Averkorn Representing Nobility

In diesem Beitrag wird eine kurze Einfhrung in die Beziehungen zwischen Heiligkeit, Adelund caritativem Wirken im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert anhand von Text- und Bildquellen gege-ben. Aus der grossen Zahl an adligen Heiligen sind einige ausgesucht worden, die in besonde-ren Beziehungen zu den Bettelorden, unter ihnen den Franziskanern standen, und die mehr

oder weniger in ihrem Leben dem Beispiel der heiligen Elisabeth von Thringen folgten. Ausserdemwaren sie mit ihr verwandt, was die Nachahmung ihres Vorbildes noch mehr unterstrich wie im Fall desheiligen Ludwig IX. von Frankreich, des heiligen Ludwig von Anjou oder Toulouse und der heiligenIsabel von Portugal gesehen werden kann. Ein weiterer Aspekt, der eine wichtige Rolle im Verlauf derMassnahmen zur Heiligsprechung einnahm, ist derjenige der Bildung einer beata stirps durch denEinsatz u.a. umfangreicher Propagandamassnahmen, wodurch die Besonderheit jeder dieser knigli-chen Familien auf dem politischen und religisen Sektor in Europa betont wurde.

Born in Mnster, Prof. Dr. Raphaela Averkorn completed her studies at the Universitiesof Bordeaux and Mnster. She received her Ph.D. in Medieval History from theUniversity of Mnster and completed her Habilitation at the University of Hannover(Germany). She now teaches European Medieval History at the Department of Historyat the University of Hannover. She is particularly interested in Medieval and

Renaissance history and has written books about the County of Armagnac in the 11th and12th centuries and about the writing of History in the Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile in theLate Middle Ages and has published various contributions concerning French, Spanish andGerman political, social, religious, cultural and gender history.

INTRODUCTIONIn this chapter we will analyse the relation between nobility,charity and sainthood in the Middle Ages using various imagesand some written sources. Nobility and sainthood is very broad

topic; therefore we will concentrate on one special aspect and choose examples from a lim-ited period of time 1.

The use of images was very important in a society where only a minority was able to readand even less fewer could write 2. Images had a key function in medieval society and canbe analysed on different levels. They include different realities and codified symbols whichare often not easy for us to read and to understand.

97Representing Nobility, Charity and Sainthood Tmoignages

Representing Nobility, Charity and Sainthood: Aspects of the EuropeanMovement of the Mendicant Orders in the13th and 14th centuries

Raphaela AverkornUniversitt Hannover

Here we will concentrate on some aspects related to the way certain saints were represent-ed. The emerging mendicant orders which started their reform work in the 13th centuryproduced a new type of saints of whom quite a few were noble. A fundamental aspect ofthe work of the new orders was charity. Of course, doing works of charity had helped togain sainthood since the beginning of the Christian faith. The new noble saints of the 13thand 14th century who were closely connected to the Franciscan and Dominican orders (orto one of the two) were contemporary saints, well known to their families and subjects.We have materials concerning their lives which were collected by contemporaries and inmany cases we can also find significant iconographical material. Illuminated manuscripts,works of fine art, were created often soon after the saints death and this production con-tinued in later centuries when the cult of those saints spread in many European countries.Another important aspect which here we can only mention is that of propaganda initiat-ed and supported by the noble families themselves in order to assist in the process of canon-isation of their family member and, in later times, to stress the fact that the saint belongedto their family and their territory 3. The image of the new noble saint was closely linked topolitical propaganda as can be demonstrated using not only written sources but pictorialmaterial as well. A new role model was being developed.

Here we will concentrate on a small number of saints and their close families: SaintElizabeth of Hungary and her female relatives (who also became saints), Saint Louis ofFrance and his great-nephew Saint Louis of Anjou. The images and texts we have chosenwill treat their behaviour towards the Mendicant orders and towards charity as one of theprime elements in their reaching sainthood. Charity was regarded as a fundamental task ofnobles and princes, but only a few nobles actually attained sainthood. In many casessaints were especially made by their families who strongly pushed forward the processof canonization to gain the status of a beata stirps [blessed family line] and used many kindsof hagiographical and diplomatic tools to achieve their aim.

One important kind of action which helped to attain sainthood was charity. Charity as aChristian virtue is often described in the Bible and appears for example in the expressionto love thy neighbour for the sake of God, establishing a sort of moral identity betweenChrist and the neighbour. Charity is a moral obligation which does not help the pooralone: it also helps the rich, because giving alms contributes to a greater or lesser degree tothe salvation of the rich mans soul. Therefore charity proved to be positive for both parts.

The argument that mainly monasteries were responsible for taking care of the poor and thesick was no longer valid in the 12th and 13th centuries. Society had changed, too, from arural to an urban society. In the 13th century new religious orders like the MendicantOrders were established in urban centres, individuals were asked to contribute as well inlarger dimensions for example by founding hospitals. It is interesting to see how especiallythe Franciscans were linked to the poor in the first decades of their existence. St. Francisrefused to possess anything; his friars were not even allowed to have houses or monasteriesin the beginning, although this changed quickly. When they first arrived in a town theyoften stayed a while in the local hospital. Later they were able to build a church and a con-vent, usually first in poor neighbourhoods or outside the town walls. They intended to liveas paupers among the poor, because the poor were the sacred image of God and the friarsdid not want to fight the world but the evils in this world 4. The Friars started to call the

98 Raphaela Averkorn

poor pauperes Christi [Christs poor], an expression used in former centuries only to desig-nate monks. The poor were human being and poverty was an aspect of social life in theMiddle Ages. Unlike earlier religious orders, the Dominicans and Franciscans lived in thecities and actively did a lot of things to support the poor. They regularly distributed food,clothes and so forth. The Franciscans and Dominicans normally did not register their worksof charity; therefore we cannot talk about quantities as in the case of the Cluniac order inthe 11th century. One of the great achievements of these new orders was the fact that theywere able to attract lay persons in a great number who supported and promoted their reli-gious ideas by participating very actively in the growth and expansion of the new orders.For example, many noble persons and especially noble women gave an important contri-bution in the field of charity. It was one of the special characteristics of the FranciscanOrder that those women interested in charity work did not have to enter a monastery butcould stay in the world and create new forms of pious life as in the case of Saint Elizabethor even in those of some men, like King Louis IX of France who tried to combine a verypious life with that of an ideal prince 5.

SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY OR THURINGIASaint Elizabeth of Hungary or Thuringia is one of the best known European saints of the13th century. Her life served as an role model for the following generations and not onlyin her own family 6. She can be characterized as a person who spent her whole life mainlytaking care of the poor, the sick and all those who needed her help. When the Mendicantorders started to settle in Thuringia, she soon established close contacts with them. LaterElizabeth gave her fortune away to help the poor and sick; finally she lived in poverty her-self and died quite young. She refused to enter a monastery after the death of her husbandand preferred working in a hospital. Her director of conscience was the redoubtable Conradof Marburg.

Her life began under quite different circumstances. Elizabeth was born in 1207 as a daugh-ter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Andechs-Meran. In 1211 she wasengaged as a result of a political alliance to the eldest son of Landgrave Hermann I ofThuringia, Hermann, and brought to Germany to be educated at the court of her futurehusband. When her fianc died, finally at the age of fourteen she married his youngerbrother, Landgrave Louis I of Thuringia. This marriage proved to be a happy union withthree children, but in 1227 Louis died in Italy while he was going on a crusade withEmperor Frederick II. Already as a young married woman Elizabeth had cared for the poorand founded a hospital near her castle of Wartburg. Both Elizabeth and Louis had wel-comed the first Franciscan friars who came to Thuringia shortly after 1220 and were strong-ly influenced by the new religious attitudes and ideas.

As a widow Elizabeth finally decided to leave her castle and to live only for the poor andthe sick. Elizabeth changed her life radically, gave up her prestigious role as a noble woman,sold her property and gave it away to the sick and the poor. She left her home and starteda new life in complete poverty in the town of Marburg where with the remaining moneyshe founded a hospital in which she stayed herself while taking care of the poor and thesick. Elizabeth dedicated the chapel of her new hospital to St. Francis. Her Vita [Life] men-


tions that she even had the idea of begging for her income but that Conrad of Marburg for-bade it. This might well be the invention of a pious hagiographer. After a few years of veryhard work in the hospital she died in 1231 completely exhausted and was soon veneratedby many people who made pilgrimages to pray at her grave in Marburg. Soon the news ofmany miracles occurring at her grave spread and already in 1235 she was canonized.

The model provided by Saint Elizabeth was widely followed by other members of the high-er nobility although not in such an extreme way. Usually they stayed in the world, in somecases they left their palaces either as widows or, refusing marriage, to live in monasteries.But all of them felt responsible for the poor and the sick. Some astonishing examples ofsainthood can directly be found among the female members of Saint Elizabeths own fam-ily. Some princesses followed her example quite closely, others made up their own modelof sainthood. Here we will mention some of the better-known cases connected with theMendicant Orders.

A relative of Saint Elizabeth, princess Agnes of Bohemia (1205-1282), daughter of KingOttocar I, maintained close written contact with Saint Clare of Assisi. Some famous let-ters are still extant. Agnes abandoned her luxurious life, refused worldly marriages andchose instead chastity, life in a monastery and Christ as her spiritual groom. She was thefounder of the monastery of the Holy Spirit in Prague where she spent the rest of her lifeas abbess. Agnes was venerated as a saint soon after her death but officially canonized onlyin 1989 by the present pope. Her sister Anne (1203-1265) became the wife of Henry II ofSilesia, son of Saint Hedwig. She followed her sisters and her mother-in-laws example andwas also regarded as a saint by the Polish although she was never canonized. She made apilgrimage to Marburg to pray at the tomb of Saint Elizabeth, founding in 1257 a monasteryof the Poor Clares where she spent her last years 7.

Another famous example is that of Saint Hedwig of Silesia (1174/78-1243), a maternalaunt of Saint Elizabeth and the wife of Duke Henry I of Silesia. She was obviously a piouswoman since she maintained close contacts with the Cistercians and founded the abbey ofTrebnitz, but later she started to have close contacts with the Mendicant Orders, especial-ly the Franciscans, and to imitate the model provided by Saint Elizabeth. She even col-lected relics of the new saint. Hedwig was canonized in 1267 8. Other female saints orblessed persons of Central Europe who can be seen in close relation to the model of saint-hood promoted by Saint Elizabeth are her relatives Saint Margaret of Hungary (1242-1270), daughter of King Bela IV, who became a Dominican nun in Buda, and her two sis-ters Cunegond (1292) and Yolanda (1298) who married Polish princes. Cunegond spentmany years of her married life in a chaste marriage as a sister of the Third Order of theFrancisans; as a widow she founded a monastery of the Poor Clares. Yolanda also foundeda convent of the Poor Clares when she became a widow. We must mention princess Salomeof Cracow (1211-1268) who married a brother of King Bela IV and died as a Poor Clare 9.It is surprising to see how many princesses, especially in Central Europe, followed SaintElizabeths example. We migh consider this a kind of religious female network whose noblemembers were devoted to taking care of the poor and the sick.

