In the next scene on the cup

In the next scene on the cup, Agnes stands outside the sentry box-like brothel, looking down at the Prefect's son who has been strangled to death by the devil crouched over him; a banderole reads Quo modo cecidisti qui mane oriebaris ("How has thou fallen that risest in the morning", Isaiah 14:12), and the Prefect looks on sadly.^[73] SONY VGP-BPS9A/S battery In the following scene Agnes has been moved by the Prefect's grief, and prayed for the son to be restored to life, which an angel has done. The repentant Procopius kneels before her, while she leans down to tell him Vade amplius noli peccare ("Go forth and sin no more"; from John 8:11). However the result of the miracle was that (in William Caxton's translation) "SONY VGP-BPL9 battery the bishops of the idols made a great discord among the people, so that all they cried: Take away this sorceress and witch that turned men's minds and alieneth their wits". The Prefect is now sympathetic to Agnes but fears he will lose his position if he does nothing, so leaves the matter in the hands of another official; the two are seen talking together, SONY VGP-BPS10 battery with words from Luke 23:4 Nihil invenio cause in eam ("I find no cause against her") above. The last scene shows her martyrdom; she was sentenced to be burned but the flames part away from her so that finally the magistrate orders her killed by a spear.^[74]Her last words, from Luke 23:46, are In manus tuas domine commendo animam meam ("Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit").SONY VGP-BPL10 battery The scenes continue on the underside of the bowl, starting with Agnes' burial. A pall is being laid over her sarcophagus, whose red enamel has significant losses, which reveal clearly the engraved lines beneath. A tonsured priest with an aspergil for sprinkling holy water and an acolyte with a cross attend, with Emerentiana with halo to the left, and Agnes' mother to the right. SONY VGP-BPS11 battery The banderole above says Ecce quod concupivi iam teneo ("Behold what I have desired I now possess"). In the next scene pagans have arrived to disrupt the burial, and only Emerentiana has stayed, kneeling in prayer as she is pelted with rocks. The inscription reads Veni soror mea mecum in gloria ("Come with me my sister into glory"). SONY VGP-BPL11 battery She dies, and the following scene shows the two martyrs, accompanied by two other unnamed female martyrs (in the source "a great multitude of virgins clad in vestments of gold and silver"),^[75] as they appear in a vision to Agnes' friends eight days after her death, as they gather round her sarcophagus, into which Emerentiana's body has also been placed. SONY VGP-BPL12 battery The next scene shows the sarcophagus with Constantina, the daughter of the Emperor Constantine, asleep on top of it, wearing a crown.^[76] She has been afflicted with leprosy, and heard of the vision at Agnes' tomb, and come to pray there. The presence at left of a young man on crutches, not in the source, suggests that others are doing the same. SONY VGP-BPS12 battery The sleeping woman beside the tomb is either another such, or an attendant on the princess. As Constantina sleeps, Agnes, holding her lamb, appears to her, saying Si in xpm (Christum) credideris sanaberis ("If you believe in Christ you will be healed", an adaptation of the text in the source).^[77] In the final scene, the cured, and baptized, SONY VGP-BPS13 battery Constantina tells her crowned father the story, with the inscription Hec est virgo sapiens una de numero prudencium ("This is a wise virgin, one of the number of the prudent").^[73] The inside of the cover has a circular enamel medallion with worked gold borders, showing a half-length Christ making a blessing gesture and holding a chalicewith a host inside. SONY VGP-BPS13Q battery Around him is a sun-like aureole in red. Below the two added cylinders on the stem, the four traditional symbols of the Evangelists run round the sloping foot of the cup, in pairs facing each other, above a green ground area. Lightbown notes this as "another sign of care for naturalistic effect". Each of the cover, main body, and foot of the cup is made of an inner and outer plate, and the enamelled medallions inside the cover and bowl were made separately before attachment. SONY VGP-BPS13/Q battery The enamel areas may have been designed by the goldsmith, or an artist more used to painting on panels or in manuscripts may have produced drawings. A number of names of goldsmiths appear in records of the period, but in contrast to many contemporary manuscripts, the few surviving goldsmith's pieces are not signed or marked and cannot be matched to any names. SONY VGP-BPS13A/Q battery Not a single maker's name is recorded for the more than 3,000 items in precious metal in the inventory mentioned above of the possessions of Berry's brother Anjou.^[78] High quality courtly work like the cup is conventionally assigned to Paris in the absence of other stylistic evidence; this is where other documentary sources locate the main concentration of goldsmiths.