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DOI Artikel:Płonka-Bałus, Katarzyna: "En grant affection": an unusual portrait of Jean Chenart in a French fifteenth-century prayer book in the Princes Czartoryski Library in Cracow
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.32786#0040
40
arts prayer book, ‘within [specially] applied shapes [...]
another text has been ciphered’ 16, a text that underscores
the meaning of the entire composition and is closely related
to the main subject of the word-and-image combination
which reveals the intrinsic meaning of the poem. In the
poem of Rabanus Maurus it is the act of glorification of the
True Cross - Crux vera - whereas in the Cracow hours, it is
an individual prayer and an act of imitatio Christi depicted
in the portrait of the books owner together with a reference
to his pilgrimage to follow in the footsteps of Christ along
the Via Dolorosa in 1466. The question about the author of
the poem and inventor of the idea combining the text with
the portrait of pilgrim remains unanswered. The above-
mentioned Flemish examples turn our attention towards
the local ‘Chamber of Rhetoric’, the Bruges literary associa-
tion known as Chamber of the Holy Ghost, which brought
together the elites of the city who were at the same time
members of religious confraternities (such as, for example,
the Bruges confraternity of Our Lady of the Dry Tree). It is
in such a milieu that Oosterman wants to see both Jan van
Hulst and Lodewijck Halyncbrood 17, leaving us with a sug-
gestion that Jean Chenart may have had some links with the
milieu of the Parisian Chamber of Rhetoric. The presence
of acrostics in the hours of Jan van der Scaghe and his wife
has not been examined so far, in other respects than using
them as a means to identifying the married couple. 18
Now it is time to ask about the identity of the adorant
in the Cracow manuscript. The kneeling man looks to be
about fifty years old. His likeness seems to emphasise some
individual features and for sure testifies to his background
in a particular social group: wealthy urban elite, yet not
aristocracy. His full and, so to speak, common face with
round chin, unshapely nose and little, as if swollen eyes,
M. Perrin, Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio medievalis, vol. 100,
Turnhout 2000. The unprecedented character of the work of Ra-
banus Maurus and its popularity in the Middle Ages and at the be-
ginning of the early modern period are testified by the familiar-
ity with the poem in the circles of the Heidelberg scholars (Jakob
Wimpheling) around the year 1500, whereas the persistence of the
tradition is attested by the history of a well-known visual poem in
the form of a cross, written in the sixth century by Venantius For-
tunatus, which reached Central Europe in transcripts and up until
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had been known as the
so-called Cross of St Thomas; see P. Rypson, Obraz słowa, pp. 109,
131 (as above in footnote 11). It should be noted that in another page
of Rabanus Maurus’ poem there is a carmen cancellatum with a ci-
phered name of the author; it was published by Gustavus Sele-
nus (actually Prince August II von Braunschweig), Cryptmetrices et
cryptographie libri IX, Liineburg 1624, cap. 5, p. 140, and reproduced
in P. Rypson, Obraz słowa, p. 83, Fig. 39 (as above in footnote 11).
16 R. Knapiński, Biblia w sztuce - słowo obrazem się stało [The Bible
in Art - a Word Became a Picture], „Studia Nauk Teologicznych
PAN”, 4, 2009, pp. 292-293.
17 J.B. Oosterman, A Prayer ofone’s own, p. 735 (as above in foot-
note 12).
18 See above note 14.
is framed by dark, dishevelled hair that cover his ears and
fall down in locks, forming a thin fringe on his low, bald-
ing forehead. Chenart is wearing a long raspberry robe
and black shoes which, as can be inferred from colours
and types of clothes in other contemporary portraits, was
a dress reserved for wealthy burghers. A black chaperon
has slipped down from his back on his back and he has
a sizeable blue pouch attached to his belt. The accompany-
ing coat of arms does not indicate a knightly status, nor is
it, in all likelihood, a burgher’s emblem. The alternating
gold crowns -royal crowns and crowns of thorns - repre-
sented against the blue background of the shield, through
their obvious associations with Christ’s Passion, are rather
reminiscent of a religious brotherhood or may be a kind
of symbolic coat of arms (as is testified by its prominent
location) related to some events, unknown to us, but ap-
parently important for the owner of the prayer book. 19 The
portrait was undoubtedly modelled on images decorating
votive plaques, existing in large numbers, that after 1300
replaced wax figures used as ex-voto offerings in churches
with a clearly defined intention - to accompany suppli-
cations or express gratitude - and were always provided
with the name of their donor. One of such examples is
a small silver enamelled plaque inscribed with the words
‘+P+. Sorelli’ [Corelli?], commemorating the kneeling
donor as a venerator of the Cross 20, similar to Chenart.
