One of the most magnificent medieval textiles in the Mediterranean region is the Chasuble of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered by the knights of King Henry II and canonized three years later by decree of the Roman Catholic Church. According to the Cathedral of Fermo, which holds the chasuble, the embroidered blue silk vestment was donated to Fermo by Bishop Presbitero in the twelfth century. But despite its importance, its outstanding preservation, and the presence of Arabic inscriptions, the chasuble has never been the subject of a comprehensive study.
With The Chasuble of Thomas Becket, art historian Avinoam Shalem is joined by an internationally renowned group of experts— Miriam Ali-de-Unzaga, Birgitt Borkopp-Restle, Ariane Dor, David Jacoby, Márta Járó, Germano Liberati, Ursula Nilgen, and Regula Schorta—in offering a new reading on this unique historical vestment. Contributions examine what we can determine about the chasuble’s manufacture; thoroughly assess its inscriptions, including with regard to the process or transculturation in a new Christian context in the Cathedral of Fermo; and reconsider its historical and mercantile context within the Mediterranean region, Muslim Spain, and Italy.
With The Chasuble of Thomas Becket, art historian Avinoam Shalem is joined by an internationally renowned group of experts— Miriam Ali-de-Unzaga, Birgitt Borkopp-Restle, Ariane Dor, David Jacoby, Márta Járó, Germano Liberati, Ursula Nilgen, and Regula Schorta—in offering a new reading on this unique historical vestment. Contributions examine what we can determine about the chasuble’s manufacture; thoroughly assess its inscriptions, including with regard to the process or transculturation in a new Christian context in the Cathedral of Fermo; and reconsider its historical and mercantile context within the Mediterranean region, Muslim Spain, and Italy.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Alessandro Bruschettini
Introduction: On Textiles, Bones, and the Politics of Reuse
Avinoam Shalem
The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Fermo
Germano Liberati
The Course of Research: What Can Visual and Literary Sources Tell Us?
Avinoam Shalem
Sigrid Müller-Christensen’s Analysis of the Fermo Chasuble: A Technical Description and a Paragraph in the History of Textile Research
Birgitt Borkopp-Restle
The Textile: Physical Description
Avinoam Shalem
Arabic Inscriptions Rweread
Avinoam Shalem
The Embroidery of the Fermo Chasuble Reconsidered- Reconstruction of Its Original Shape
Regula Schorta
The Textile Contextualized
Avinoam Shalem
Revisiting Adnalusi-Umayyad Caliphal Material Culture: The Multiple Biographies of the Embroidery Housed in Oña, Burgos
Miriam Ali-de-Unzaga
The Suaire de Saint Lazare at Autun: The Story of the Shroud; or, How a Hispano-Moresque Silk Became a Relic
Ariane Dor
The Production and Diffusion of Andalusi Silk and Silk Textiles, Mid-Eighth to Mid-Thirteenth Century
David Jacoby
Presbyter of Fermo and the Cult of Thomas Becket in the Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries
Ursula Nilgen
Plates, Part I: The Chasuble of Saint Thomas Becket in Fermo (Museo Diocesano)
Plates, Part II: The 1959 Restoration of the Chasuble of Saint Thomas Becket (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione Laboratorio Fotografico, Rome)
Part III: The “Fermo File” in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich (1958-1960)
Addenda
The Privilegium’s Affirmation: On the Founding of a Church in the Diocese of Fermo in 1184 and Its Consecration in Memory of Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Thomas of Canterbury in 1188
The “Fermo File” at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich
Avinoam Shalem
Report on the Investigation of a “Combined” Metal-Thread Sample
Márta Járó
Bibliography
Index
Photo Credits
Alessandro Bruschettini
Introduction: On Textiles, Bones, and the Politics of Reuse
Avinoam Shalem
The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Fermo
Germano Liberati
The Course of Research: What Can Visual and Literary Sources Tell Us?
Avinoam Shalem
Sigrid Müller-Christensen’s Analysis of the Fermo Chasuble: A Technical Description and a Paragraph in the History of Textile Research
Birgitt Borkopp-Restle
The Textile: Physical Description
Avinoam Shalem
Arabic Inscriptions Rweread
Avinoam Shalem
The Embroidery of the Fermo Chasuble Reconsidered- Reconstruction of Its Original Shape
Regula Schorta
The Textile Contextualized
Avinoam Shalem
Revisiting Adnalusi-Umayyad Caliphal Material Culture: The Multiple Biographies of the Embroidery Housed in Oña, Burgos
Miriam Ali-de-Unzaga
The Suaire de Saint Lazare at Autun: The Story of the Shroud; or, How a Hispano-Moresque Silk Became a Relic
Ariane Dor
The Production and Diffusion of Andalusi Silk and Silk Textiles, Mid-Eighth to Mid-Thirteenth Century
David Jacoby
Presbyter of Fermo and the Cult of Thomas Becket in the Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries
Ursula Nilgen
Plates, Part I: The Chasuble of Saint Thomas Becket in Fermo (Museo Diocesano)
Plates, Part II: The 1959 Restoration of the Chasuble of Saint Thomas Becket (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione Laboratorio Fotografico, Rome)
Part III: The “Fermo File” in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich (1958-1960)
Addenda
The Privilegium’s Affirmation: On the Founding of a Church in the Diocese of Fermo in 1184 and Its Consecration in Memory of Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Thomas of Canterbury in 1188
The “Fermo File” at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich
Avinoam Shalem
Report on the Investigation of a “Combined” Metal-Thread Sample
Márta Járó
Bibliography
Index
Photo Credits