^[79] SONY VGP-BPS13B/Q battery The process for creating the basse-taille enamel areas began by marking the outline of the design and the main internal outlines on the gold with a tool called a "tracer". Then the interior area was worked with chasing tools, hammering and punching rather than cutting, to form a shallow recess to hold the enamel. SONY VGP-BPS13/B battery The more important parts of the design were modelled by varying the depth of the surface to produce different intensities of colour when the translucent enamel was added; the gold under folds of drapery often rises near the surface to create a paler highlight. In many of the recessed areas decoration was added by either engraving or punching which would show through the translucent enamel, SONY VGP-BPS13A/B battery or to facet the background so the reflections change as the viewing angle changes slightly. In these last-mentioned areas cutting tools were used. Most of the background outside the enamelled areas was decorated in the same way. After the enamel was added and fired the surfaces were cleaned up, made good and polished, including removing by scraping any bumps showing through on the reverse of the metal.^[80] SONY VGP-BPS13B/B battery The enamel lies flush with the gold surfaces; it was a preparation of finely ground glass paste applied with great care to the prepared recessed areas, and then fired. Different colours of enamel meet each other with a neat boundary, which was achieved by firing one colour with a retaining border of gum tragacanth before adding the next. SONY VGP-BPS13A/S battery The difficulty was increased by the application of tints of a different colour to a base shade of enamel before firing, so that the added colour blends gradually into the background colour around the edges of the tinted area. This is especially used on "flux", or colourless enamel, as in the ground areas, rocks and trees. SONY VGP-BPS13/S battery Flux was also used for flesh areas as on a gold background it darkens slightly when fired to a suitable colour for skin. The rouge clair or "ruby glass" red, used so effectively here, was made by adding tiny particles of copper, silver and gold to the glass; here scientific tests have shown that copper was used. After firing the enamel was polished flush with the surrounding metal. SONY VGP-BPS21A/B battery The technique had been known to the Ancient Romans (see the Lycurgus Cup, also in the British Museum), but was lost at the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century. The added cylinders use opaque enamel,^[81] except for the red on the Tudor roses, which is translucent rouge clair, of a similar composition to the original reds.^[82] SONY VGP-BPS21B battery Translucent enamel is more fragile than opaque, and medieval survivals in good condition are very rare. Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), called the Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé) and the Mad (French: le Fol or le Fou), was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1380 to his death. SONY VGP-BPS21 battery Charles VI was only 11 when he inherited the throne in the midst of the Hundred Years' War. The government was entrusted to his four uncles: Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy; John, Duke of Berry; Louis I, Duke of Anjou; and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. Although the royal age of majority was fixed at 14 (the "age of accountability" under Roman Catholic canon law), the dukes maintained their grip on Charles until he took power at the age of 21. SONY VGP-BPS21/S battery During the rule of his uncles, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by his father Charles V, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposing. As royal funds drained, new taxes had to be raised, which caused several revolts. SONY VGP-BPS13AS battery In 1388 Charles VI dismissed his uncles and brought back to power his father's former advisers, who were known as theMarmousets. Political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly as a result, and Charles earned the epithet "the Beloved". But in August 1392 en route to Brittany with his army in the forest of Le Mans, Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother, Louis of Orléans.^[1] SONY VGP-BPS13S battery From then on, Charles' bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. During these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and children.^[1] He could also attack servants or ran until exhaustion, wailing that he was threatened by his enemies. Between crises, there were intervals of months during which Charles was relatively sane.