It is clear that the famous model of female sainthood given by Saint Elizabeth was trans-mitted not only in hagiographical texts. The other principal medium of communication inthe Middle Ages, pictorial representation, has to be considered as well. We can find repre-


sentations of many different types (paintings, miniatures, sculptures etc.) in many parts ofEurope because Elizabeths cult was soon widespread and many churches and hospitals werenamed after her. Concerning the iconographical programme we will concentrate on twotypes of representation dealing with charity.

Some key motifs linked to Elizabeths charitable works are very well known and are repre-sented in various details: particularly caring for the sick and the miracle of the roses. Ourfirst illustration [Plate 12] shows Saint Elizabeth and the miracle of roses 10. This story canbe found in the hagiographical literature informing about the life of the saint and is one ofthe principal motifs in the catalogue of iconographical representations of this saint. Insome cases Saint Elizabeth is shown alone, dressed either sumptuously as the wife of thelandgrave, sometimes even wearing a crown to indicate her royal birth. In other cases sheis dressed in a simple, humble way or even as a nun, carrying the roses in her apron or inher coat. In still other cases the saint is represented at the moment when she meets herhusband.

Saint Elizabeth is secretly leaving her home to visit some poor people to whom she wantsto take some gifts when she suddenly meets her husband. The landgrave wants to knowwhat she is carrying in her apron. At that moment the miracle takes place, savingElizabeth. When she opens her apron the alms have turned into roses. In this paintingElizabeth is represented as a young noblewoman accompanied by two women, her husbandis shown as a bearded young nobleman accompanied by two men. The Landgrave is shownpointing at Elizabeths apron which is filled with roses. Everyone is dressed in the style ofthe early 16th century (Fig. 1).

The second illustration shows another very popular motif: Saint Elizabeth taking care of thesick. She can be dressed in the various manners mentioned above. Our example is a stained-glass window which shows in bright colours mainly in white, gold, yellow, blue and red how Saint Elizabeth, dressed in simple blue robe and accompanied by a servant, personallytakes care of a sick woman wearing a yellow dress and lying on a bed. Another related motifis that of Saint Elizabeth personally taking care of Jesus Christ lying on a bed. This stain glasswindow forms part of the so-called Elizabeth window in the Church of St. Elizabeth of


Fig. 1Saint Elizabeth of Hungary taking care of a sick person.

Marburg where she is buried. This cycle of 13 glass paintings was made before 1250, there-fore shortly after her canonization. It is extremely interesting to note that most of the pic-tures deal with charity works and taking care of the poor. This saint visits not only the sickpersons but also prisoners; she distributes alms to the poor and to widows, she gives shelter tohomeless people, dresses the naked, gives them food and drink, and she washes the feet of thepoor as did Jesus Christ on Holy Thursday 11. All these works of charity imitate the exampleof Jesus Christ and can be found as well in the hagiographical accounts concerning thosemale and female saints who in later decades and centuries followed Elizabeths example, aswe will see in the following paragraphs. Saint Elizabeth, who refused to live in a monasteryand preferred to stay in the world, represents a new type of female saint who combines theattributes and virtues of traditional saints with those promoted by the new MendicantOrders.

SAINT LOUIS OF FRANCE (1270)The example of Saint Elizabeth was very well known in medieval Europe and served as arole model for many royal families. One famous example can be found in France whereespecially King Louis IX (1226-1270), later canonized as well, and his mother Blanche ofCastile (1252), were very interested in the life of Saint Elizabeth, who was also related tothe French royal house through a maternal aunt. They maintained contact with her off-spring: for example they met with Elizabeths son, Landgrave Hermann, in 1241 12. As aproof of her veneration in the royal family we may mention a special miniature which canbe found even in later times in the 14th century in the Grandes Chroniques of France. Itshows Saint Elizabeth on her deathbed, half-naked and poorly dressed; a servant takes careof her (Fig. 2) 13.

Saint Louis is the only holy king of the 13th century who was canonised shortly after hisdeath; his cousin King Ferdinand III of Castile (1252) was canonized centuries later in


Fig. 2Saint Elizabeth on her deathbed.

1671. The two are the last royal saints of the Middle Ages. King Louis of France isdescribed by his biographer as a royal saint whose character showed elements of the tradi-tional royal sainthood and elements of modern individual sainthood 14.

King Louis IX of France was not the first French king who became famous because of hisworks of charity. Predecessors like Robert I, Louis VII and Philippe II Auguste proclaimeda special interest in charities. In 1153 king Louis VII made a special donation in memoryof abbot Suger of Saint-Denis and ordered that alms be given annually to three hundredpoor people who came to the monastery of Argenteuil. His son Philippe II donated greatsums out of the royal treasure especially to support people suffering from leprosy and tobuild hospitals. In periods of famine as well he distributed large quantities of money amongthe poor 15. But none of these kings became a saint like Louis IX.

The example of Saint Louis has often been discussed in literature 16. Here we cannot exam-ine all aspects of sainthood and the ideals of kingship, but we will concentrate on some spe-cial facts concerning the kings behaviour as regards works of charity, analysing some select-ed sources consisting of texts and images. King Louis IX of France and his family and rela-tives were especially close to the Mendicant Orders. They helped them to take care of thepoor, but at the same moment Dominicans and Franciscans worked as diplomats, negotia-tors, confessors, educators and as counsellors for the royal family. Some of the most famousmembers of the Mendicant Orders who served at the royal court were, for example, Gilbertde Tournai and Eudes Rigaud, who later became archbishop of Rouen 17.

