing Bede's Lives of St Cuthbert, King Æthelstan is depicted presenting the book itself to St Cuthbert (d. 687). Cuthbert was a monk and bishop of Lindisfarne, whose cult became increasingly popular across northern England. The image commemorates Æthelstan’s gift of the manuscript to St Cuthbert’s community, while also associating the king with the patronage of a politically significant religious centre, and the production of a book containing works by an eminent Anglo-Saxon author.

Portrait of King Æthelstan presenting St Cuthbert with the book in the Durham Life of Cuthbert

King Æthelstan presenting St Cuthbert with the book (South England, c. 934–939): Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 183, f. 1v

Despite Æthelstan’s many diplomatic connections with Continental rulers (not least exemplified by his gifts of books), the Continental focus on the extravagant stateliness and military might of the monarch has not influenced this portrait. He humbly bows his head to the saint; only his crown betrays his grand status.

The surviving Anglo-Saxon ruler portraits also stand apart when it comes to the depiction of queens. Hardly any portraits of Carolingian queens survive, but during the Ottonian dynasty (c. 919–1024) double-ruler portraits of the queens alongside their husbands or sons became popular.

Christ in Majesty crowning Henry II and his wife Kunigunde in the Evangelistary of Henry II

Christ in Majesty crowning Henry II and his wife Kunigunde, with St Peter on the left and St Paul on the right. Below is the female personification of Rome, with female personifications of Gallia and Germania on either side (Reichenau, c. 1007–1012): Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4452, f. 2r

For instance, the Evangelistary of Henry II (Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4452) contains an extravagant image of the future coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry II (1014–1024), and his wife, Empress Kunigunde of Luxembourg (d. 1040). Christ crowns both Henry and Kunigunde, while St Peter supports Henry on the left, and St Paul supports Kunigunde on the right. Kunigunde is depicted as equal in size to her husband, but it is Henry who stands on the right of Christ, symbolically the place of honour.

In the lower register stands the female personification of Rome, holding a sceptre. Beside her are female personifications of the territories of Gallia and Germania (the primary territories of the king and queen, respectively). Undoubtedly, this represents the joining together of Henry and Kunigunde’s territories into one Holy Roman Empire, underlining the political importance of their union.

Queen Emma, one of the most important political figures in 11th-century England, is depicted in two of the five surviving Anglo-Saxon portraits. In one, the New Minster Liber Vitae, she is depicted next to her second husband, King Cnut, in a manner similar to the double-coronation portrait of Henry and Kunigunde. But in a slightly later manuscript (Add MS 33241) there is a decidedly different portrait of her.

A portrait of Queen Emma enthroned, with two of her sons in the background, receiving a copy of the Encomium Emmae reginae

Queen Emma enthroned, with two of her sons in the background, receiving the Encomium Emmae reginae (northern France or England, mid-11th century): Add MS 33241, f. 1v

Emma alone is enthroned and centrally placed in this image, whereas her two sons (both of whom became king) peer slightly awkwardly from behind a pillar. Moreover, she is shown receiving a copy of the manuscript, which contains the Encomium Emmae reginae ('In Praise of Queen Emma'). This is a highly political work, commissioned to portray Emma's past actions in a more favourable light, while smoothing over the current, turbulent political situation. It is entirely appropriate for her to be portrayed as the central character and as a queen in her own right and with her own independent agency.

You can read more about some of the manuscripts featured in this blogpost on the British Library's Anglo-Saxons webspace. Due to incredible demand, all tickets to the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition have now been sold.

 

                                                                                     Emilia Henderson

Follow us on Twitter @BLMedieval

 

29 January 2019

Queen Emma: wife of two kings, mother of two more

Emma of Normandy was one of the most significant figures in the turbulent politics of 11th-century England. She was queen to two kings of the English (Æthelred the Unready and Cnut), and mother to two more (Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor) as well as being an influential figure in her own right. We know more about her than other women in Anglo-Saxon England thanks to a variety of charters, illuminated manuscripts and a biography written during Emma's own lifetime.