^[1] SONY VGP-BPS13B/S battery However, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him by the princes of the blood, which would cause much chaos and conflict in France. A fierce struggle for power developed between Louis of Orléans, the king's brother, and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, the son of Philip the Bold. SONY VGP-BPS13B/G battery When John instigated the murder of Louis in November 1407, the conflict degenerated into a civil war between the Armagnacs (supporters of the House of Valois) and the Burgundians. John offered large parts of France to king Henry V of England, who was still at war with the Valois monarchy, in exchange for his support. SONY VGP-BPS14 battery After the assassination of John the Fearless, his son Philip the Good led Charles the Mad to sign the infamous Treaty of Troyes(1420), which recognized Henry V as his legitimate successor on the throne of France and disinherited his own offspring. When Charles VI died, he was succeeded by his son Charles VII, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation. SONY VGP-BPL14 battery He was born in Paris, the son of King Charles V and Joan of Bourbon. In 1380, at the age of eleven, he was crowned King of France at Reims Cathedral. He married Isabeau of Bavaria in 1385. Until he took complete charge as king in 1388, France was ruled primarily by his uncle, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. SONY VGP-BPS14/B battery During that time, the power of the royal administration was strengthened and the authority to tax was re-established. The latter policy represented a reversal of the deathbed decision of the king's father Charles V to repeal taxes in response to a tax revolt known as theHarelle. Increased tax revenues were needed to support the self-serving policies of the king's uncles, whose interests were frequently in conflict with those of the crown and with each other. SONY VGP-BPS14/S battery The Battle of Roosebeke (1382), for example, brilliantly won by the royal troops, was prosecuted solely for the benefit of Philip of Burgundy. The treasury surplus carefully accumulated by Charles V was quickly squandered. The dismissal of the king's uncles from the royal administration in 1388 and the restoration to power of the highly-competent advisors of Charles V (known as the Marmousets) SONY VGP-BPS14B battery ushered in a new period of high esteem for the crown that resulted in Charles VI being widely referred to as Charles the Belovedby his subjects. The early successes of the sole rule of Charles VI quickly dissipated as a result of the bouts of psychosis he experienced beginning in his mid-twenties. OnceCharles the Beloved, he became known as Charles the Mad in his later reign. SONY VGP-BPS22 battery Charles's first known episode occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor, Olivier de Clisson, was the victim of an attempted murder. Although Clisson survived, Charles was determined to punish the would-be assassin, Pierre de Craon, who had taken refuge in Brittany. Contemporaries said Charles appeared to be in a "fever" to begin the campaign and appeared disconnected in his speech. Charles set off with an army on 1 July 1392. SONY VGP-BPS22 battery The progress of the army was slow, which nearly drove Charles into a frenzy of impatience. As the king and his escort were travelling through a forest on a hot August morning, a barefoot leper dressed in rags rushed up to the King's horse and grabbed his bridle. "Ride no further, noble King!" he yelled. SONY VGP-BPS18 battery "Turn back! You are betrayed!" The king's escorts beat the man back, but did not arrest him, and he followed the procession for half an hour, repeating his cries. The company emerged from the forest at noon. A page who was drowsy from the sun dropped the king's lance, which clanged loudly against a steel helmet carried by another page. SONY VGP-BPS22/A battery Charles shuddered, drew his sword and yelled "Forward against the traitors! They wish to deliver me to the enemy!" The king spurred his horse and began swinging his sword at his companions, fighting until one of his chamberlains and a group of soldiers were able to grab him from his mount and lay him on the ground. He lay still and did not react, but fell into a coma. SONY VGP-BPS22A battery The king had killed a knight called "The Bastard of Polignac" and several other men, the number of which varies among contemporary chronicles. The king continued to suffer from periods of mental illness throughout his life. During one attack in 1393, Charles could not remember his name and did not know he was king. SONY Vaio VGC-LB15 battery When his wife came to visit, he asked his servants who she was and ordered them to take care of what she required so that she would leave him alone.^[2] During an episode in 1395–96 he claimed he was Saint Georgeand that his coat of arms was a lion with a sword thrust through it.^[3] At this time, he recognized all the officers of his household, but did not know his wife or children. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/B battery Sometimes he ran wildly through the corridors of his Parisian residence, the Hôtel Saint-Pol, and to keep him inside, the entrances were walled up. In 1405, he refused to bathe or change his clothes for five months.