King Louis always acted in favour of the poor. In his advice to his son, he remarked that inthe case of a struggle between a rich person and a poor one, the king should support the poorman until he knows who is right and then he should do justice 18 [Source]. Now, let us takea closer look at the works of charity of King Louis the Saint of France. He was not the firstking to take care of the poor; we know that his predecessors were always aware of the prob-lem posed by poverty and gave special orders to take care of the poor in different parts of thecountry, especially in the neighbourhood of royal residences. But King Louis intensified thispractice in a decisive manner, certainly because he was influenced by the Mendicant Orders.His confessors were always a Franciscan and a Dominican monk. As a king his main achieve-ments are not to be seen in the quite unsuccessful crusades he prepared and carried out in hiswish to free the Holy Land dying during the last one but rather in the fame he achievedin Europe as a king who wanted to establish everlasting peace between the kingdoms, and inhis administrative reforms in his own kingdom, France.

Concerning his religious beliefs, he saw himself as the king of the mendicants and of thepoor. In his instructions written for his son Philip, he stressed that a king should alwaystake care of the poor. In his teachings written for his daughter Isabelle he repeats thisadvice 19. His biographers inform us that frequently King Louis invited poor persons to joinhim at dinner. He served them personally and gave them clothes, too 20. Twice per weekmoney, bread and the remainders of the royal meals were distributed to the poor. Each day,sixty poor persons received a little sum of money (4 deniers) and two loaves of bread. Eachday, 120 poor persons were invited to eat in the palace. They received a meal which con-sisted of two loaves of bread, a quarter of wine, meat, eggs and fish. Thirteen out of the 120were invited to join the royal table in the palace. They received better food and also some



money: 12 deniers. Three out of these 13 were seated very close to the king who servedthem personally and gave them 40 deniers. The evening before ecclesiastical festivities, theking invited 200 people and they were given a very special meal which consisted of bread,soup, and two extra dishes. Each of them could take two loaves of bread and 12 denierswhen leaving. When the king was travelling he cared for the poor as well. Special servantscarried money which was distributed among the poor he met during his travel. We do notknow exactly how much money king Louis spent to support the poor, because many listsare lost, but in 1256 he spent 10 % of his annual budget, in 1257 up to 20 %. He gavemoney to the poor, to the sick, to widows, to poor girls as a dowry so that they could marryor enter a monastery, and to poor boys so that they could learn a profession 21.

But King Louis not only cared for the poor in his capital Paris and his royal residences,he was also interested in creating institutions having the same function. He founded sev-eral hospitals and leper-houses; for example he founded a hospital for three hundredblind persons in Paris (Hospital des Quinze-Vingts) and founded, reconstructed orenlarged a number of other hospitals (called Hotels-Dieu) in Vernon, Pontoise (1259),Compigne and Paris. In Compigne, he participated personally in the inauguration ofthe building and he and his son-in-law, king Thibaut of Navarre, carried the first sickperson into the hospital 22.

Images and pictorial representations of King Louis can be found in various places as well inlater centuries when his cult spread especially in France but also in other European coun-tries. In this chapter it is only possible to take a closer look at some representations of hislife as offered by the famous French collection of chronicles known as the GrandesChroniques written in the 14th century during the reign of King Charles V (1338-1380).

Fig. 3


The personal copy of King Charles contains very prestigious miniatures representing scenesof the lives of different French kings. Quite a large number of these miniatures are dedi-cated to King Louis IX which stresses the importance of this saint for his family. We canfind three folios representing eighteen different scenes of the life of King Louis IX, show-ing episodes from his birth to his death. We will concentrate on some of the miniaturesfrom one folio which deals especially with works of charity done by the king and will brieflyenumerate the different types of representation 23 (Fig. 3).

Some scenes are especially significant. The kings mother Blanche provided a good educationfor the young prince who was mainly instructed by monks as can be seen in various minia-tures. The written sources mentioned above confirm what we can see on the images: SaintLouis personally took care of the lepers by serving them food. In this case a leprous monk isbeing giving food by the king. Another scene which is quite important and repeated twice inthe chronicle with variations in the details is that of the king serving the poor in general andespecially washing their feet in imitation of Christ on Holy Thursday. In the first miniaturethe king, wearing his crown as a symbol of royalty and to be recognised easily, is depictedwearing an apron and kneeling in front of a poor and handicapped person, washing his feet.Three other poor and handicapped persons can be seen in the background waiting. The sec-ond miniature is slightly different, the king does not wear an apron but is washing the feet ofa poor person who does not appear to be handicapped. In the background we can distinguisha table with food and three poor people who have been served by the king.

After the death of King Louis, many contemporaries and especially family members like hisdaughter Blanche, widow of Ferdinand of Castile, heir to king Alfonso X of Castile, playedan important part in the process of canonization. They had hagiographical material andwitnesses testimonies gathered; a biography was written by Joinville. The royal family wasvery interested in being considered a beata stirps and creating a special image of holinessand sainthood to emphasize the importance of the Capetian family in the context of theEuropean dynasties and kingdoms. They achieved their aim in 1297 when the canoniza-tion took place 24.

King Louis IX of France always tried to imitate the life of Mendicant friars despite his mar-riage to Margaret of Provence and the great number of children they had. His sister choseanother option. Saint Isabel of France was born 1225 and named after Elizabeth ofThuringia or Isabel of Hungary as she was called in the Romance speaking world. Isabel soonfollowed the model created by her patroness and dedicated her life to charity works. She wasespecially interested in the Franciscan order whose friars served as her personal confessors.Because of her pious life and devotion to Christ she refused all proposals of marriagealthough her entourage tried to force her to marry. In 1255 she finally founded themonastery of the Saint Mary in Longchamp and created, on the basis of the rule of St. Clare,her own rule which later was used as a model for other monasteries. She died in 1270 25. Theexample of Saint Louis of France and his predilection for the Mendicant orders was pro-moted within his own family as can be seen in the following example as well.

