English monument

The English Monument is a drinking vessel in the shape of an ancient column . It is made of gold-plated silver and was made in Antwerp in 1558/1559 . The column stands on a rectangular base with decorations. The Tudor coat of arms is depicted on the front of the base , its total height is 54 cm. Today it is one of the outstanding objects in the inventory of the Historisches Museum Frankfurt (Inv.-No. X41).

In England, the Catholic Queen Mary I ascended the throne in 1553 . She was preparing to re-Catholicize the country and did not shy away from the cruel persecution of Protestants . Many of the Protestants fled, including to Frankfurt am Main . There they found a hospitable reception. They were allowed to hold services in their mother tongue in the Weißfrauenkirche . After Queen Elizabeth I ascended the throne , the group was able to return to England. For their hospitality, they presented the Frankfurt City Council with a gilded lidded goblet. The so-called English Monument , named after the donors , was handed over to the Frankfurt City Library. It is the first museum object that came into the possession of the city of Frankfurt as such. The Frankfurt City Library subsequently became the parent institute of the earliest Frankfurt museums and academic institutions.

literature

• Lothar Gall : FFM 1200. Traditions and perspectives of a city. Sigmaringen 1994, p. 121.
• Frank Berger: Faith Makes Art. Antwerp - Frankfurt around 1600. Historisches Museum Frankfurt , Schriften Volume 25, Frankfurt 2005, pp. 50–67.