Or rather, while embracing the empty timber of the Cross
with their both hands, they both follow the pattern of
the figure of Mary Magdalene in the Crucifixion scenes.
But this exhausts the list of similarities between the two
compositions, which are restricted to adopting the same
scheme of composition as a result of a similar commemo-
rative function of both works.
The Parisian burgher secured his likeness firmly in
a prayer book, ordering to be portrayed in the distinctive
role of a pilgrim to Jerusalem. Yet, he is not carrying a staff,
and on returning home, he apparently exchanged his pil-
grim’s bag for a decorated pouch. In a word, his appearance
complies with the contemporary fashion of people of his
class and social standing, and makes this image look like
a universal representation. Only a sizeable branch of the
Jericho palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in his hand is a sign of
the pilgrimage to Jerusalem he had made. In medieval ico-
nography, the palm branch was an attribute of those who
completed this most important of th e peregrinationes maio-
res and were for this reason colloquially called palmieri.
19 Kathryn Rudy (A Guide ofMental Pilgrimage. Paris, Bibliotheque
de I’Arsenat Ms. 212, “Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte”, 63, 2000,
p. 501) considers a similarly rendered coat of arms (a blue shield
studded with gold stars) to be ‘nonsensical arms’.
20 France, c. 1450, dimensions: 6 x 5.9 x 0.7 cm, Victoria and Albert
Museum, inv. no. 610-1864; unpublished, except for an entry in the
museum’s on-line catalogue <http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/
Oi20722/plaque-unknown> (accessed on 19.11. 2015); the quoted
commentary comes from the above entry. I am indebted to Dr ha-
bil. Marek Walczak for bringing this plaque to my attention.
arts prayer book, ‘within [specially] applied shapes [...]
another text has been ciphered’ 16, a text that underscores
the meaning of the entire composition and is closely related
to the main subject of the word-and-image combination
which reveals the intrinsic meaning of the poem. In the
poem of Rabanus Maurus it is the act of glorification of the
True Cross - Crux vera - whereas in the Cracow hours, it is
an individual prayer and an act of imitatio Christi depicted
in the portrait of the books owner together with a reference
to his pilgrimage to follow in the footsteps of Christ along
the Via Dolorosa in 1466. The question about the author of
the poem and inventor of the idea combining the text with
the portrait of pilgrim remains unanswered. The above-
mentioned Flemish examples turn our attention towards
the local ‘Chamber of Rhetoric’, the Bruges literary associa-
tion known as Chamber of the Holy Ghost, which brought
together the elites of the city who were at the same time
members of religious confraternities (such as, for example,
the Bruges confraternity of Our Lady of the Dry Tree). It is
in such a milieu that Oosterman wants to see both Jan van
Hulst and Lodewijck Halyncbrood 17, leaving us with a sug-
gestion that Jean Chenart may have had some links with the
milieu of the Parisian Chamber of Rhetoric. The presence
of acrostics in the hours of Jan van der Scaghe and his wife
has not been examined so far, in other respects than using
them as a means to identifying the married couple. 18
Now it is time to ask about the identity of the adorant
in the Cracow manuscript. The kneeling man looks to be
about fifty years old. His likeness seems to emphasise some
individual features and for sure testifies to his background
in a particular social group: wealthy urban elite, yet not
aristocracy. His full and, so to speak, common face with
round chin, unshapely nose and little, as if swollen eyes,
M. Perrin, Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio medievalis, vol. 100,
Turnhout 2000. The unprecedented character of the work of Ra-
banus Maurus and its popularity in the Middle Ages and at the be-
ginning of the early modern period are testified by the familiar-
ity with the poem in the circles of the Heidelberg scholars (Jakob
Wimpheling) around the year 1500, whereas the persistence of the
tradition is attested by the history of a well-known visual poem in
the form of a cross, written in the sixth century by Venantius For-
tunatus, which reached Central Europe in transcripts and up until
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had been known as the
so-called Cross of St Thomas; see P. Rypson, Obraz słowa, pp. 109,
131 (as above in footnote 11). It should be noted that in another page
of Rabanus Maurus’ poem there is a carmen cancellatum with a ci-
phered name of the author; it was published by Gustavus Sele-
nus (actually Prince August II von Braunschweig), Cryptmetrices et
cryptographie libri IX, Liineburg 1624, cap. 5, p. 140, and reproduced
in P. Rypson, Obraz słowa, p. 83, Fig. 39 (as above in footnote 11).