SAINT LOUIS OF ANJOUAnother relative of Saint Louis of France was Saint Louis of Anjou. He was born in 1274

as the second son of King Charles II of Naples, who was a nephew of Louis IX. His moth-er was Mary of Hungary, herself a great-niece of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary 26. Thus by hisfamily connections he was closely linked to the Mendicant Orders. Soon his life as a royalprince was changed by some dramatic events which took him and his younger brothers tothe kingdom of Aragon as hostages. They remained there from 1288 to 1295 in quite dif-ficult conditions. During this decisive moment of their lives the young princes were edu-cated by Franciscan friars who brought Louis into contact with Peter John Olivi, one of thewell-known Franciscan spirituals. During those years Louis decided to become a Franciscanfriar but when he returned home in 1295, he became the presumptive successor of hisfather after the death of his elder brother. Louis renounced his rights of succession andstarted a new life as a priest in 1296. Soon afterwards he was made bishop of Toulouse bypope Boniface VII but still he insisted on being a Franciscan friar. He achieved his wish inthe same year and went off to Toulouse in 1297 where he soon was considered a very hum-ble and virtuous person. He was especially keen of imitating on one hand Saint Francis andon the other his great-uncle Saint Louis of France. He followed their examples closely, liv-ing like the founder of the Franciscan order in extreme poverty and like his royal relativetaking care of the sick, the lepers and the poor by doing numerous works of charity.

Louis of Aragon never liked being a bishop and soon he decided to resign; but as he wastravelling to visit the pope in Rome he fell ill and died in August 1297. He was buried inthe Franciscan church of Marseilles. His family and especially his younger brother KingRobert the Wise of Naples pushed forward the process of canonization which finally tookplace in 1317. From that moment on they contributed considerably to promoting the cultof Saint Louis of Anjou or Toulouse. The person of Saint Louis was used in political androyal propaganda for a long time and stressed the importance of that family as a beata stirpstoo.

The importance of the propagandistic issues in relation with Saint Louis of Anjou can beseen easily in iconography, in works ordered by the French kings and the Angevin kings ofNaples. We will just mention briefly three examples. The most fascinating painting relat-ing to Saint Louis of Toulouse or Anjou is the painting on wood by the famous SimoneMartini (1280/85-1344) from Siena [Plate 13] 27. This masterwork was executed after 1317,the year in which the bishop of Toulouse was canonized, by order of his brother, KingRobert. It is not known whether it was meant to be an altarpiece. It is certain that thispainting is not a life-portrait of the prince because researchers stress that the painter nevermet the prince personally, whereas the image of his brother, king Robert the Wise, can beregarded as a portrait. In the context of our study we have to analyse the meaning of thispainting which mainly wants to emphasize the legitimacy of the reign of King Robert, whofinally inherited the throne after the resignation of Louis. The saintly bishop and friar isrepresented while sitting on his bishops seat wearing the mitre and a sumptuous coat tosymbolize his role as a bishop; underneath he is wearing the humble habit of a Franciscanfriar. With his left hand he is crowning his brother who is represented in a much smallerscale, kneeling in front of him. At the same time, two small angels are holding a crownover the head of Saint Louis to indicate his royal birth and his rights as the successor of hisfather, King Charles II. This masterpiece is an excellent example how political and familypropaganda were used to emphasize the importance of this saint who belonged to the


Angevin dynasty and whose holiness was used to stress the political and religious role ofthis royal family.

The second illustration is a miniature contained in the Grandes Chroniques de France, achronicle written by the order of King Charles V (1338-1380) which stresses the impor-tance of the French kings and their kingdom (Fig. 4) 28. It is used by the royal family tounderline again the legitimacy of the reign of King Robert of Naples who became thecrown-prince after the resignation of his brother Louis and stresses the importance of hav-ing a saint belonging to the family. It shows the same motif, the coronation of King Robertby his brother, surrounded by a crowd of monks and bishops.

The third example is another miniature which can be found in the Petites Heures of DukeJean de Berry (1340-1416), a member of the royal family, a famous politician and patron ofarts (Fig. 5)29. Saint Louis of Anjou is represented as a saint surrounded by other holy con-fessors like Saint Francis, Saint Dominic, Pope Gregory or Saint Jerome and naturally theother holy member of the family, Saint Louis, king of France. The figure of Saint Louis ofAnjou is centrally placed on the front level. The holy man is dressed in a three-fold way,symbolising his different roles as a royal prince, a bishop and a humble friar. Therefore hewears the bishops mitre; as a symbol of his royal birth and to show his resignation he holdsa crown in his right hand; in his left hand the bishops staff. His clothes consist of a coatwith lilies, the symbol of the French and Angevin royal families, and the habit of aFranciscan friar.

The cult of Saint Louis of Toulouse was mainly promoted by his family and not especiallyby the Franciscan Order which at that time was undergoing a moment of internal difficul-ties. Hagiography and political propaganda helped to design the image of a saint who canbe seen from different perspectives. He himself just wanted to quit wealth, luxurious lifeand political and ecclesiastical power to live like a humble Franciscan friar in total pover-ty, but he died very young. Therefore his relatives were able to force the process of canon-


Fig. 4Coronation of King Robert of Naples.

ization, to invent and to spread his image as an ideal prince, an ideal bishop and an idealfriar.

SAINT ISABEL OF PORTUGALSaint Isabel of Portugal (1271-1336) can be seen as a person who followed the traditionalpaths to sainthood and especially female sanctification in noble families who were portrayedas beatae stirpes 30. She was only officially canonized in 1625 but she was venerated by the peo-ple as a saint soon after her death. Miracles were recorded, a biography written.

