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clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
Claire Barnes
@clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
94 followers 96 following 170 posts
Interested in the life, times & legacy of Elizabeth de Burgh, #LadyOfClare - the remarkable #14thCentury patron of #ClareCollege at #CambridgeUniversity […]

[bridged from https://h-net.social/@ClaireFromClare on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
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clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
4 Oct is the feast of St Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order. He's the patron saint of animals, the environment, and ecologists - so it's also #worldanimalday.
🎨 #luttrellpsalter f60v (East Anglia c.1325-35)

#stfrancis #medieval #manuscript #14thcentury #britishlibrary @medievodons
Illumination of St Francis, a monk in long brown robe with a knotted rope for a belt, standing with his hands up. There are wounds in his chest, hands & feet, reflecting those of Christ crucified, ('stigmata'). Another cowled human sits at his feet, looking away, while a lion sits peacefully on the right. They're under a tree with colourful leaves and five large birds, four of which are looking attentively at St Francis. The text above reads "Multa flagella peccatoris".
October 4, 2025 at 11:38 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
@leafyhistory.bsky.social
And 700 years ago the skate look scary!
I assume artist's licence in this image, but do you have any evidence of changing size?

🎨 Macclesfield Psalter, East Anglia 1330s […]

[Original post on h-net.social]
Illustration from the lower margin of an illuminated manuscript. A man falls back in surprise as he is approached by a giant skate: the fish is larger than the man.
July 17, 2025 at 2:31 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
Another shrine to Our Lady of Good Counsel is at #clarepriory in England: established 777 years ago under the patronage of Richard de Clare (& his wife Matilda); enlarged by his daughter-in-law Joan of Acre and granddaughter Elizabeth #LadyofClare. The modern […]

[Original post on h-net.social]
Stone relief of a seated Virgin Mary with the Christ-child on her knee, against pink-washed walls in a sunny medieval courtyard garden at Clare Priory in Suffolk.
May 11, 2025 at 3:32 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
@trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social This may be doctored? The ICE account on X has the version below - easy to parody, but already noteworthy in the original, and best to be clear which this is?
ICE post showing a poster: "If it crosses the U.S. border illegally, it's our job to STOP IT: PEOPLE MONEY PRODUCTS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY*" (* not "IDEAS" as in version above* ). The text of the post is: "ICE enforces 400+ federal laws to ensure public safety and national security. Our job is to ensure people, money, products and intellectual property. DO NOT enter the U.S. illegally. Learn more about our mission: ICE.gov"
April 11, 2025 at 10:35 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
@matthewcollins.bsky.social On Mastodon I see only the first post - but thanks to #bridgy for that! Fedizens, "see original page" for v interesting thread on #medieval supply chains & possible climate impact, or jump to paper at https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241090
@medievodons
Map showing trade routes connecting Greenland, Iceland and the Baltic coasts with medieval France
April 9, 2025 at 12:05 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
@philiploring.com The preview card for that link isn't showing up on Bluesky, but it's a great title, & apt cartoon. "Mastodon over Mammon"... where will the butterfly fit in? 4/
Drawing shows a large elephant-like mastodon hovering over the title "Mastodon over Mammon: towards publicly owned knowledge", and a scene in which a unicorn looks away from the tree / vine / scholar / "Non Solus" inscription of the Elsevier logo towards the words "Private Interests". A Facebook "f" leans on the unicorn, with twitter birds above. Wording on the elephant’s front foot includes "values scholarship over revenue" & "reclaiming ownership over the scholarly commons".
January 24, 2025 at 5:18 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
Medieval paintings as seen by master conservator Spike Bucklow, through paint samples the size of a dust speck, in his new book 'The Art Beneath': https://centrecentre.co.uk/products/the-art-beneath

#newbook #medieval #painting #arthistory #hamiltonkerr @medievodons
Sample with a vibrant blue layer above an orange one with red and yellow, and a black edge - from an English painting dated 1263, using azurite to depict blue feathers. Sample with a white layer over a vibrant red one speckled with golden orange, and I think a very thin layer of gold leaf at the top? - from an English painting dated 1335, described as a gold leaf layer using vermilion to depict gilded red. Sample with white layer over a thin layer of gold, above greeny-blue, then black, and a thick white substrate. From an English painting dated 1390, described as a gold leaf layer with chalk ground, depicting gilded blue. Sample with a bright yellow base layer, topped by a green layer which darkens towards the top, and what looks like a glassy or burnt layer on top. From an English painting dated 1390, described as a gold leaf layer with copper glaze, depicting gilded green.
January 4, 2025 at 8:12 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
The choir of Clare College Cambridge posted has been touring in Europe, returned exhausted but happy, and posted these reflections from music director Graham Ross on Why They Do It.

