13th Century: Cap, belt, cote, mantle, surcote and other fragments of Fernando de la Certa

 

Cap belonging to Ferdinanado de la Certa – died aged 20, 1211 or 1275, Spanish

Some Color pictures: Marianne Perdomo

For Mantle and fragments, click here to jump to bottom.

Cap:

Belt:

Cote/Surcote:

For Mantle and fragments, click here to jump to bottom.

According to the article by Benjamin L. Wild (2011): Emblems and enigmas: Revisiting the ‘sword’ belt of Fernando de la Cerda, Journal of Medieval History, 37:4, 378-396.

“In 1942, in the monastery of Santa Maria de los Regalis Huelgas (Burgos, Isapniya), served as a place of coronation and burial place of Spanish kings from the time of its founder, Alfonso VIII, was the tomb of Fernando de la Cerda, the eldest son of Alfonso X of Castile. Inside the tomb stone was placed the body 19-year-old Infanta in a luxurious, richly embroidered silk dress. Mastery of work, wealth and beauty, and not inferior to the waist, the waist is on the Infanta. This belt, unlike other clothing, jewelry heraldic symbols of Castile and Leon, had the marks of the royal houses of England, France and Navarre; presumably on the buckle emblem of Champagne. On the belt, there are also nine other heraldic symbols, not known in the thirteenth century Castile. Where does this thing and whose work he did not know until now, but there is debate about the three versions of its origin: Spanish, French or English.

Basis belt size 1920 mm long and 42 mm wide was woven on the plates and decorated with tiny blue and white glass beads. Inner face with black light green silk embroidered with gold thread. Both ends of the belt are attached two silver gilt plate about 150 mm long. To one of them is fastened the buckle and the other serving as the shank, has a trapezoidal shape and tapers somewhat towards the end. Both plates are decorated with pearls and sapphires, each taken four coated with a thin layer of enamel shield with heraldic images. Heraldic shields placed on the shank, rotated by 90 degrees with respect to all the others who are on the belt. This testifies to the manner of wearing this belt, which included hanging Shank – like the image is on the statue of King John Lackland of England (1199 – 1216), which is in Worcester Cathedral. Belt buckle has a trapezoidal shape.

Its hinged lid, designed to regulate the length of the belt and clip it at the right place, is one tripartite shield. Cover decorated with pearls, sapphires and one carnelian. 19 silver gilt belt pads divide into 20 equal parts by 75 mm. Each pad is attached on both sides, in the center – the pearl inset. Arched suspension-mount disposed between the first and second plates (counting from the buckle).

It is also made of gilded silver and decorated with pearls and sapphires, repeating motif buckle and tang. 20 sections belt decorated with alternating patterns. 10 of them are filled with intricate geometrical ornament in diamond-shaped framework, none of the images are not repeated, although they are very similar – including on a blue and white color scheme. 10 other sections filled constituents heraldic shields, some of which are repeated also on the buckle and the shank. Shields also made ​​in white and blue color, so it is unlikely that they reflect the actual color shown on them emblems. White and blue colors were not a couple inherent Heraldry Europe XIII century. Shields keep embroidered with white beads birds sitting on divided into 8 segments wheels. The remaining space between the wheel and shield busy little blue birds. Attempts to identify the heraldic symbols of those boards still causing heated debate and has not been successful: no consensus on this issue has not been worked out.”

