The Court of Richard II and Bohemian Culture

238 Pages·2020·126.431 MB·English

by  Alfred Thomas

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Bohemian culture exercised an important influence on
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the court of King Richard II, but it has been somewhat r
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overlooked, with previous scholarship on its writers and
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artists generally confined to the role played by the French f

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court of King Charles V and the Italian city states of Milan
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and Florence. This book aims to fill that gap. It argues c
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that Richard’s marriage to Anne of Bohemia, daughter of a
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the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, one of the greatest d

rulers and patrons of the age, exposed England to the I
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full extent of this international court culture. Ricardian a
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writers, including Chaucer, Gower and the Gawain-
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poet, wrote in their native language not because they felt
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‘English’ in the modern national sense but because they
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aspired to be part of a burgeoning vernacular European h
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culture stretching from Paris to Prague and from Brabant m
to Brandenburg; thus, one of the major periods of English i
a
literature can only be properly understood in relation to n

this larger European context. C
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ALFRED THOMAS is Professor of English at the u
University of Illinois at Chicago. r
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A
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f
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Design: Toni Michelle e
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Cover image: Initial depicting Anne of Bohemia presenting Shrewsbury’s city
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charter to Richard II, from the Shrewsbury Charter of 1389 (ref. No. 3365/24).
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Reproduced by permission of Shropshire Archives. o
m
a
s

