DOI Artikel:
Kępiński, Zdzisław: Jan van Eyck's "Tym. Wtheoc": portrait of Jean de Croy?
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27011#0057
JAN VAN EYCK — PORTHAIT OF JEAN DE CROY
39
of a tempie or any other building as its direct meaning is: “a device for
eutting heads” or a kettledrum.39
At this stage it is still impossibe to go further into the analysis of
grammatical possibilities of reading the meaning of those words without
the limits of choosing the right word. Although if the first word of the in-
scription refers directly to the root of Greek words beginning with TYM,
the most natural and the most convincing interpretation will seem to be
the reading of those two words Tym and Otheos as something close to:
a grave of Otheian people, or the conąueror of Otheians.
The inscription that is of a character of handwriting, not the monumen-
tal one as “Leal Sowenir”, might have the secondary reference to buried
rebels and to the portrayed man, and like if at the background it would
present the stone błock with an image and a device of the portrayed rnan,
stressing the historical values of his merits.
The reference to the political events of the epoch would be very in-
teresting, and the form of the inscription: “TYM.” and “OTHEOS” would
become elear and the separate spelling of those two words would become
obvious.
But, still, a reading of the inscription in such a way does not reveal
the identity of the portrayed person. As the head commander of Burgun-
dian ccrps that fought at Othey — Jean de Croy, cou.ld not be taken under
consideration because at that time he had already been killed in a battle
at Azincourt in 1415. But this does not exclude the possibility of the name
Othey being mentioned by other member of the family, a member who
could have taken part in a battle and be proud of it, especially when the
victory brought de Croy family honours and the liigher rank in the hie-
rarchy of Burgundy.
The memory of the decisive role de Croy members played in over-
riding the anti-feudal rebel at Othey was still fresh in the family that had
a motif of firm memory present in all the devices; “SOWENANCE”,
“SOVIENNE VQUS!”, and “LEAL SOWENIR”.
Considering those references to assotiations the van Eyck’s inscription
could have de Croys family and analysing the Greek version of words spel-
led in the antic Greek with TYM, we shou.łd also take under consideration
the flexible spelling of Latin applied for the transcription of Greek words
in which “i” was substituted for “y” or “ij” for “y” as it was cominon in
Europę till the nineteenth century.
So it seems to be necessary to study the antic vocabułary of Greek in
order to reveal the meaning of the puzzling word TYM . . .?
39 Słownik grecko-polski w opracowaniu Zygmunta Węclewskiego, Lwów 1929.
39
of a tempie or any other building as its direct meaning is: “a device for
eutting heads” or a kettledrum.39
At this stage it is still impossibe to go further into the analysis of
grammatical possibilities of reading the meaning of those words without
the limits of choosing the right word. Although if the first word of the in-
scription refers directly to the root of Greek words beginning with TYM,
the most natural and the most convincing interpretation will seem to be
the reading of those two words Tym and Otheos as something close to:
a grave of Otheian people, or the conąueror of Otheians.
The inscription that is of a character of handwriting, not the monumen-
tal one as “Leal Sowenir”, might have the secondary reference to buried
rebels and to the portrayed man, and like if at the background it would
present the stone błock with an image and a device of the portrayed rnan,
stressing the historical values of his merits.
The reference to the political events of the epoch would be very in-
teresting, and the form of the inscription: “TYM.” and “OTHEOS” would
become elear and the separate spelling of those two words would become
obvious.
But, still, a reading of the inscription in such a way does not reveal
the identity of the portrayed person. As the head commander of Burgun-
dian ccrps that fought at Othey — Jean de Croy, cou.ld not be taken under
consideration because at that time he had already been killed in a battle
at Azincourt in 1415. But this does not exclude the possibility of the name
Othey being mentioned by other member of the family, a member who
could have taken part in a battle and be proud of it, especially when the
victory brought de Croy family honours and the liigher rank in the hie-
rarchy of Burgundy.
The memory of the decisive role de Croy members played in over-
riding the anti-feudal rebel at Othey was still fresh in the family that had
a motif of firm memory present in all the devices; “SOWENANCE”,
“SOVIENNE VQUS!”, and “LEAL SOWENIR”.
Considering those references to assotiations the van Eyck’s inscription
could have de Croys family and analysing the Greek version of words spel-
led in the antic Greek with TYM, we shou.łd also take under consideration
the flexible spelling of Latin applied for the transcription of Greek words
in which “i” was substituted for “y” or “ij” for “y” as it was cominon in
Europę till the nineteenth century.
So it seems to be necessary to study the antic vocabułary of Greek in
order to reveal the meaning of the puzzling word TYM . . .?
39 Słownik grecko-polski w opracowaniu Zygmunta Węclewskiego, Lwów 1929.