DATE: Before 1275
MATTER AND TECHNIQUE:Silk, metallic threads, glass, water bottles, cabochons. Fabric, embroidery, die cut, crimped
DIMENSIONS: Height greater 15.7 cm; lower height 13.5 cm; diameter 19 cm
COLLECTION: Royal Pantheon of Las Huelgas de Burgos, grave of Infante Don Fernando
STOCK NUMBER: 00650523
DESCRIPTION: This headdress has a cylindrical shape with a lining and strips of fabric for adjustment. It is decorated on the surface with barracks of castles and lions. The castles are designed with blue beads on a golden silver surface that is arranged on a red background of vitreous beads, and the lions are embroidered on the background of pearl beads. Top with two metal perimeter strips on the top and bottom that are decorated with cabochons and incised decoration with shields of castles and lions.
The Monastery of Santa María la Real de las Huelgas de Burgos, founded in 1187 by Alfonso VIII and Leonor Plantagenet, served during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as a pantheon of the Castilian royal family. The opening of its graves, carried out for a scientific purpose of study, occurred between 1942 and 1944, and provided what is to date the best set of medieval civilian clothing in the world, both in quantity and quality. Despite the violent openings suffered throughout history, one of the burials of the pantheon, attributed to Emperor Alfonso VII, remained intact until the twentieth century. After its opening and study, the infant Fernando de la Cerda (1255-1275), heir of Alfonso X the Wise, was awarded. The grave, with all its contents intact,
The infant was buried with his own suit, complemented by a ring in his right hand, a beautiful belt, his sword, and some spikes. His body rested on several pillows in a wooden coffin lined, both outside and inside, with rich textiles. Unlike previous times, the men of the 13th century liked to cover their heads with different headdresses, an exceptional example being this mortarboard decorated with the infant’s weapons.
The mortarboard is made by a cylindrical beech wood frame, which serves as a support, covered by a thin white canvas lined with crimson taffeta, on which the heraldic decoration is arranged. The chinstrap is made with two fragments of fabric sewn in round, decorated with a crimson geometric composition outlined in black on a golden background.
The decoration of castles of castles and lions are the weapons that corresponded to the infant, firstborn of Alfonso X, and responds to the taste for the so-called heraldic fashion, typical of the second half of the thirteenth century, in which this decorative motif invades all kinds of surfaces. In the context of the Monasterio de las Huelgas, he adorns several royal graves and decorates the textile trousseau and clothing, such as the saya, the ball and the mantle of the same infant, or the mantle of King Ferdinand III the saint.
This type of ceremonial headdress, called mortarboard or bonnet, is framed within the generic type of leather, which according to Carmen Bernis would be a more general voice for all types of garments worn on the head. Inspired by the military world, its origin lies in the cylindrical helmets of the early thirteenth century, and caused a furor among the privileged classes. The Book of Games and Las Cantigas by Alfonso X el Sabio offer several examples of people touched with this type of mortarboard, which in the case of royal representations, is adorned with the barracks of castles and lions, following the same colors as this model.
Only three copies of this type of headdress are preserved: the one belonging to the infant Don Felipe (+ 1274), son of Fernando III, extracted from his grave in the church of Santa María la Blanca in Villalcázar de Sirga (Palencia) and preserved in the National Archaeological Museum; that of King Alfonso X (+1284), buried in the cathedral of Seville and still in his sepulcher; and the richest of all, this specimen belonging to the infant Fernando de la Cerda, found his grave in the Monastery of Las Huelgas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BERNIS MADRAZO, Carmen, Spanish medieval clothing. Madrid: Diego Velázquez Institute of the Higher Council for Scientific Research, 1956.
DESCALZO, Amalia. “Les vêtements royaux du monastère Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas.” In Fashion and clothing in late medieval Europe, edited by Regula Schorta and Reiner Christoph Schwinges, 97-106. Switzerland: Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg, 2009.
GÓMEZ MORENO, Manuel. The royal Pantheon of the Strikes of Burgos. Madrid: Higher Council for Scientific Research, 1946.
HERRERO CARRETERO, Concha. Catalog of the Museum of Medieval Fabrics. National Heritage, 1988
PIDAL MENENDEZ, Faustino. Heraldry of the royal house of León and Castilla: 12th-16th centuries. Madrid: Hidalguía, 2011.
YARZA LUANCES, Joaquín. Rich clothes. The monastery of Las Huelgas and its time 1170-1340. [cat. exp. Madrid, Royal Palace]. National Heritage, 2005.

Mantle and other fragments: (not beaded, but felt it was important to include)

Fragment of the mantle of Fernando III

Date: Prior to 1252

Material and Technique: Fabric: Silk Brocade

Dimensions: Height: 45cm Width: 35cm

Place of Production: Silk Fabric: Sevilla

Holding Institute: Armeria del Palacia Real Madrid

This fragment shows the coat of arms of Castile-León: a red lion on a white ground (León) and a golden castle with three towers on a red ground (Castile). The King´s mantle would have consisted of countless such fields arranged in an chessboard pattern. This exceptionally finely worked tapestry was probably made by Muslim weavers in the service of the Christian kings.

It is probably this strip belonged to the lower end of the mantle, since it includes a portion of the broder, formed by a series of horizontal stripes of blue, yellow, red and gold.

In the Libro de los Juegos, Alfonso X. is depicted wearing a similar mantle.

 

17th Century: Spangled ruff in Portraits of Doña Ana de Velasco y Girón

She must have loved this amazing ruff with dangling silver pointed spangles, this looks like the same one and same person over a few decades! Must have ben her signature item.

 

17th Century: Portrait of a lady with an elaborate jewelled headdress

Spanish School, 17th Century
Portrait of a lady with an elaborate jewelled headdress
oil on canvas
28 x 22 in. (71.1 x 55.9 cm.)

13th Century: Cap of Alfonso X

birrete alfonso X imagen_envia

Alfonso X (also occasionally known as AlphonsoAlphonse, or Alfons, 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284), was the King of CastileLeón and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284.