Lot Essay
This tapestry fragment depicts two scenes from the life of an Abbess called Sabina. The left-hand scene shows her comforting a sick woman who is lying in bed, propped up with several pillows. Both are identifiable by the inscriptions in the scrolls above their heads, which read, AMALIA and B[eata] V[irgo]. EPTISCHIN.SAVIN.. The second episode also depicts Sabina, this time greeting two regal figures dressed in ermine. The inscriptions here read SAVINA.APTISSA, K[onig].VO[n].E[n]GELLANT and BEATRIS, which make it clear that in this scene the Abbess is meeting the King of England and Beatrice.
It has not been possible to identify the source for these episodes, or indeed any of the characters with any degree of certainty. It has been proposed that the King is Richard of Cornwall (1209-1272), the younger brother of King Henry III. His third wife, whom he married on 15 June 1269, was Beatrice of Falkenstein, and he had been elected King of the Romans in 1257. However, it is not clear that Richard would ever have been styled King of England as opposed to King of the Romans, and it should also be noted that he is shown without a beard on his seal of office (London, Royal Academy, loc. cit.).
It may, however, prove possible to identify the figures through the association of the King of England with Beatrice. Although no medieval King of England ever married a woman of that name, two kings did name their daughters Beatrice; Cnut (1017-1035) and Henry III (1216-1272). Little is known of Cnut's daughter, but Henry's became the Duchess of Brittany and died in 1275. It is thus possible that the King in the tapestry is Cnut, Henry III or his son, Edward I (1272-1307). Edward was nicknamed 'long shanks' and the long legs depicted on the King in question provide grounds for favouring him. Edward was one of England's most heroic kings, winning distinction on the battlefield as a Crusader, even before he succeeded to the throne. His vision of a united kingdom, stretching the length of the British Isles, led to military campaigns against Wales and Scotland. Edward's reputation as a powerful ruler was well known throughout Europe and it is possible that the present tapestry records a visit to a local abbess with his sister early in his reign.
The tapestry itself was published by Betty Kurth (op. cit., pp. 125-126 and fig. 66), who recorded that it passed from the Tollin collection into the Paris art market, and dated it to the fourteenth century. She further observed that the stylisation of the ground and the figure types both pointed to its having been woven in Alsace. Numerous parallels may be adduced with two tapestries from the church of Saint Stephen in Strasbourg, representing scenes from the lives of two obscure local saints, Odilia and Athala, who were traditionally supposed to have founded the church (Kurth, op. cit., p. 128).
It has not been possible to identify the source for these episodes, or indeed any of the characters with any degree of certainty. It has been proposed that the King is Richard of Cornwall (1209-1272), the younger brother of King Henry III. His third wife, whom he married on 15 June 1269, was Beatrice of Falkenstein, and he had been elected King of the Romans in 1257. However, it is not clear that Richard would ever have been styled King of England as opposed to King of the Romans, and it should also be noted that he is shown without a beard on his seal of office (London, Royal Academy, loc. cit.).
It may, however, prove possible to identify the figures through the association of the King of England with Beatrice. Although no medieval King of England ever married a woman of that name, two kings did name their daughters Beatrice; Cnut (1017-1035) and Henry III (1216-1272). Little is known of Cnut's daughter, but Henry's became the Duchess of Brittany and died in 1275. It is thus possible that the King in the tapestry is Cnut, Henry III or his son, Edward I (1272-1307). Edward was nicknamed 'long shanks' and the long legs depicted on the King in question provide grounds for favouring him. Edward was one of England's most heroic kings, winning distinction on the battlefield as a Crusader, even before he succeeded to the throne. His vision of a united kingdom, stretching the length of the British Isles, led to military campaigns against Wales and Scotland. Edward's reputation as a powerful ruler was well known throughout Europe and it is possible that the present tapestry records a visit to a local abbess with his sister early in his reign.
The tapestry itself was published by Betty Kurth (op. cit., pp. 125-126 and fig. 66), who recorded that it passed from the Tollin collection into the Paris art market, and dated it to the fourteenth century. She further observed that the stylisation of the ground and the figure types both pointed to its having been woven in Alsace. Numerous parallels may be adduced with two tapestries from the church of Saint Stephen in Strasbourg, representing scenes from the lives of two obscure local saints, Odilia and Athala, who were traditionally supposed to have founded the church (Kurth, op. cit., p. 128).