^[4] His later psychotic episodes were not described in detail, perhaps because of the similarity of his behavior and delusions. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/P battery Pope Pius II, who was born in the middle of the reign of Charles VI, wrote in his Commentaries that there were times when Charles thought that he was made of glass, and this caused him to protect himself in various ways so that he would not break.^[5] This condition has come to be known as glass delusion. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/W battery On 29 January 1393, a party was held to celebrate the wedding of one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting at the Hôtel Saint-Pol known as the Bal des Ardents (the "Ball of the Burning Men"). At the suggestion of Huguet de Guisay, the king and four other lords^[6] dressed up as wild men and danced about. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50DB/W battery They were dressed "in costumes of linen cloth sewn onto their bodies and soaked in resinous wax or pitch to hold a covering of frazzled hemp, so that they appeared shaggy & hairy from head to foot".^[7] At the suggestion of one Yvain de Foix, the king commanded that the torch-bearers were to stand at the side of the room. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ51B/P battery Nonetheless, the king's brother Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans, who had arrived late, approached with a lighted torch in order to discover the identity of the masqueraders, and he set one of them on fire. There was panic as the fire spread. The Duchess of Berry threw the train of her gown over the king.^[8] Several knights who tried to put out the flames were severely burned. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ51B/R battery Four of the wild men perished: Charles de Poiters, son of the Count of Valentinois; Huguet de Guisay; Yvain de Foix; and the Count of Joigny. Another - Jean, son of the Lord of Nantouillet - saved himself by jumping into a dishwater tub.^[9] With the king mad, his uncles Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and John, Duke of Berry, took control of the royal government and dismissed the various advisers and officials Charles had appointed. SONY Vaio VGC-BJ51B/W battery Another contender for power was the king's brother Louis, Duke of Orléans. This was to be the start of a series of major feuds among the princes of royal blood that would cause chaos and conflict in France even beyond Charles' reign. The first major feud was between Philip the Bold and the Duke of Orléans, both of whom tried to fill the power vacuum left by the king's condition. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ51DB/B battery Philip's death in April 1404 did not bring an end to Louis' problems. John the Fearless, the new Duke of Burgundy took over the political aims of his father, and the feud escalated. In 1407, the Duke of Orléans was murdered in the streets of Paris. John did not deny responsibility, claiming that Louis was a tyrant who squandered money. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/N battery Louis' son Charles, the new Duke of Orléans, turned to his father-in-law Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, for support against John the Fearless. This resulted in the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War. Charles VI's secretary Pierre Salmon spent much time in discussions with the king while he was suffering from his intermittent psychosis. SONY PCG-8Z2M battery In an effort to find a cure for the king's illness, stabilize the turbulent political situation, and secure his own future, Salmon supervised the production of two distinct versions of the beautifully illuminated guidebooks to good kingship known as Pierre Salmon's Dialogues. Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing conflict with the English known as the Hundred Years' War. SONY PCG-8Z1M battery An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when Charles' daughter, the almost seven-year-old Isabella of Valois, married the 29-year-old Richard II of England. By 1415, however, the feud between the French royal family and the house of Burgundy led to chaos and anarchy throughout France thatHenry V of England was eager to take advantage of. SONY PCG-8Y3M battery Henry led an invasion that culminated in the defeat of the French army at theBattle of Agincourt in October. With the English taking over the country, John the Fearless sought to end the feud with the royal family by negotiating with Charles, the Dauphin of France, the king's heir. They met at the bridge at Montereau on 10 September 1419, but during the meeting, SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/P battery John was killed by Tanneguy du Châtel, a follower of the Dauphin. John's successor, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, threw in his lot with the English. In 1420, King Charles signed the Treaty of Troyes, which recognized Henry of England as his successor, disinherited his son, theDauphin Charles, claiming he was illegitimate, and betrothed his daughter Catherine of Valois to Henry (see English Kings of France). SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/W battery Many historians have misinterpreted this treaty and the disinheriting of the Dauphin Charles. The Dauphin sealed his fate, in the eyes of the king, by committing treason: he declared himself regent, usurped royal authority, and refused to obey the king's order to return to Paris.