In the second paragraph of this chapter we mentioned Elizabeth of Hungary and some of herfemale relatives, mostly in central Europe, who became saints, too. One of her most famousfemale successors and the only one living on the Iberian Peninsula was Saint Isabel ofPortugal. She was not the only holy medieval queen but she was one of the most prominentpersonalities in the political life of the 14th century. Isabel was born as the daughter of KingPeter III of Aragn and his wife Constance of Suabia or Sicily, a grand-daughter of theemperor Frederick II. Her paternal grandmother was Violante of Hungary, a step-sister ofSaint Elizabeth of Thuringia or Hungary. In 1282 Isabel was married to King Dinis I ofPortugal, gave birth to two children and became very active in politics and in charity.

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was highly venerated in the royal family of Aragon and somenewly founded monasteries were named after her. Furthermore the royal family was close-ly linked to the Mendicant Orders, mainly the Dominicans and the Franciscans. Isabel,who as mentioned was named after her famous relative, married into a family that sup-ported the Mendicant orders and therefore did not face any problems establishing closerelations with the Franciscans and Poor Clares in Portugal.

The image of female medieval sainthood represented by queen Isabel shows a woman whois not a nun but still living as queen, wife and mother in the world, occupying a high rank


Fig. 5Holy confessors (Louis of Tolouse).

in society and politics, a woman who uses her fortune to support those who need help. Hermain virtues are charity and humility, as well as peacemaking and fighting for justice in herpolitical and social life. Those characteristics include traditional aspects and modern onesdiffused by the mendicant orders. Especially in hagiographical texts concerning her life wefind many details about her charitable activities. Queen Isabel followed closely the tradi-tion of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary distributing food among the poor and so forth. InPortugal she founded hospitals for the poor, the sick, for lepers, and homes for orphans andprostitutes, the emarginated people in society.

A closer look at the iconographical sources allows us to verify how these actions were rep-resented. Because Isabel was only canonized in the 17th century, we do not have many con-temporary illustrations. One of the main sources is her magnificent sepulchre which stillcan be seen in the church of the new monastery of the Poor Clares in Coimbra. The queenherself decided on the iconographical programme during her lifetime [Plate 14].31 Hertomb, which represents a new type of gothic tomb in Portugal, was constructed around1330. The queen is shown lying on her back; she is dressed like a Poor Clare but still wearsher crown as a symbol of her royalty. In her hands she holds a prayer book, at her belt isfixed a well-filled purse symbolizing the alms she gave to the poor. We can also see a pil-grims staff and the scallop shell of Saint James, the symbols of her pilgrimage to Santiagode Compostela. The lower side of the sepulchre shows a whole range of symbolic figures.On the right side we see famous saints of the Franciscan Order like the founder SaintFrancis and the saintly bishop Louis of Toulouse (canonized in 1317), the brother of herlate sister-in-law, Blanche of Anjou, whose lives were regarded as models by Saint Isabel.They are surrounded by ten Poor Clares holding opened prayer books in their hands; theyare singing a special liturgy for the deceased queen. On the left side of the tomb we can seeJesus Christ and his apostles. On the front side below the feet of the queen we can observedthe figures of Saint Clare, Saint Catherine and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, her favouritefemale saints. Queen Isabel, closely linked to Saint Francis and Saint Clare, is waiting forresurrection accompanied by many members of the Franciscan family.

In later centuries, especially after her canonization in 1625 we can find other representa-tive illustrations of Saint Isabel of Portugal by famous painters. It is interesting to noticethat the life, the miracles and the iconographical programme followed closely that of herfamous relative Saint Isabel of Hungary even in details, a fact which even might lead toconfusion. We will just mention three examples.

The famous Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarn (1598-1668) created a cycle of paint-ings of saints where we can find an oil painting of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary dressed in avery sumptuous way. Another painting is that of Saint Isabel of Portugal which was creat-ed around 1630/35 (Fig. 6) 32. Like her ancestor, the Portuguese queen is represented as ayoung noble woman with dark hair, fashionably and sumptuously dressed in yellow, red andgreen colours, wearing a collar made of pearls and carrying roses in her skirt. This repre-sentation of the miracle of the roses is one of the most significant motives in the iconog-raphy of Saint Isabel of Portugal and can be seen as a clear imitation of the iconographicalprogramme connected to Saint Elizabeth. Art historians believe that the model for thissaint might be a noble woman of the times of Zurbarn. Queen Isabel is dressed in the styleof a rich young noblewoman of 17th-century Seville.



Another motif which is quite often used in connection with Saint Isabel is that of personallycaring for the sick. This motive can be found in depictions of many medieval saints. Thefamous painter Francisco Goya (1746-1828) created around 1798/1800 a special oil paintingrepresenting Saint Isabel of Portugal, originally designed for the church of San Fernando enMonte Torrero near Zaragoza, the birth-place of the queen. The painting was destroyed dur-ing the War of Independence 33. What is left is just a small oil sketch mainly in brown and yel-low colours [Plate 15]. The sketch represents a scene where the queen is taking care of the footof a sick woman who is simply dressed. Saint Isabel herself is dressed as a queen and wearing acrown as a symbol of her royalty. In the background we can see several servants. This motif isa direct copy of a very typical representation of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, too.

The third painting was created by Jos Gil de Castro (1785-1841) in 1820 and shows againthe miracle of the roses 34 [Plate 16]. But this time the queen is represented in a sober dress asa Poor Clare showing the red roses in her skirt. In her right hand she holds a cross with a fig-ure of Jesus Christ. On the floor we can see on the left side a royal crown and a sceptre, sym-bols of her royalty, on the right side a coat of arms, showing the colours of Portugal and ofAragon. The queen is now regarded in a retrospective view as a saint of the order of the Poor

Fig. 6Zurbarn, Saint Isabel of Portugal.


