Palatine Crown
The Palatinate Crown , often also called the Bohemian Crown according to its origins , is a Gothic women's crown owned by the Wittelsbach family , which is now in the treasury of the Residenzmuseum in Munich .
description
The golden crown consists of a narrow browband set with pearls and precious stones, from which 12 slender points (alternating six smaller and six larger ones) protrude upwards at regular intervals. The smaller ones are lily-shaped, the larger ones have the shape of an ornate cross and they also have pearls and precious stones. The processed gemstones are sapphires , rubies , emeralds and diamonds . Overall, the prongs of the crown are noticeably high compared to the hoop. For stylistic reasons, production can be scheduled between 1370 and 1380, in France or by a French-influenced goldsmith.
history
It is believed to be the bridal crown of the English Queen Anne of Bohemia († 1394). She was the eldest daughter of the Roman-German Emperor Charles IV and married the English King Richard II in 1382. He was forcibly dethroned in 1399 by his successor Henry IV . On the occasion of the change of dynasty, a list was made with the existing treasures in which this crown is recorded and described.
Heinrich IV. Daughter Blanca of England (1392–1409) married in 1402 the hereditary prince electoral Palatinate and later elector Ludwig III. , Son of the German king Ruprecht I. At this marriage, Blanca of England brought the crown with her as a dowry from her homeland. Blanca died in 1409, before her husband came to power, her only son Ruprecht the English also died early.
The crown, which originated in England, came to the Wittelsbacher Hausschatz in Heidelberg and has been called the Palatinate Crown since then . After the unification of the Bavarian and Electoral Palatinate , under Elector Karl Theodor , the crown was brought to the treasury of the Munich residence in 1782 with other Heidelberg treasures , where it is still located today.
Since the dictator Oliver Cromwell melted down all the English crown jewels in the middle of the 17th century, the Palatinate Crown is also the oldest surviving English crown.
There is a contemporary picture of Queen Anne of Bohemia, in which she wears a crown with a low hoop and slender, high points; its appearance clearly resembles the Palatinate Crown . There is also a contemporary portrait of Countess Palatine Blanca, in which she wears a crown with strikingly high points. This could also be an inaccurate image of the Palatinate Crown .
literature
- František Šmahel: Heresy and Premature Reformation in the Late Middle Ages , Volume 39 of: Writings of the Historical College Munich , p. 105 u. 106, Oldenbourg Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3486562592 ; (Digital scan)
- Percy Ernst Schramm: Signs of rule and state symbolism , part 3, volume 13 of: Writings of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica , 1956, p. 114 u. 991; (Detail scans)
- Ulla Deibel: A Palatine Crown in the Munich Treasury , Speyer, 1928