#choral #music #why #clarecollege #choir #cambridgeuniversity #clarecollegechoir
The first of 3 pages of text from the Director of Music, Graham Ross. Summary: It's Christmas Eve, and I woke this morning at my in-laws in Belfast after a considerably more comfortable night's sleep than our marathon 20-hour journey home through the night yesterday from the snow-laden Black Forest, via every conceivable mode of transport... Festive touring in December requires energy and commitment. Over the last month we have given 12 performances in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands, after a full academic term of 25 services and concerts on our home turf, as well as 2 BBC broadcasts. Why do we do tour? Sharing our music making around the globe has always been an important part of our schedule, and something that I've always firmly believed in. Over 15 years of international tours with different generations of Clare Choir I've seen time and time again the direct benefits for the group as a whole and for its individual members. Unlike professional choirs and consorts on the circuit, a Collegiate Chapel choir that is part of an academic institution has a change of personnel every year. It's perhaps easy to forget that just twelve weeks ago the Clare Choir of 2024/25 hadn't even met. This year there were 17 new members of the Choir. Those first few weeks of the academic year are absolutely crucial: there is a need for real focus and hard work from the word go; a need to hone and shape the collective sound into the Clare model; a need to develop a group that listens to and respects each other; and a need to create an outfit that can deliver day in, day out, in an incredibly short period of time. The Choir comprises around 30 individuals, but we are very much a team, and this is nowhere more apparent than when on tour. It's hard to put into words what it is to nurture and witness the musical journey that my students make from that first rehearsal together in October to standing ovations like those we received this last month. Our music making hopefully brings something special to our audiences. I think this is particularly important at this time of year, which can be difficult for some. One audience member came to me in tears after one of our concerts last week, explaining personal circumstances as to why our performance meant so much to them. If one person feels moved by our performances, then we are doing something right. If perhaps 6000 people can feel something similar, then for me that perfectly sums up why we do what we do. Touring helps to develop life-long friendships, and | have in my students a fantastically close-knit group who care deeply about what they do and who look out for each other (snowball ferocity notwithstanding). I owe a huge amount of thanks to all those behind the scenes who enable us to do what we do: our agents, our overseas promotors, our recording label, Mark our Dean, Gabrielle our Head of Chapel Office, and, in particular, Daniel our brilliant Choir Administrator who navigated us all so smoothly from country to country. But, as ever, it's my singers and organists who should accept most of the praise here for delivering night after night performances of outstanding musicianship, for serving as ambassadors for Clare College, and for creating life- long memories for both performers and audiences alike. And so now for some much-needed rest before it all starts again next month. Thank you to all our friends and supporters around the world who joined us this year; we look forward to seeing you again in 2025. I'll be starting my New Year about as far away from Cambridge as it gets, as Scott Polar Research Institute’s Musician in Residence in Antarctica, but already know that on my return to Clare in February I will be reunited with one of the most gifted, hardworking and talented university Choirs in the land. I can't ask for more than that. Graham Ross (Director of Music) Smiles all round in this photo of the Clare College Choir with Graham Ross, December 2024.
December 25, 2024 at 7:57 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
For a change from our current leaders, shall we try a #boybishop?

Celebrating #otd 6Dec the feast of #stnicholas & traditions explored in last year's thread:
🧵 https://h-net.social/@ClaireFromClare/111531472836477908