Clares. As a preliminary conclusion we can stress that the iconographical programme con-cerning Saint Isabel of Portugal mainly follows that of her ancestor Saint Elizabeth ofHungary but reveals as well some typical characteristics such as her activities as a queen anda pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela. However her sepulchre can be regarded as a very orig-inal masterpiece in iconography whose programme was determined by the queen herself andtherefore gives a certain inside view of the personality of this Portuguese queen.

CONCLUSIONIn this chapter we have given a brief introduction to the relation between nobility, saint-hood and charity in the 13th and 14th century by analysing written and pictorial sourcesdealing with this subject. Among the great number of holy noble persons of the MiddleAges it was necessary to concentrate on a few selected individuals, in this case nobles whowere linked to the Mendicant Orders, especially the Franciscans, and who followed moreor less closely the example of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia. Therefore the examples givendeal with Saint Elizabeth who established a certain role model and nobles some of whomwere even related to her quite closely, others more indirectly, like Saint Louis of France,Saint Louis of Anjou and Saint Isabel of Portugal. Another aspect which played a crucialrole in the process of creating saints is that of a beata stirps, the interest that the familieshad in obtaining canonization of their saintly members in order to emphasize their impor-tance in the religious and political sector through special propaganda, using written andiconographical materials as well.

NOTES1 This chapter intends to give a brief introduction to the relation between nobility, charity and sainthood analysing

the lives of some selected persons and their representation in iconography in the times of the emerging newMendicant Orders. Footnotes are used to give some special reading indications. General readings are indicated in theSelected Bibliography.

2 See concerning the importance of image in the Middle Ages for example J. Wirth, Limage mdivale. Naissance etdveloppements (VIe XVe sicle), Paris 1989; Texte et image, Actes du colloque international de Chantilly (13 au 15octobre 1982), Paris 1984; F. Garnier, Le langage de limage au Moyen Age. Signification et symbolique, Paris 1982. Inrecent years many special aspects have been analysed by specialists in the fields of history and art history.

3 See for example G. Klaniczay, Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesse: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe, Cambridge2002.

4 M. Mollat, Le Pauvres au Moyen Age, Paris 1978, pp. 119-121.5 See concerning new forms of sainthood especially A. Vauchez, Sainthood in the later Middle Ages, Cambridge 1997,

pp. 318-327. 6 See concerning Saint Elizabeth especially the biographies by Ohler and Werner mentioned in the Selected

Bibliography and, concerning her sainthood, for example Vauchez, Sainthood cit., pp. 372-376 and G. Klaniczay, HolyRulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe, Cambridge 2002, p. 202.

7 See concerning Agnes and Anne of Bohemia for example Klaniczay, Holy Rulers cit., p. 201f., pp. 238-241 with fur-ther reading indications.

8 See concerning Saint Hedwig for example Klaniczay, Holy Rulers cit., p. 240, Vauchez, Sainthood cit., p. 372 with fur-ther literature.

9 See concerning these princesses especially Klaniczay, Holy Rulers cit., p. 205.10 See Plate 12, Anonymous, Miracle of the roses, oil painting, ca. 1525, church of Mariahof, Styria, Austria. 11 See Fig. 1, stained glass window (c. 1250), Elisabethkirche, Marburg, Germany; concerning works of charity and alms

giving see especially those scenes: a) Saint Elizabeth taking care of a sick person, b) Saint Elizabeth visiting prison-ers, c) Saint Elizabeth supporting poor widows, d) Saint Elizabeth giving shelter to homeless, e) Saint Elizabeth giv-ing clothes to the naked, f) Saint Elizabeth giving drinks to the thirsty and washing the feet of the poor, f) SaintElizabeth giving food to the poor: www.elisabethkirche-mr.de.

12 See for the veneration of Saint Elizabeth by the French royal family for example Klaniczay, Holy Rulers cit., p. 235.13 See Fig. 2, Death of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, Grandes Chroniques de France, BNF, FR 2813, fol. 269v, 14th cen-

tury, 60 x 65 mm, Paris, France.14 J. Le Goff, Saint Louis, Paris 1996, p. 857. 15 Mollat, Le pauvres cit., p. 122.16 See for example the biographies by Richard and Le Goff mentioned in the selected bibliography.17 Mollat, Le pauvres cit., p. 155.18 Le Goff, Saint Louis cit., p. 231; see text of the instructions given to his son, Source, below.19 Le Goff, Saint Louis cit., pp. 424, 430.20 Le Goff, Saint Louis cit., p. 629.21 J. Richard, Saint Louis, Paris 1983, p. 422.22 Richard, Saint Louis cit., p. 424; C.H. Lawrence, The Friars. The Impact of the early mendicant movement on western

society, London-New York 1994, p. 166.23 See Fig. 3: Grandes Chroniques de France, BNF, FR 2813, fol. 265, 14th century, 6 scenes, each of them measuring 60

x 65 mm, Paris, France: a) Birth of Saint Louis; b) Saint Louis learning to read; c) Saint Louis serving a leprous monk;d) Saint Louis serving the poor; e) Saint Louis burying the poor; f) Saint Louis doing penance; and one scene fromthe same manuscript, fol. 285v. which repeats the same motif: Saint Louis serving the poor.

24 Klaniczay, Holy Rulers cit., p. 296.25 Le Goff, Saint Louis cit., p. 271.26 See concerning the life and the activities of Saint Louis of Anjou for example the articles written by Paul which are

mentioned in the selected bibliography.27 See Plate 13, Simone Martini, Coronation of King Robert by St Louis of Toulouse (c. 1317), tempera on wood, 200 x

138 cm (without predella), Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy and especially for more details and fur-ther discussion the article by Gardner indicated in the bibliography.