16 R. Knapiński, Biblia w sztuce - słowo obrazem się stało [The Bible
in Art - a Word Became a Picture], „Studia Nauk Teologicznych
PAN”, 4, 2009, pp. 292-293.
17 J.B. Oosterman, A Prayer ofone’s own, p. 735 (as above in foot-
note 12).
18 See above note 14.
is framed by dark, dishevelled hair that cover his ears and
fall down in locks, forming a thin fringe on his low, bald-
ing forehead. Chenart is wearing a long raspberry robe
and black shoes which, as can be inferred from colours
and types of clothes in other contemporary portraits, was
a dress reserved for wealthy burghers. A black chaperon
has slipped down from his back on his back and he has
a sizeable blue pouch attached to his belt. The accompany-
ing coat of arms does not indicate a knightly status, nor is
it, in all likelihood, a burgher’s emblem. The alternating
gold crowns -royal crowns and crowns of thorns - repre-
sented against the blue background of the shield, through
their obvious associations with Christ’s Passion, are rather
reminiscent of a religious brotherhood or may be a kind
of symbolic coat of arms (as is testified by its prominent
location) related to some events, unknown to us, but ap-
parently important for the owner of the prayer book. 19 The
portrait was undoubtedly modelled on images decorating
votive plaques, existing in large numbers, that after 1300
replaced wax figures used as ex-voto offerings in churches
with a clearly defined intention - to accompany suppli-
cations or express gratitude - and were always provided
with the name of their donor. One of such examples is
a small silver enamelled plaque inscribed with the words
‘+P+. Sorelli’ [Corelli?], commemorating the kneeling
donor as a venerator of the Cross 20, similar to Chenart.
Or rather, while embracing the empty timber of the Cross
with their both hands, they both follow the pattern of
the figure of Mary Magdalene in the Crucifixion scenes.
But this exhausts the list of similarities between the two
compositions, which are restricted to adopting the same
scheme of composition as a result of a similar commemo-
rative function of both works.
The Parisian burgher secured his likeness firmly in
a prayer book, ordering to be portrayed in the distinctive
role of a pilgrim to Jerusalem. Yet, he is not carrying a staff,
and on returning home, he apparently exchanged his pil-
grim’s bag for a decorated pouch. In a word, his appearance
complies with the contemporary fashion of people of his
class and social standing, and makes this image look like
a universal representation. Only a sizeable branch of the
Jericho palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in his hand is a sign of
the pilgrimage to Jerusalem he had made. In medieval ico-
nography, the palm branch was an attribute of those who
completed this most important of th e peregrinationes maio-
res and were for this reason colloquially called palmieri.
19 Kathryn Rudy (A Guide ofMental Pilgrimage. Paris, Bibliotheque
de I’Arsenat Ms. 212, “Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte”, 63, 2000,
p. 501) considers a similarly rendered coat of arms (a blue shield
studded with gold stars) to be ‘nonsensical arms’.
20 France, c. 1450, dimensions: 6 x 5.9 x 0.7 cm, Victoria and Albert
Museum, inv. no. 610-1864; unpublished, except for an entry in the
museum’s on-line catalogue <http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/
Oi20722/plaque-unknown> (accessed on 19.11. 2015); the quoted
commentary comes from the above entry. I am indebted to Dr ha-
bil. Marek Walczak for bringing this plaque to my attention.