Detail of Emma from the New Minster Liber Vitae
Detail of Emma from the New Minster Liber Vitae (Winchester, c. 1031): Stowe MS 944, f. 6r

Emma was born in Normandy in the early 980s. Her brother, Richard II, duke of Normandy (d. 1026), sent her to marry the English king, Æthelred the Unready, following a dispute regarding Viking forces that were attacking England and Normandy. When in England, Emma was sometimes known by the English name Ælfgifu. With Æthelred, she had at least three children: Edward the Confessor (who ruled England from 1042 to 1066); Alfred; and Godgifu.

When King Æthelred died in 1016, he was succeeded by Cnut, bringing England into an empire that stretched to Denmark, Norway and into the Baltic. Emma married King Cnut sometime in 1017, and they had at least two children: a son, Harthacnut; and a daughter, Gunnhild. The children from her first marriage (Edward, Alfred and Godgifu) went into exile in mainland Europe.

Charter of Queen Emma
Emma persuades Cnut to give land to Archbishop Lyfing (Canterbury, 1018): Stowe Ch 38

Emma seems to have been a crucial figure in Cnut’s government, with surviving documents showing her advising the king. A charter on display in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition (at the British Library until 19 February) emphasises that Cnut gave land to the archbishop of Canterbury at Emma’s request. In the early days of Cnut’s reign, Emma may have helped him establish alliances with important English institutions, such as the church at Canterbury.

It is quite fitting that the only surviving manuscript portrait of Cnut also features Emma at his side. This portrait can be found in the Book of Life of the New Minster, Winchester. The couple are shown standing on either side of the altar at that monastery, where they were remembered as major benefactors.

Miniature of Emma and Cnut from the New Minster Liber Vitae

Emma and Cnut from the New Minster Liber Vitae: Stowe MS 944, f. 6r

After Cnut’s death in 1035, Harald Harefoot, his son by a previous wife, succeeded to the English throne. In 1036, Emma’s sons from her first marriage, Edward and Alfred, invaded England to challenge Harald, believing that they had their mother's support. Their coup was unsuccessful, and although Edward escaped, Alfred was captured, blinded and killed. Edward never seems to have completely forgiven his mother for what he perceived as her role in Alfred’s death.

When Harald Harefoot died in 1040, Harthacnut, Emma’s son by Cnut, became king of England. However, in 1041, Harthacnut’s half-brother, Edward, became joint ruler of England, perhaps facilitated by Emma.  

Miniature of Emma being presented with the book in the Encomium Emmae reginae
Opening miniature from the Encomium Emmae reginae: Add MS 33241, f. 1v

Around this time was written the text known as Encomium Emmae reginae (In Praise of Queen Emma’). This is the earliest surviving account dedicated to a female political figure from England (excluding saints’ Lives). This work was probably composed for Emma by a monk of Saint-Bertin, in Flanders, who appears to have re-framed history to justify Emma’s actions. Emma’s first husband, Æthelred, is not mentioned in this work, with Cnut being portrayed as the rightful ruler of England.

Emma may have used the Encomium to shape both the present and the future. The earliest surviving manuscript (Add MS 33241) ends with an account of Edward and Harthacnut ruling jointly: ‘here the bond of motherly love and brotherly love is of strength indestructible’. In 1042, Harthacnut died and Edward the Confessor became the sole king of England. At this stage, the author re-wrote the final part of the text. 

A text page from the ending of the earliest surviving copy of the Encomium Emmae reginae
Ending of the earliest surviving copy of the Encomium Emmae reginae: Add MS 33241, f. 67r

In 2008, a later medieval copy of the Encomium emerged at auction. This copy is now held at the Kongelige Bibliotek in Copenhagen. The ending in this manuscript praised King Edward, and suggests that it was written when Edward had become sole king after Harthacnut’s death in 1042. Although Edward’s father, Æthelred the Unready, was not mentioned at all in the earlier version of the text, Edward and his lineage were praised in the new ending.