28 See Fig. 4, Coronation of King Robert (Louis of Toulouse), Grandes Chroniques de France, BNF, FR 2813, fol. 294, 14thcentury, 60 x 65 mm, Paris, France.

29 See Fig. 5, Holy confessors (Saint Louis of Toulouse), John of Berrys Petites Heures, BNF, Lat 18014, fol. 105v, 14thcentury, 55 x 45 mm, Paris, France.

30 There is a wide range of studies on Isabel of Portugal available in different languages, concerning this paper see forexample Imagen de la Reina Santa. Santa Isabel, Infanta de Aragn y reina de Portugal, 2 vol., Zaragoza 1999; A. MuozFernndez, Mujer y experiencia religiosa en el marco de la santidad medieval, Madrid 1988; F. Lopes, Breve apontamentosobre a Rainha santa Isabel e a pobreza, in A pobreza e a asistencia aos pobres na Peninsula Ibrica durante a Idade Media(Actas das I Jornadas Luso-Espanholas de Historia Medieval), Lisboa 1972, pp. 527-545; V. Gonzlez Hernndez, SantaIsabel de Aragn, infanta y reina de Portugal, Zaragoza 1971.

31 See Plate 14, Gothic sepulchre (c. 1330) of Saint Isabel of Portugal, Convento de Santa Clara-a-Nova, Coimbra,Portugal and especially Rincn Garca, W. Romero Santamara, A., Iconografa de Santa Isabel en el arte espaol y por-tugus, in Imagen de la Reina Santa, Zaragoza 1999, vol. 1, pp. 37-64; F. Pato de Macedo, O tmolo gtico de SantaIsabel, in Imagen de la Reina Santa cit., vol. 2, pp. 93-114.

32 See Fig. 6, Zurbarn, oil painting on canvas of Saint Isabel of Portugal (1630/35), 184 x 90 cm, Museo del Prado,Madrid, Spain.


33 See Plate 15, Goya, oil sketch of Saint Isabel of Portugal (1798/1800), 33 x 23 cm, Museo Lzaro Galdiano, Madrid,Spain.

34 See Plate 16, Gil de Castro, oil painting on canvas of Saint Isabel of Portugal (1820), 175 x 125 cm, Museo Colonialde San Francisco, Santiago, Chile.

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SOURCE

Louis IXs instruction to his son (excerpt)

Cher fils, je tenseigne premirement que tu aimes Dieu de tout ton cur et de tout ton pou-voir, car sans cela personne ne peut rien valoir[]Tu dois te garder de toutes choses que tu penseras devoir lui dplaire et qui sont en ton pou-voir, et spcialement tu dois avoir cette volont que tu ne fasses un pch mortel pour nullechose qui puisse arriver, et quavant de faire un pch mortel avec connaissance, que tu souf-frirais que lon te coupt les jambes et les bras et que lon tenlvt la vie par le plus cruel mar-tyre []Cher fils, je tenseigne que tu entendes volontiers le service de la sainte glise, et quand tu seras lglise, garde-toi de perdre ton temps et de parler vaines paroles. Dis tes oraisons avecrecueillement ou par bouche ou de pense, et spcialement sois plus recueilli et plus attentif loraison pendant que le corps de Notre Seigneur jsus Christ sera prsent la messe, et puisaussi pendant un petit moment avant.Cher fils, je tenseigne que tu aies le cour compatissant envers les pauvres et envers tous ceuxque tu considreras comme souffrants ou de cour ou de corps; et selon ton pouvoir soulage-les volontiers ou de soutien moral ou daumnes.Prends garde que tu sois si bon en toutes choses quil soit vident tu reconnaisses les gnro-sits et les honneurs que Notre Seigneur ta faits de sorte que, sil plaisait Notre Seigneur quetu aies lhonneur de gouverner le royaume, tu sois digne de recevoir lonction avec laquelle lesrois de France sont sacrs.Cher fils, sil advient que tu deviennes roi, prends soin davoir les qualits qui appartiennentaux rois, cest--dire que tu sois si juste que, quoi quil arrive, tu ne tcartes de la justice. Etsil advient quil y ait querelle entre un pauvre et un riche, soutiens de prfrence le pauvrecontre le riche jusqu ce que tu saches la vrit, et quand tu la connatras, fais justice []Dear Son, first I teach you to love God with all your heart and with all your strength, becausewithout that a person is worth nothing.You must avoid all those thing which you think must displease Him and which are in your


power, and especially you must be determined not to commit a mortal sin whatever happens,and before committing a mortal sin knowingly, let your legs and arms be cut off and your lifetaken with the cruelest martyrdom []Dear Son, I teach you to hear willingly the service of the Holy Church, and when you are atchurch, to take care not to waste your time and speak empty words. Say your prayers withconcentration either aloud or in your thoughts, and especially be attentive and concentratedon the prayer while the body of Our Lord Jesus Christ is present at the Mass, and then also alittle bit before that.Dear, Son, I teach you to have a heart compassionate towards the poor and towards all thosethat you consider sufferers whether in their heart or in their body; and according to your powerhelp them willingly either with moral support or with alms.Take care to be so good in everything that it will be evident that you recognise the generosi-ties and the honours that Our Lord has granted you in such a way that, if it pleases Our Lordthat you have the honour of governing the kingdom, you will be worthy of receiveing theUnction with which the kings of France are consacrated.Dear Son, if it happens that you become king, take care to have the qualities which pertain tokings, that is to say be so just that, whatever happens, you will not stray from justice. And if ithappens that there is a controversy between a poor man and a rich one, support rather the

SEE PLATES 12-16

Documents

Averkorn Representing Nobility