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Cope of St. Kunigunde

The Cope of St. Kunigunde is an eleventh century ecclesiastical garment that is now in the Diocesan Museum, Bamberg, Germany.

The cope is associated with Kunigunde of Luxembourg (c. 975-1040), who was the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor, Heinrich II (973-1024). The garment was probably given to Bamberg Cathedral by St. Kunigunde.

The cope is decorated with an embroidered series of large ogees enclosing scenes from the life of Christ and various saints. The lower edge of the cope is decorated with a narrow, red and gold woven band and a blue and yellow silk fringe. At a later date, a cope hood was added, which depicts an embroidered figure of St. Kunigunde holding a model of the cathedral.

See also the Great Mantle of St. Kunigunde.

Sources:

  • JUNG, Norbert, and Holger KEMPKENS (2014). Gekrönt auf Erden und im Himmel. Das heilige Kaiserpaar Heinrich II. und Kunigunde, Münsterschwarzach: Vier-Türme-Verlag, and Diözesanmuseum Bamberg.
  • NETHERTON, Robin and Gale R. Owen-Crocker (eds., 2005). Medieval Clothing and Textiles 1, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, pp. 21-22.
  • SCHUETTE, Marie and Sigrid MULLER-CHRISTENSEN (1964). The Art of Embroidery, London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 17-22, 298, pls. I, IV.

See also the TRC blog for 11 June 2016.

GVE

Last modified on Sunday, 16 April 2017 19:18