Edward’s relationship with his mother did not necessarily improve. At the beginning of his reign, Edward deprived Emma of much of her wealth and banished her for a period from his court. She died in 1052 and was buried at Winchester.

Emma’s political influence had far-reaching consequences. She both stabilised Cnut's Anglo-Danish dynasty and provided the man who supplanted it, Edward the Confessor. Later chroniclers even suggested that Emma’s marriage to King Æthelred the Unready led to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, since it gave her great-nephew, William of Normandy, a claim to the English throne.

You can view several of the manuscripts connected with Queen Emma, including the New Minster Liber Vitae and the oldest version of the Encomium Emmae reginae, in the British Library's once-in-a-generation exhibition, Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War. It's on in London until 19 February 2019, and we strongly advise (due to high demand) that you buy your tickets in advance.

 

Alison Hudson 

Follow us on Twitter @BLMedieval

26 October 2018

Who was the greatest?

Alfred, king of the West Saxons and Anglo-Saxons, is the only English monarch to be traditionally known as the ‘Great’. He was renowned for defeating the Vikings and for overseeing one of the first great periods of English literature, but he did not govern all of the region that we now know as England. Instead, his grandson, Æthelstan, was the first king to control the area that covers what we know as England. Æthelstan was more militarily successful than Alfred, and he had equally glowing cultural credentials. Both kings feature prominently in the British Library’s Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition (on until 19 February, 2019), which leads us to ask: who was greater, ‘the Great’ or the grandson?

A detail from Matthew Paris' Abbreviated Chronicles of England, showing an illustration of the Anglo-Saxon kings Alfred and Athelstan.
Alfred and Æthelstan, as depicted by Matthew Paris in his Abbreviated Chronicles of England, St Albans, c. 1255–1259: Cotton MS Claudius D VI, f. 7v

The case for Alfred hinges on his resilience and also the intellectual activity at his court. He was, perhaps, an unexpected king, being the youngest of the six children of King Æthelwulf of Wessex. The start of Alfred’s reign was not auspicious. He became king during a period of fierce fighting with Viking forces and was forced to retreat into a swamp (contrary to popular myth, he probably didn’t burn any cakes in the process). Nevertheless, Alfred persevered and he eventually established a peace treaty with the viking leader Guthrum, who became his godson. A copy of this treaty is on display in the exhibition.)

Alfred’s endurance was personal as well as military. According to members of his court, Alfred had mysterious illnesses which became acute during communal events, including his own wedding. Alfred corresponded with distant figures including the patriarch of Jerusalem, seeking medical remedies that would ease his suffering.

A detail from Bald's Leechbook, showing a text in Old English.
'All this Lord Elias, the patriarch of Jerusalem, ordered to be said to King Alfred', from Bald’s Leechbook: Royal MS 12 D XVII, f. 106r

Alfred owes much of his later reputation to the literary output of his court in the later decades of his reign. His reign saw a flourishing of Old English literature, from the compiling of the earliest manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the translation and adaptation of classical Latin texts into Old English. Some of these translations were even credited to Alfred personally, although the extent of his involvement is debated. Alfred encouraged other people to learn, by sending some of these Old English translations round his kingdom. In the exhibition you can see the copy of the Old English adaptation of the Pastoral Care — Pope Gregory the Great’s tract on leadership — that Alfred sent to the bishop of Worcester.

The opening page of an Early Modern manuscript of Asser's Life of Alfred.
Opening page of Asser’s Life of AlfredCotton MS Otho A XII/1, f. 1r

Crucially for Alfred’s later reputation, a biography about him survives. The Vita Alfredi (Life of Alfred) was written by Asser, a Welsh clergyman at Alfred’s court who became bishop of Sherborne. No other biography survives for an Anglo-Saxon king. Asser presented Alfred as perfect in every way. Asser’s Alfred was an heroic warrior, a learned man who invented everything from new types of ships to a candle clock, and a generous friend. His children were amiable and intelligent. Even Alfred’s illness was presented as a gift from God. Asser provided an unusually intimate portrait of the king, although his account was designed to promote Alfred's wider interests.

