T h e C o Bohemian culture exercised an important influence on u the court of King Richard II, but it has been somewhat r t overlooked, with previous scholarship on its writers and o artists generally confined to the role played by the French f R court of King Charles V and the Italian city states of Milan i and Florence. This book aims to fill that gap. It argues c h that Richard’s marriage to Anne of Bohemia, daughter of a r the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, one of the greatest d rulers and patrons of the age, exposed England to the I I full extent of this international court culture. Ricardian a n writers, including Chaucer, Gower and the Gawain- d poet, wrote in their native language not because they felt B ‘English’ in the modern national sense but because they o aspired to be part of a burgeoning vernacular European h e culture stretching from Paris to Prague and from Brabant m to Brandenburg; thus, one of the major periods of English i a literature can only be properly understood in relation to n this larger European context. C u l t ALFRED THOMAS is Professor of English at the u University of Illinois at Chicago. r e A l f r Design: Toni Michelle e d Cover image: Initial depicting Anne of Bohemia presenting Shrewsbury’s city T charter to Richard II, from the Shrewsbury Charter of 1389 (ref. No. 3365/24). h Reproduced by permission of Shropshire Archives. o m a s Alfred Thomas The Court of Richard II and Bohemian Culture Court of Richard II B.indd 1 03/04/2020 11:13 The Court of Richard II and Bohemian Culture Literature and Art in the Age of Chaucer and the Gawain Poet alfred thomas D. S. BREWER Court of Richard II B.indd 3 03/04/2020 11:13 © Alfred Thomas 2020 All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The right of Alfred Thomas to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2020 D. S. Brewer, Cambridge ISBN 978 1 84384 566 9 D. S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620–2731, USA website: www.boydellandbrewer.com A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate This publication is printed on acid-free paper Court of Richard II B.indd 4 03/04/2020 11:13 for derek pearsall Court of Richard II B.indd 5 03/04/2020 11:13 Contents List of illustrations ix Acknowledgments xiii Author’s Note xiv Preface xv 1 Richard II and the Luxembourg Court 1 2 The Familiar Patron: Collaboration and Conflict in Chaucer and Late Medieval European Courtly Writing 43 3 Scandals at Court: Pride and Penitence in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Alliterative Morte Arthur 85 4 Pearl in its Setting: Piety and Politics at the Luxembourg and Ricardian Courts 131 Conclusion: The End of the Ricardian Court Culture 185 Bibliography 205 Index 217 Court of Richard II B.indd 7 03/04/2020 11:13 Illustrations The Luxembourg and Přemyslid family tree xvii Map of Luxembourg Europe ca. 1400 xviii 1. King Richard II meets the earl of Northumberland at Conway and offers to resign the crown. British Library Harley 1319, f. 44 (1401–5). (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 2 2. Crown of Anne of Bohemia (1370–80). Schatzkammer, Residenz Museum, Munich. (Art Resource, NY) Photograph by Scala. 3 3. Tomb effigies of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. Made by Nicholas and Godfrey Priest. Westminster abbey (1395). (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Werner Forman Archive. 4 4. The Eagle Ceiling: Imperial eagles painted on the wooden ceiling of the Great Hospital in Norwich (1383). By permission of the Great Hospital, Norwich. 14 5. Jean Le Noir: The Psalter of Bonne of Luxembourg (1348–49). New York City, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters. Inv. 69.86. f. 321v/322r. (Bridgeman Images) © Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 19 6. La Sainte-Chapelle, Paris (1247). (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Sylvie Bersout/Aredia. 21 7. Karlstein castle, Czech Republic (founded 1348). (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by C.Sappa/Agostini Picture Library. 22 8. St Wenceslas chapel, St Vitus cathedral, Prague, Czech Republic. (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Peter Langer/ Design Pics/UIG 24 9. Constantinople. From the Travels of Sir John Mandeville (Bohemian ca. 1400), British Library Add. 24189, f. 9v. (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 25 Court of Richard II B.indd 9 03/04/2020 11:13 x Illustrations 10. View of Prague with the Charles Bridge in the foreground and St Vitus cathedral in the background. (Bridgeman Images) 27 11. Statue of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in the style of a Roman emperor. (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Luisa Ricciarini. 35 12. Westminster portrait of Richard II, Westminster Abbey, London. (Bridgeman Images) © Westminster Abbey, London. 