This evening I left the office a few minutes earlier than usual because Mr C was working from home. I knew Mr C would have finished his work and I didn’t have to wait for him to travel from his office to home.
I joined the always busy roundabout, that needs a bit of due care and attention to navigate around. I was waiting patiently for the traffic to move when I heard a crunch at the rear of my car. A sickening crunch that takes a few moments to process and realise that is you that has been hit… I moved my car as best I could out of the way of the other traffic trying to navigate the roundabout, so that I could exchange details with the young man in the other car.
Most importantly neither of us were hurt apart from a little bit of shock!
I have just come inside from watching the stars and planets twinkling and rotating above my garden. The heavenly bodies were accompanied by a bat flitting about catching insects in the twilight. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.
It was Mr C’s birthday and we spent the day at Chester Zoo. The weather was perfect (glorious sunshine) which meant that some of the animals were more sensible that us humans, they were hiding in the shady parts of their domain. One of the animals that I was privileged to see was a newly born Zebra foal. I had no idea it was so young and wondered why there was a camera crew in front of the enclosure as we wandered past. Then Mr C overheard a comment about the lovely young Zebra being one day old.
After our day out we considered stopping off for dinner on the way home but dismissed that thought and decided ‘fine dining’ on the patio would be a more enjoyable option. It led to planets, stars and the occasional bat
This book of hours is printed on vellum, and features illuminated miniatures and woodcut illustrations. It was produced by the Hardouin family of Paris. who were one of the best know producers of printed books of hours. ST. Nicholas is depicted here (top left) in the vestments of a bishop, including a cope, mitre and crozier. St. Claudius, Bishop of Besancon (bottom left) is also seen in his vestments, however he is wearing a chasuble instead of a cope. St. Anthony, the Abbot (right) is depicted in his black monk’s habit holding prayer beads.*
On our visit to the Bishop’s Palace I particularly enjoyed the temporary exhibition entitled ‘The Ornate & The Beautiful‘. The exhibition displays the extraordinary craftsmanship of the textile industry from the 14th century to the present day and includes some of the most beautiful and rare vestments and ecclesiastical textiles from around the country. The exhibition includes items that have not been on public display since 1930.
Over the next few days I will share some of the items displayed in the exhibition.
The photo in today’s post shows a book dated 1860; Die Kleinodien des Heiligen Romischen Reichs Deutscher Nation by Franz Johann Joseph Bock:
This enormous volume contains 58 chromolithographic plates, which illustrate regalia of the Holy Roman Empire; primarily kept at the Schatzkammer at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Highlights of the volume include the Crown of Charlemagne, the Imperial Gloves and the Sword of St Maurice, all vividly depicted in colour and gold.
The author was a medieval art and fabric historian, who, upon discovering vestments made of fine and beautiful fabrics during his research, would cut them into fragments and sell them to museums, earning himself the nickname ‘Scissor Bock’. *
Building of the palace started around 1210 by Bishops Jocelin of Wells and Reginald Fitz Jocelin. The chapel and great hall were added by Bishop Robert Burnell between 1275 and 1292. The walls, gatehouse and moatwere added in the 14th century by Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury. The Bishops House was added in the 15th century by Bishop Thomas Beckington. The great hall later fell into disrepair and was partially demolished around 1830.
The palace was originally surrounded by a medieval deer park. When the walls were built, streams were diverted to form the moat as a reservoir. In the 1820s, the grounds within the walls were planted and laid out as pleasure grounds by Bishop George Law, who created a reflecting pond near the springs. Parts of the buildings are still used as a residence by the current bishop, however much of the palace is now used for public functions and as a tourist attraction.
Bishop Burnell’s chapel, built between 1275 and 1292, is filled with light by tall windows in all four walls. Here the medieval bishops’ households met for formal prayer, led by their own chaplains and priests.
