Vigiliae Christi Natalis - Vesper Sanctus

Salvete Omnes,

 

Swieta Bozego Narodzenia jutro, a dzisiaj Wigilia - vigiliae Christi Natalis
Wesolych, zdrowych, pogodnych i pelnych humoru Swiat - dla wszystkich!
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Merry Christmas to you all, my friends and fellow travellers.
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Feliz Navidad para todos ustedes

 

Valete !

 

Cangrande della Scala - autopsy of a XIV century Italian knight

Salve,
while researching  the equestrian statues from the Medieval period, mostly from the Italian states, I came across this very unusual article(in pdf) authored by Gino Fornaciari et al.  A different version of this study via academia.edu.
The article is a step by step presentation of the autopsy of the preserved 'mummy' of  the XIV century Veronese prince and knight Cangrande della Scala, who was a very active warrior , statesman and the Ghibeline League supporter - his last deed was to take Treviso, in Veneto, and if you traveling in Italy do visit, it is a lovely small city with good cuisine and nice people (visited last year).

Cangrande was immortalized in the Decamoron and the Divina Comedia, and in this funerary equestrian monument. 

The authors of this multidisciplinary study conclude that this warrior-prince (1,73 m tall, healthy and robust otherwise) was cut short (he was only 38 years old) as he was poisoned with foxglove aka digitalis plant ('naparstnica' in Polish), present in his system.

There are some figurines of Cangrande I della Scala done by the militrary modelists - [1] , [2]
giving a sens of the richness and beauty of his chivalrous appearance.
Enjoy
ps
all images are from Wikimedia Commons

Saint Martin from Colmar

Salve,
today we will travel back to the European Medieval equestrian imagery, this time from the Gothic period of the Medieval art.  Namely, the Saint Martin de Tours Collegiate Roman Catholic church at Colmar, Alsace region of France, has some amazing art that has survived the upheavals of history,  including the barbarian period of the French Revolution and destruction caused by those son of liberty and progress... It used to be the home of this amazing Northern Gothic painting by the Colmar native, Martin Schongauer, called Madonna in the Rose Garden - a bit more here. But now it can be viewed at the Dominican Church .
The western fasade (face of the building) of this Gothic church has a portal, with several lovely horses carved inside the tympanum (the nativity scene, showing the Magi paying homage to Christ etc) and a gable with a mounted figure of Saint Martin de Tours sharing his coat with a beggar.

Firstly, our warrior Saint Martin from the gable. The spirited horse appears to be a riding horse or a palfrey and perhaps a gaited horse (his legs  somewhat indicate this). It is unclear if his bridle has a snaffle bit or a curb-bit, while the breastplate-crouper arrangement is typical for the period (we get some detail as to their attachment to the saddle tree). The rider is using a relaxed, deep seat, with his legs somewhat flexed but extended (sort of a Dom Duarte's variation) and firm in wide-base stirrups. No spur is visible.

The Unterlinden Dominican Convent Museum (famous for the Isenheim Altarpiece)  houses a damaged statue of Saint Martin, sculpted circa AD 1300.

The horses from the tympanum

Interestingly, all three mounts of the Magi have bridles with snaffle bit, while the saddles are typical high arches affairs, with only the breastplate visible, but we get a nice view of a stirrup, and the saddle-skirts as well as the double girth arrangement. Horses have a look of a palfreys and thus are noble riding horses, but not the dextrarius or war horse appearance.
I was there recently, but my own pictures are not adequate so I am using Wiki Commons collections, eg (1)- for which I am grateful.
enjoy
ps
by accident I stumbled upon this unusual or rather bizzare Medieval art artifact - Judensau, prevalent in the Holy Roman Empire and adjacent countries,  that also can be found at Colmar's Saint Martin church - a photo here.