37 13. Peter Parler: Bust of Emperor Charles IV. Triforium of St Vitus cathedral, Prague. (Art Resource, NY). Photograph by Erich Lessing. 39 14. St Elizabeth of Hungary. Chapel of the Holy Cross, Karlstein castle, Czech Republic. (Bridgeman Images) © Narodni Galerie, Prague, Czech Republic. 83 15. The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. British Library Add MS 24189, f. 3v. (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 95 16. The Green Knight beheaded by Sir Gawain. British Library Cotton Nero A.x, f. 94v. (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 96 17. May. From Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Chantilly, Musée Condé MS 65/1284, f. 5v (Bridgeman Images) © Musée Condé, Chantilly, France. 100 18. The Passion relic triptych. Chapel of the Virgin Mary, Karlstein castle, Czech Republic. (Bridgeman Images) © Karlstein Castle, Czech Republic. 101 19. Peter Parler: Statue of St Wenceslas in the chapel of St Wenceslas, St Vitus cathedral, Prague (1370s). (Art Resource, NY) Photograph by Erich Lessing. 103 20. A banquet scene from Les Grandes Chroniques de France de Charles V (1375–80). Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. français 2813, f. 473v. (Bridgeman Images) © Universal History Archive/UIG. 105 21. October. From Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1410– 16). Chantilly, Musée Condé, Ms. 65/1284, f. 10v. (Bridgeman Images) © Musée Condé, Chantilly, France. 111 22. The Golden Bull of Charles IV, State Library, Vienna, Cod. Vind. 338 title page. (Bridgeman Images) Photography by G. Nimatallah © Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria / De Agostini Picture Library. 117 Court of Richard II B.indd 10 03/04/2020 11:13 Illustrations xi 23. The Mystical Embrace from the Passional of Abbess Kunigunde. Prague, National Library of the Czech Republic, MS XIV. A. 17, f. 16v. (Bridgeman Images) © National University Library, Prague, Czech Republic. 138 24. Wenceslas II of Bohemia from the Manesse Codex (1305–40), University of Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. f. 10r. (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by A. Dagli Orti © Universitatsbibliothek, Heidelberg, Germany / De Agostini Picture Library. 140 25. Master Theodoric: Portrait of St Catherine in the chapel of the Holy Cross, Karlstein castle. © Středočeské Muzeum, Roztoky u Prahy, Czech Republic / Bridgeman Images / Fine Art Images. 145 26. Statue of an Anglo-Saxon king commissioned by Richard II for Westminster Hall, Trinity church, London. © Bridgeman Images / View Pictures. 151 27. Peter Parler: Statues of St Vitus flanked by Emperor Charles IV and Wenceslas IV on the Old Town tower, Prague (1370–80s). © Bridgeman Images. 153 28. Emperor Charles places the relics of the Passion in a reliquary. Church of the Virgin Mary, Karlstein castle, Czech Republic (Bridgeman Images) © Karlstejn Castle. 156 29. The Wilton Diptych (ca. 1395–99). (Bridgeman Images) © National Gallery London. 160 30. Coat of arms of Richard II and white hart resting on a bed of rosemary, one of Queen Anne’s devices. Reverse of the Wilton Diptych. (Bridgeman Images) © National Gallery London. 161 31. Richard II kneeling before the Virgin and Child. Wilton Diptych (detail). (Bridgeman Images) © National Gallery London. 163 32. Votive panel of Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlaším (1370s), National Gallery, Prague. © Bridgeman Images / De Agostini Picture Library. 164 33. The Virgin and Child surrounded by angels. Wilton Diptych (detail). (Bridgeman Images) © National Gallery London. 165 34. Krumlov Madonna. Bohemian ca. 1400. Kunsthistorsiches Museum, Vienna. (Bridgeman Images) Photography by Luisa Ricciarini. 166 35. Seth at the Gates of Paradise. Travels of Sir John Mandeville (Bohemian, ca. 1400), British Library Add. 24189, f. 13r. (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 172 Court of Richard II B.indd 11 03/04/2020 11:13 xii Illustrations 36. Coronation of a king and queen. Liber Regalis, Westminster Abbey Library. (Bridgeman Images) © Werner Forman Archive. 173 37. The Dreamer meets the pearl maiden. British Library Cotton Nero A.x, f. 42r (1375–1400). (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 175 38. The Apocalypse tapestry, Angers, France (1377–82). (Bridgeman Images) © Musée des Tapisseries, Angers. 180 39. Mosaic of the Last Judgment, St Vitus cathedral, Prague. (Bridgeman Images) Photograph by Paule Saviano. 182 40. The Sherborne Missal. British Library Add MS 74236, Trinity Sunday f. 276 (early fifteenth century). (Bridgeman Images) © The British Library Board. 194 The author and publisher are grateful to all the institutions and individuals listed for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold copyright. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are offered for any omission, and the publisher will be pleased to add any necessary acknowledg- ment in subsequent editions. Court of Richard II B.indd 12 03/04/2020 11:13