A page from a manuscript of Bede's Lives of St Cuthbert, showing a portrait of the Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan presenting a book to St Cuthbert.
Portrait of King Æthelstan presenting a book to St Cuthbert, by permission of the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge: Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 183, f. 1v

But was Alfred really the greatest king? What about his grandson Æthelstan, the first king of England? Æthelstan was the first southern king to exercise real control over the East Midlands, East Anglia and the North. He claimed control of Northumbria in 927, after the death of his brother-in-law Sihtric, the Scandinavian ruler of York. Æthelstan gained important northern allies, such as the powerful community of St Cuthbert. It was around this time that coins and charters gave him the title ‘king of the English’ (‘rex Anglorum’). But Æthelstan’s ambitions did not end there: his documents show him styling himself ‘king of all Britain’ and ‘emperor’.  In 937, Æthelstan and his brother Edmund defeated a combined force of the kings of Dublin, Scots, Strathclyde and others at a place called Brunanburh.

Æthelstan’s victory was celebrated in a dramatic Old English poem copied into the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:

‘King Æthelstan, lord of nobles, dispenser of treasure to men, and his brother also, Edmund atheling, won by the sword’s edge undying glory in battle ’round Brunanburh. [They] clove the shield-wall, hewed the linden-wood shields with hammered swords … the people of the Scots and the pirates fell doomed. The field grew dark with the blood of men … Never yet in this island before this, by what books tell us and our ancient sages, was a greater was a greater slaughter of a host made by the edge of the sword, since the Angles and Saxons came hither form the east, invading Britain over the broad seas, and the proud assailants, warriors eager for glory, overcame the Britons and won a country.’ (translated by D. Whitelock and others, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Revised Translation, London, 1961), pp. 69–70.)

A page from a manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, showing the ending of the Old English poem The Battle of Brunanburh.
End of the Brunanburh poem from Anglo-Saxon Chronicle MS B: Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, f. 32r

Æthelstan was also involved in European politics. At least four of his half-sisters married into noble continental families, while the rulers of Brittany, Norway and Francia sent their sons to be fostered at Æthelstan’s court. Æthelstan also helped his nephew Louis try to claim to the throne of West Francia, and even sent ships to help him attack the Flemish coast. 

As was the case with Alfred, Æthelstan’s court was an intellectual hub that attracted scholars from Ireland, Italy, the Frankish realms and beyond. Æthelstan himself was a noted bibliophile: four of the books he owned are on display in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition. Even the charters produced during Æthelstan’s reign can be read as learned works of literature as much as legal documents.

A page from the Athelstan Gospels, showing the opening of the Gospel of St Mark, with a large decorated initial, and the signature of Sir Robert Cotton in the lower margin.
Opening lines of St Mark’s Gospel, from a gospel-book apparently given by the future emperor Otto I to King Æthelstan: Cotton MS Tiberius A II, f. 75r

Æthelstan was also generous. We have proof of this in the form of inscriptions that note the books and treasure he gave to churches, some of which still survive.

In addition to being a successful warrior, a bookworm and the first king of England, Æthelstan has the distinction of being the first Anglo-Saxon king for whom a contemporary, painted portrait exists. A manuscript on loan from Corpus Christi College Cambridge depicts Æthelstan presenting a book to St Cuthbert. The book itself seems to have been intended as a gift from Æthelstan to St Cuthbert’s community, to ensure their continued support of the first king of England.

So who was the greatest, Alfred or Æthelstan? Come to the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition (on at the British Library until 19 February 2019) and decide for yourself.

 

Alison Hudson

Follow us on Twitter @BLMedieval

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