🎨 Stowe Breviary, painted in Norwich c.1322-25.
Decorated manuscript initial "D", showing St Nicholas in his bishop's mitre with crozier, blessing three boys emerging from a tub after rescue.
December 6, 2024 at 4:19 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
Centuries later, the choral tradtion at both colleges remains strong.
Below, the choirs of Clare & Pembroke.
Above, images from Clare College's recent performance of Britten's 'Hymn of St Cecilia', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwXXyLpQAXU&t=4700s 🧵 3/3
Two mail choristers in full voice Two female choristers The choir of Clare College, and music director Graham Ross, in the chapel of Clare College, with Cipriani's painting of the Annunciation in the background. The choirs of Pembroke College, with music director Anna Lapwood, at King's Place in London in 2022 - some in red coats, and all smiling / laughing broadly.
November 24, 2024 at 6:18 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
#mariedestpol founded #pembrokecollege Cambridge. She’s shown here with #stcecilia, patron of musicians, whose feast is celebrated on 22 Nov.
🧵 2/3
Illuminated manuscript page, including a square image in which Marie, identified by a heraldic cloak, is kneeling in prayer to the standing St Cecilia, who carries a martyr's palm and book. Colourful foliage decorates the margins and initials; in the left margin a young man walks towards the text with his hands together as if in prayer.
November 24, 2024 at 5:50 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
In her 1359 statutes for #clarecollege Cambridge, the #LadyofClare stipulated a schedule for religious services, including many "with notes"– illustrated here in the sumptuous breviary of her close friend #mariedestpol.
🧵 1/3 @medievodons

#medieval #choir #choral #music #cambridgeuniversity
Against a blue and gold background, three fair young men, following with their fingers the musical notation in a book. From the Breviary of Marie de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke, founder of Pembroke College, f55r.
November 24, 2024 at 3:52 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
'Stories of Syria's Textiles' range from the ancient silk routes to preserving skills amid the devastation of war. This #bookreview by Jenny Balfour-Paul in Selvedge magazine talks of the cultural losses in Syria & Palestine, of damask & of gauze.
#Syria #palestine #textiles #BookReview
Screenshots of the two-page book review, with full text, and photos of some of the garments. This page talks of the book's range. This page talks of Syria & Palestine, & the devastation of war. It ends with the poem by Em Berry, 'Because of Us': This morning, I learned The English word gauze (finely woven medical cloth) Comes from the Arabic word Ghazza Because Gazans have been skilled weavers for centuries I wondered then how many of our wounds have been dressed because of them and how many of theirs have been left open because of us
August 31, 2024 at 2:30 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
🧵 PS: Louis IX, the only French king to be canonized, died on 25 Aug 1270.

🎨 with his mother, Blanche of Castile, in the Bible of St Louis, 1226-34; in the Breviary of #mariedestpol, c.1330s

#otd #nameday
Illumination with gold background. The top and bottom half each show a pair of figures under two arches, with houses and towers behind. In the top half, a woman and a young man sit enthroned, both crowned, and facing each other. The young man, Louis, holds the orb and sceptre of kingship. The woman, his mother, gestures towards him with instructions or care. In the bottom half, the two seated figures are a monk with a book, and a lay scribe working on a manuscript. The young man has a blue robe with red sleeves. Authorship page from the Bible of St Louis, dated 1226-1234 between ascension to throne and marriage. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. In this illumination, the crowned Louis is older & bearded, identified by golden fleur-de-lys on his blue robe, and sitting on a throne with lion's heads. He looks concerned. From the Breviary of Marie de St Pol, Cambridge University Library MS Dd.5.5, f.295r.
August 24, 2024 at 6:02 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
The Coronation of the Virgin as Queen of Heaven is celebrated on 22 Aug, a week after the Assumption.

#pienzacope #opusanglicanum #medieval #english #embroidery #14thcentury @medievodons
Detail from the embroidery, made with silver-gilt and silver thread and coloured silks. Under arches with twisting organic supports, the Virgin Mary is seated next to her son Jesus. She wears a green robe with hints of blue (guessing this may have changed over time, from blue?), & a white headscarf or veil. Jesus is shown as a healthy mature man, with a beard. He wears an orange robe with a blue lining, and like his mother’s the robe has a decorated edging. Jesus wears a strawberry-leaf crown, and has reached out with his riight hand to place a similar crown on his mother’s head. She appears surprised, and touched; she is raising her hands to him in prayer. The Pienza Cope, made in England c.1330s, is in the Museo Diocesano, Pienza.
August 22, 2024 at 1:40 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
Aug 15th is the Feast of the Assumption. In 1358 the Lady of Clare celebrated with a banquet at her London townhouse; her guests were the Minoress community of Franciscan nuns, & 28-year old Prince Edward, later known as the Black Prince.
🎨 from artworks she […]