^[10] SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52DB/B battery It is important to remember that when the Treaty of Troyes was finalized in May 1420, the Dauphin Charles was only 17 years' old. He was then a weak figure who was easily manipulated by his advisors. Charles VI died in 1422 in Paris and is interred with his wife Isabeau of Bavaria in Saint Denis Basilica. Both their grandson, the one-year-old Henry VI of England, and their son, SONY Vaio VGC-LJ53B/W battery Charles VII, were proclaimed King of France, but it was the latter who became the actual ruler with the support of Joan of Arc. Charles VI appears to have passed on his mental illness to his grandson Henry VI of England, whose inability to govern led England to a civil strife of its own known as the Wars of the Roses. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ54B/W battery John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG (20 June 1389 – 14 September 1435) was the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI. After his father's accession to the throne of England as Henry IV, John of Lancaster began to accumulate lands and lucrative offices. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ90HS battery He was knighted on 12 October 1399 at his father's coronation and made a Knight of the Garter by 1402. Between 1403 and 1405 grants of the forfeited lands from the House of Percy and of the alien priory of Ogbourne,Wiltshire, considerably increased his income. He was appointed master of the mews and falcons in 1402, SONY Vaio VGC-LJ90S battery Constable of England in 1403 and Warden of the East March from 1403 to 1414. He was created Earl of Kendal, Earl of Richmond and Duke of Bedford in 1414 by his brother, King Henry V. When Henry V died in 1422, Bedford vied with his younger brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, for control of the Kingdom. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ91HS battery Bedford was declared Regent but focused on the ongoing war in France, while during his absence, Gloucester acted as Lord Protector of England. Bedford defeated the French several times, most notably at the Battle of Verneuil, until the arrival of Joan of Arc rallied the opposition. In 1431, Bedford had Joan tried and executed at Rouen, then arranged a coronation for the young Henry VI at Paris. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ91S battery Bedford had been Governor in Normandy between 1422–1432^[1][2] where the University of Caen was founded under his auspices. He was an extremely important commissioner of illuminated manuscripts, both from Paris (from the Bedford Masterand his workshop) and England. The three most important surviving manuscripts of his are the Bedford Hours (British Library Ms Add 18850) SONY Vaio VGC-LJ92HS battery and the Salisbury Breviary (Paris BnF Ms Lat. 17294), which were both made in Paris, and theBedford Psalter and Hours of about 1420-23, which is English (BL Ms Add 42131). This last is signed in two places byHerman Scheere. All are lavishly decorated and famous examples of the style of the period. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ92S battery John's first marriage was to Anne, daughter of John the Fearless on 14 June 1423, at Troyes. The couple were happily married, despite being childless. Anne died of the plague in Paris in 1432.^[3] John's second marriage was to Jacquetta of Luxembourg.^[4] In addition, out of wedlock he had a daughter named Mary Plantagenet, SONY Vaio VGC-LJ94HS battery who married Pierre de Montferrand (d. 1454), son of the lord of Langoiran, Soudan de la Trau, and had issue; and a son, Richard. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ94S battery As a son of the sovereign, John bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label of five points per pale ermine and France.