medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> effigy sculptures from this place survive from the early 13th c. which suggest
> that the tombs out there were "remodeled" at this period, and i'm guessing
> that, following custom, they were opened and this seal (ring) was appropriated
> by a fellow who was connected with the bishop's family (as a godson of the
> bishop) and used by him.
Christopher,
Retrospective tombs of bishops and abbots became quite common in the 13th
century. There is an excellent example of that in the cloister of Wells Cathedral,
where in the early 13th century, a whole series of retrospective bishops' tombs were
commissioned, and the bishops' effigies were even dressed in out-of-date Saxon-
style vestments. The effect was intended to establish Wells, which was currently
vying with Bath as the episcopal seat, as the legitimate seat of the bishopric. The
Gaignieres drawings from the late 17th century contain several such series of 13th-
century retrospective tomb series. Louis IX also commissioned a whole bunch of
retrospective royal tombs in the abbey church of Saint-Denis in the mid-13th
century. In my masters thesis, I referred to such series as "cartularies in stone".
They may not have had quite the same effect as a phony charter, but the intention
was similar.
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
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