Alfred Thomas
The Court of Richard II
and Bohemian Culture
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The Court of Richard II
and Bohemian Culture
Literature and Art in the
Age of Chaucer and the Gawain Poet
alfred thomas
D. S. BREWER
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© Alfred Thomas 2020
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Alfred Thomas to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2020
D. S. Brewer, Cambridge
ISBN 978 1 84384 566 9
D. S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620–2731, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of
URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and
does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate
or appropriate
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
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for derek pearsall
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Contents
List of illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Author’s Note xiv
Preface xv
1 Richard II and the Luxembourg Court 1
2 The Familiar Patron: Collaboration and Conflict in
Chaucer and Late Medieval European Courtly Writing 43
3 Scandals at Court: Pride and Penitence in Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight and the Alliterative Morte Arthur 85
4 Pearl in its Setting: Piety and Politics at the Luxembourg
and Ricardian Courts 131
Conclusion: The End of the Ricardian Court Culture 185
Bibliography 205
Index 217
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Illustrations
The Luxembourg and Přemyslid family tree xvii
Map of Luxembourg Europe ca. 1400 xviii
1. King Richard II meets the earl of Northumberland at Conway
and offers to resign the crown. British Library Harley 1319, f. 44
(1401–5). (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 2
2. Crown of Anne of Bohemia (1370–80). Schatzkammer,
Residenz Museum, Munich. (Art Resource, NY) Photograph
by Scala. 3
3. Tomb effigies of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. Made
by Nicholas and Godfrey Priest. Westminster abbey (1395).
(Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Werner Forman Archive. 4
4. The Eagle Ceiling: Imperial eagles painted on the wooden
ceiling of the Great Hospital in Norwich (1383). By permission
of the Great Hospital, Norwich. 14
5. Jean Le Noir: The Psalter of Bonne of Luxembourg (1348–49).
New York City, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters.
Inv. 69.86. f. 321v/322r. (Bridgeman Images) © Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York. 19
6. La Sainte-Chapelle, Paris (1247). (Bridgeman Images)
Photograph by Sylvie Bersout/Aredia. 21
7. Karlstein castle, Czech Republic (founded 1348). (Bridgeman
Images) Photograph by C.Sappa/Agostini Picture Library. 22
8. St Wenceslas chapel, St Vitus cathedral, Prague, Czech
Republic. (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Peter Langer/
Design Pics/UIG 24
9. Constantinople. From the Travels of Sir John Mandeville
(Bohemian ca. 1400), British Library Add. 24189, f. 9v.
(Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 25
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x Illustrations
10. View of Prague with the Charles Bridge in the foreground and
St Vitus cathedral in the background. (Bridgeman Images) 27
11. Statue of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in the style of a Roman
emperor. (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Luisa Ricciarini. 35
12. Westminster portrait of Richard II, Westminster Abbey,
London. (Bridgeman Images) © Westminster Abbey, London. 37
13. Peter Parler: Bust of Emperor Charles IV. Triforium of St Vitus
cathedral, Prague. (Art Resource, NY). Photograph by Erich
Lessing. 39
14. St Elizabeth of Hungary. Chapel of the Holy Cross, Karlstein
castle, Czech Republic. (Bridgeman Images) © Narodni
Galerie, Prague, Czech Republic. 83
15. The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. British Library Add MS
24189, f. 3v. (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 95
16. The Green Knight beheaded by Sir Gawain. British Library
Cotton Nero A.x, f. 94v. (Bridgeman Images) © The British
Library Board. 96
17. May. From Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Chantilly,
Musée Condé MS 65/1284, f. 5v (Bridgeman Images) © Musée
Condé, Chantilly, France. 100
18. The Passion relic triptych. Chapel of the Virgin Mary, Karlstein
castle, Czech Republic. (Bridgeman Images) © Karlstein
Castle, Czech Republic. 101
19. Peter Parler: Statue of St Wenceslas in the chapel of St
Wenceslas, St Vitus cathedral, Prague (1370s). (Art Resource,
NY) Photograph by Erich Lessing. 103
20. A banquet scene from Les Grandes Chroniques de France de
Charles V (1375–80). Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms.
français 2813, f. 473v. (Bridgeman Images) © Universal History
Archive/UIG. 105
21. October. From Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1410–
16). Chantilly, Musée Condé, Ms. 65/1284, f. 10v. (Bridgeman
Images) © Musée Condé, Chantilly, France. 111
22. The Golden Bull of Charles IV, State Library, Vienna, Cod.
Vind. 338 title page. (Bridgeman Images) Photography by G.
Nimatallah © Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna,
Austria / De Agostini Picture Library. 117
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Illustrations xi
23. The Mystical Embrace from the Passional of Abbess Kunigunde.
Prague, National Library of the Czech Republic, MS XIV. A.
17, f. 16v. (Bridgeman Images) © National University Library,
Prague, Czech Republic. 138
24. Wenceslas II of Bohemia from the Manesse Codex (1305–40),
University of Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. f. 10r. (Bridgeman
Images) Photograph by A. Dagli Orti © Universitatsbibliothek,
Heidelberg, Germany / De Agostini Picture Library. 140
25. Master Theodoric: Portrait of St Catherine in the chapel of the
Holy Cross, Karlstein castle. © Středočeské Muzeum, Roztoky u
Prahy, Czech Republic / Bridgeman Images / Fine Art Images. 145
26. Statue of an Anglo-Saxon king commissioned by Richard II
for Westminster Hall, Trinity church, London. © Bridgeman
Images / View Pictures. 151
27. Peter Parler: Statues of St Vitus flanked by Emperor Charles IV
and Wenceslas IV on the Old Town tower, Prague (1370–80s).
© Bridgeman Images. 153
28. Emperor Charles places the relics of the Passion in a reliquary.
Church of the Virgin Mary, Karlstein castle, Czech Republic
(Bridgeman Images) © Karlstejn Castle. 156
29. The Wilton Diptych (ca. 1395–99). (Bridgeman Images)
© National Gallery London. 160
30. Coat of arms of Richard II and white hart resting on a bed of
rosemary, one of Queen Anne’s devices. Reverse of the Wilton
Diptych. (Bridgeman Images) © National Gallery London. 161
31. Richard II kneeling before the Virgin and Child. Wilton Diptych
(detail). (Bridgeman Images) © National Gallery London. 163
32. Votive panel of Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlaším (1370s),
National Gallery, Prague. © Bridgeman Images / De Agostini
Picture Library. 164
33. The Virgin and Child surrounded by angels. Wilton Diptych
(detail). (Bridgeman Images) © National Gallery London. 165
34. Krumlov Madonna. Bohemian ca. 1400. Kunsthistorsiches
Museum, Vienna. (Bridgeman Images) Photography by Luisa
Ricciarini. 166
35. Seth at the Gates of Paradise. Travels of Sir John Mandeville
(Bohemian, ca. 1400), British Library Add. 24189, f. 13r.
(Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 172
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xii Illustrations
36. Coronation of a king and queen. Liber Regalis, Westminster
Abbey Library. (Bridgeman Images) © Werner
Forman Archive. 173
37. The Dreamer meets the pearl maiden. British Library Cotton
Nero A.x, f. 42r (1375–1400). (Bridgeman Images) © The
British Library Board. 175
38. The Apocalypse tapestry, Angers, France (1377–82).
(Bridgeman Images) © Musée des Tapisseries, Angers. 180
39. Mosaic of the Last Judgment, St Vitus cathedral, Prague.
(Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Paule Saviano. 182
40. The Sherborne Missal. British Library Add MS 74236, Trinity
Sunday f. 276 (early fifteenth century). (Bridgeman Images)
© The British Library Board. 194
The author and publisher are grateful to all the institutions and individuals listed
for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold copyright. Every
effort has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are offered for any
omission, and the publisher will be pleased to add any necessary acknowledg-
ment in subsequent editions.
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