^[6] In the Bedford Book of Hours ^[7] these arms are shown supported by an eagle collared with a crown and a sable yale all on a gold field sewn with gold uprooted tree-stumps. SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E/W battery It is possible that the yale was painted in silver which has tarnished black. The shield is surrounded with a pair of banners gules which reverse in argent with the motto repeated four times: A vous entier (To you / yours entire[ly]). This may be a pun on the German Tier, i.e., beast, or on (English) tears —or 'tiers' of meaning, including tierce, SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E/R battery referring to himself as third in line to his father's throne and by now rightful king but for the baby Henry VI. The Hours were supposedly produced as a courtship present from John to his wife, Anne, daughter of John the Fearless of Burgundy. There is a Queen's Arms public house sign from Birmingham ^[8] which uses these supporters reversed SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E/P battery and with an argent yale uncollared on a shield showing the English royal arms at left and to the right six divisions representing Lorraine. John's second wife, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, cousin to the Emperor (the King of Hungary), was mother to Elizabeth Woodville who may be this queen. Elizabeth Woodville's right to inherit these armorial supporters would seem dubious if they belong to her mother's first husband or to his first wife. SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E/L battery Alternatively, though equally incorrect, the arms may be her mother's used in a flattering conceit. The Treaty of London, signed on 18 August O.S. (28 August N.S.) 1604,^[1][2][3] concluded the nineteen-year Anglo-Spanish War. The negotiations took place at Somerset House in London and are sometimes known as the Somerset House Conference. SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E battery After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, her successor James I, quickly sought to end the long and draining conflict. James was an idealistic practitioner of Christian peace and unity, and also the son and successor to Mary, Queen of Scots, whose execution had been a proximate cause of the conflict. SONY Vaio VGN-CR120 battery Philip III of Spain, who also had inherited the war from his predecessor, Philip II, and whose treasuries had also been drained, warmly welcomed the offer and ordered the commencement of the difficult negotiations that followed. The Anglo-Spanish War had been a complex and fluctuating conflict which also had connections with the Dutch Revolt, SONY Vaio VGN-CR11H/B battery the French Wars of Religion, and the Nine Years' War in Ireland. The treaty restored the status quo ante bellum.^[4][5] This amounted to an acknowledgement by Spain that its hopes of restoring Roman Catholicism in England were at an end. Spain was compelled to recognise the Protestant monarchy in England. SONY Vaio VGN-CR116E battery In return, England ended its financial and military support for the Dutch rebellion, ongoing since the Treaty of Nonsuch (1585).^[6] According to historian Kenneth R. Andrews, while the treaty secured the maritime lanes for the Spanish treasure fleet, English privateering had already devastated the Spanish private merchant marine.^[4] SONY Vaio VGN-CR116 battery Following the signing of the treaty, England and Spain remained at peace until 1625. The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, or Très Riches Heures, is possibly the best example of French Gothic manuscript illumination surviving to the present day. The Très Riches Heures is a book of prayers to be said atcanonical hours created for John, Duke of Berry, by the Limbourg brothers between 1412 and 1416. SONY Vaio VGN-CR115E battery Unfinished at the death of the three painters and their sponsor in 1416, the manuscript was further embellished by an anonymous painter in the 1440s, who many art historians believe to be Barthélemy d'Eyck. In 1485-1486, it was completed to its present state by the painter Jean Colombe between 1485 and 1489 on behalf of the Duke of Savoy. SONY Vaio VGN-CR115 battery Acquired by the Duc d'Aumale in 1856, it currently resides in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, France. A total of 206 vellum leaves 30 cm in height by 21.5 cm in width, the manuscript contains 66 large miniatures and 65 small. The design of the book, long and complex has undergone many changes and reversals. SONY Vaio VGN-CR110EW battery For its sets, miniatures, but also calligraphy, initials and decorations margins, it has been the work of many artists, but determining their precise number and identity remains a hypothesis. Performed largely by artists from the Netherlands, using pigments, these rarest paintings are strongly influenced by Italian art and antiquities. SONY Vaio VGN-CR110 battery After three centuries in obscurity, the Très Riches Heures quickly gained a great reputation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, despite having only rare public exposure. These miniatures helped to shape an ideal image of the Middle Ages in the collective imagination. Sony PCG-71213M battery This is particularly the case of images of the calendar, the most common, representing both rural scenes and aristocratic elements of remarkable medieval architecture. Sony PCG-61211M battery The inventory drawn up after Berry’s death indicated that “Pol” and his brothers had created the Très Riches Heures; many historians agree this