[Original post on h-net.social]
A complex painting on wooden panels. Across the middle, the body of the Virgin Mary lies prone on her bed, as if sleeping (the Dormition). Above is the standing Christ, making upward gestures with his hands & welcoming her to Heaven (the Assumption); her soul is depicted as a small ethereal figure nestled in the cloak of her son Christ, near his heart. In the top corners, two angels lean down from the clouds, their hands in prayer. Their wings are striped: one blue & white, one red & white. Haloed wellwishers surround the body; some still grieving, most looking upwards in awe. The painting is from an altar frontal made c.1330s for the Dominican priory at Thetford or Norwich. The frontal is now in the Musée de Cluny; its companion retable is in the church at Thornham Parva. An illuminated miniature showing the Dormition and Assumption. In the lower half, Mary lies prone on her bed; behind her are sad wellwishers. The young man St John, in a red cloak, looks particularly despondent. Above is a semicircle depicting heaven, with blue white & red borders evoking an upside-down rainbow. In its golden interior, Christ cradles in his left arm the small soul of Mary, while his right hand gestures in blessing. This is a detail from the Breviary of Marie de St Pol, also c.1330s; Cambridge University Library, MS Dd.5.5, f280r.
August 15, 2024 at 2:20 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
The Minoress order (sorores minores) was in royal & aristocratic favour for generations, in both France & England. While Marie always supported the order, Elizabeth & Maud engaged after disappointments elsewhere. These three women were notably independent & […]

[Original post on h-net.social]
Black & white engraving. Inside a walled compound, with other fine buildings, the Abbey has a very long nave, and a round tower with tall spire. It is captioned: 'L'Abbaye de Longchamp au XVIIᵉ siècle, d’après la gravure d’Israel Silvestre’.
August 11, 2024 at 6:35 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law Maud of Lancaster had joined an Augustinian nunnery after being widowed, & then started a chantry college at #bruisyard in Suffolk with Bishop Bateman of Norwich (founder of #trinityhall Cambridge). Her newly-rediscovered statutes […]

[Original post on h-net.social]
Photo of Bruisyard Hall, built after the Dissolution and incorporating remains of the Franciscan convent.
August 11, 2024 at 4:44 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
In later life the #LadyofClare built a townhouse next to the Minoresses outside Aldgate in London, & provided lavishly for her burial there. The 5-acre Minoress convent was a major institution until the Dissolution, but the only current traces are the streetnames of Minories & St Clare St. 🧵 4/
Black & white drawing from a high perspective, looking northwards across the River Thames to the Tower of London, with the convent of the Minoresses behind. Both are outside the curving wall of the City of London, to the left. Beyond the convent is empty countryside. Sailing ships ply the river. From Wyngaerde's view of 1543, reproduced 1881.
August 11, 2024 at 3:49 PM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
#mariedestpol in 1336 granted the manor of Denny to the Minoress nuns of flood-prone Waterbeach. She later moved the community to Denny Abbey, from which the Templars had been evicted some decades earlier […]

[Original post on h-net.social]
Photo of a large room with magnificent timbered roof and arched window, and the remains of a timber floor above the ground-level room below. (I understand that is thought to have been the chapel, in Marie de St Pol's rebuild). Photo by Claire Barnes, 2019. Artist's impression of the refectory with nuns dining, and other women serving, c.1350. The tables are on platforms around the edge of the building, which has a tiled floor and painted walls; the seated nuns face into the centre of the room. One nun reads from a balcony above. Detail of drawing by T Ball, J930289 © Historic England Archive. The refectory building survives, used for centuries as a barn, & the tiled floor was rediscovered in the 1980s.
August 11, 2024 at 8:31 AM
clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy
Aristocratic ladies were important #14thcentury patrons of English communities of the Order of St Clare, the Franciscan nuns also known as the Minoresses or Poor Clares.
#stclare had died on 11 Aug 1353; #til from the excellent Wikipedia page that she’s now the […]

[Original post on h-net.social]
Fresco showing a large congregation of women praying. The grouping suggests that there may be more behind the 18 that are partially visible. All wear brown habits, with rope girdles, and blue/grey veils which cover the hair but not the face. St Clare, on the right, is depicted at larger scale, with a halo, gazing into the distance. Her right hand is elevated as in prayer; her left hand is crossed over to point at the followers behind.
August 11, 2024 at 5:50 AM