must refer toPaul de Limbourg and his two brothers, Jean and Herman. The three artists had originally worked under the supervision of Berry’s brother, Philippe de Hardi, on the Bible Moralisée and had came to Berry after Hardi’s death. Sony PCG-71311M battery As of 1411, the Limbourgs were permanent members of Berry’s household (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). It is also suspected that another book of hours, the Belle Heures, completed between 1408 and 1409, can also be attributed to the brothers. It is suggested that the Limbourg contribution to the Très Riches Heures was completed between 1412 and 1416. Sony PCG-71212M battery Documentation from 1416 was found indicating that Jean, followed by Paul and Herman, had died. Jean de Berry died later that year (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). Folio 75 of the Très Riches Heures includes Duke Charles I of Savoy and his wife. The two were married in 1485 and the Duke died in 1489, implying that it was not one of the original folios. Sony PCG-71313M battery The second painter is Jean Colombe, who was paid 25 gold pieces by the Duke to complete certain canonical hours. There are other settle differences between the miniatures created by the Limbourgs and Colombe. Colombe chose to set large miniatures in frames of marble and gold columns. Sony VAIO PCG-31111M battery His faces are less delicate, with more pronounced features. He also used a very intense blue paint that is seen in the landscape of some miniatures. Colombe is noted as working in his own unique style without imitating that of the Limbourgs (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). The intermediate painter is assumed to have worked on the manuscript sometime between 1416 and 1485. Sony VAIO PCG-31112M battery Evidence in the dress and details of costume suggests that the Limbourgs did not paint some calendar miniatures. Figures in the miniatures for January, April, May, and August are dressed in styles from 1420. The figures strolling in October are dressed in a sober fashion indicative of mid-fifteenth century. Sony VAIO PCG-31113M battery It is known that the gatherings fell into hands of King Charles VII after Limbourg’s death, and it is assumed that the intermediate painter is associated with his court (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). A Breviary consists of a number of prayers and readings in a short form. The book of hours is a form of breviary where the prayers are intended for recital at the canonical hours of the liturgical day. Sony VAIO PCG-31114M battery Canonical hours refer to the division of day and night for the purpose of prayers. The regular rhythm of reading led to the term “book of hours” (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). The book of hours consists of prayers and devotional exercises, freely arranged into primary, secondary and supplementary texts. Other than the calendar at the beginning, the order is random and can be customized for the recipient or region. Sony VAIO PCG-31111V battery The hours of the virgin are the most important, and therefore subject to the most lavish illustration. The Très Riches Heures is rare in that it includes several miracles performed before the commencement of the passion (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). The Très Riches Heures is possibly the best example of French Gothic illumination surviving in present day. Sony VAIO PCG-31112V battery The original folios were created during the “Golden Age” of the book of hours in Europe, which took place from 1350–1480. The Limbourg brothers had artistic freedom but worked within a framework of the religious didactic manuscript. Several artistic innovations by the Limbourg brothers can be noticed in the Très Riches Heures. Sony VAIO PCG-31113V battery In the October miniature, the study of light was momentous for Western painting (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). People were shown reflected in the water, the earliest representation of this type of reflection known thus far. Miniature scenes had new informality, with no strong framing forms at the edges. This allowed for continuity beyond the frame of view to be vividly defined. Sony VAIO PCG-31114V battery The Limbourgs developed a more naturalistic mode of representation and developed portraiture of people and surroundings. It is interesting to note that religious figures do not inhabit free open space and courtiers are framed by vegetation. This is reminiscent of a more classical representation (Longnon, Cazelles and Meiss 1969). Sony VAIO PCG-GRS100 battery Scholarly text exists by Manion that offers a stylistic analysis of the psalters specifically. The psalters offer a systematic program of illuminations corresponding to the individual psalms. These images are linked together, but are not in the numerical order of the psalter. This emphasizes the idea of the abbreviated psalter, where each psalm is illustrated once (Manion 1995). Sony VAIO PCG-41111M battery The miniatures are not modeled on any specific visual or literary precedence when compared with other fourteenth century psalters. The manuscript offers a literal interpretation of the words and lacks a selection of more personal prayers. This emphasizes the didactic use of the book of hours (Manion 1995). Sony VAIO PCG-41112M battery Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver gilded withgold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually silver-gilt; for example most sporting trophies, medals (such as "gold medals" in all Olympic Games after 1912^[1]), and many crown jewels. Sony VAIO PCG-41111V battery Apart from being much cheaper than gold, large silver-gilt objects are also much lighter if required to be lifted, and stronger. Compared to plain silver, for delicate objects like the Nef (illustrated), or those with much intricate detail like monstrances, gilding greatly reduced the need for cleaning and polishing, and so reduced the risk of damage to them. Sony VAIO PCG-NV100 battery The "gold" threads used inembroidered goldwork are normally also silver-gilt. Silver-gilt objects have been made since ancient times across Eurasia, using a variety of gilding techniques, and a distinctive depletion gilding technique was developed by theIncas in Pre-Columbian South America. Sony VAIO PCG-V505 battery "Overlaying" or folding or hammering on gold foil or gold leaf is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey (Bk vi, 232),^[2] and fire-gilding withmercury dates to at least the 4th century BC, and was the most common method until theEarly Modern period at least, though dangerous for the workers,^[3] as has been known for centuries: Sony VAIO PCG-Z1A battery Hang him; a gilder that hath his brains perished with quicksilver is not more cold in the liver —The White Devil, John Webster, 1612 Today electroplating is the most commonly used method. Keum-boo is a special Korean technique of silver-gilding, using depletion gilding. In China gilt-bronze, also known as ormolu, was more common. Sony VAIO PCG-3C1M battery In America the French term vermeil was sometimes used from the mid-19th century, but "silver-gilt" remains the usual term in English and is preferred in academic usage, except for describing American modern jewellery ("vermeil" has a legal definition in the USA). Silver objects could be gilded at any point, not just when first made, and items regularly handled, such as sets fordressing-tables or tableware, Sony VAIO PCG-3F1M battery often needed regilding after a few years, as the gold began to wear off. In 18th century London two different silversmiths charged 3 shillings per ounce of silver for an initial gilding, and 1 shilling and 9 pence per ounce for regilding.^[6] Often only the interior of cups was gilded, perhaps from concern at the chemical compounds used to clean tarnish from silver. Sony VAIO PCG-3H1M battery Fully silver-gilt items are visually indistinguishable from gold, and were no doubt often thought to be solid gold. When theEnglish Commonwealth sold the Crown Jewels of England after the execution of Charles I they were disappointed in the medieval "Queen Edith's Crowne, formerly thought to be of massy gold, Sony VAIO PCG-3J1M battery but upon trial found to be of silver gilt", which was valued at only £16, compared to £1,110 for the "imperial crowne".^[7] The English Gothic Revival architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott was concerned by the morality of this. Gilding of the interior only he accepted, but with all-over gilding "we ... reach the actual boundary of truth and falsehood; Sony VAIO PCG-8141M battery and I am convinced that if we adopt this custom we overstep it.... why make our gift look more costly than it is? We increase its beauty, but it is at the sacrifice of truth."^[8] Indeed, some Early Medieval silver-gilt Celtic brooches had compartments, apparently for small lead weights to aid such deception. SONY PCG-7113M battery The Mérode Cup is a medieval silver-gilt cup decorated with finely engraved birds, fruit and vine leaves made in France inBurgundy in about 1400 and named for the ancient Belgian family of Mérode, to whom it once belonged. The cup is made of silver-gilt and is decorated with finely engraved birds, fruit and vine leaves. SONY PCG-7112M battery In the sides, cover and base are panels of the fragile and exquisite translucent enamel known as plique-à-jour, a difficult enamelling technique which involves firing the glass into cells and removing the backing to create an effect like stained glass. When the cup is placed on a shaft of light it appears to be set with miniature stained glass windows. SONY PCG-8Z3M battery Pieces decorated with this sort of enamel are known from inventories of people such as the great fourteenth century patron John, Duke of Berry, brother of kingCharles V of France. This cup, however, is the only one to survive from this period. 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