Account of a Tour in Normandy, Volume 1Turner, Dawson
History
Account of a Tour in Normandy, Volume 1
Turner, Dawson
Architecture -- France -- Normandy; Normandy (France) -- Antiquities; Normandy (France) -- Description and travel
"I ought to have mentioned, that the mitre appears, by the jewels
with which it is ornamented, to represent that which is called _Mitra
pretiosa_, from this circumstance. An inferior kind of mitre, worn on
less solemn occasions, was termed _Mitra Aurifrygiata_; and a common
one, made of plain linen or silk, was termed _Simplex Mitra_. The
only part of the dress which puzzles me, is the great ornament on the
neck and shoulders. The question is, (which those can best determine
who have seen the original statue,) whether it adheres to the
_Pallium_, or to the _Casula_. In either case, it must be considered
as part of the vestment to which it adheres.
"It is quite out of my power to determine, or even to conjecture on
any rational grounds, which, of a certain three-score of archbishops
of Rouen, the figure represents; but, if I were to choose between
Maurice, the fifty-fourth archbishop, who died in 1235, and William,
of Durefort, the sixty-first, who died in 1330, from the comparative
lowness of the mitre, and some other circumstances of the dress, I
should determine in favor of the former. Perhaps it may represent our
Walter, who was first Bishop of Lincoln, and then transferred to
Rouen, by Pope Lucius IIIrd. He died in 1208, after having signalized
himself as much as any of his predecessors or successors have done.
"P.S. On consulting with an intelligent ecclesiastic of Rouen, I am
inclined to think that the above-mentioned ornament upon the
shoulders, is the _Mozetta_, being a short round cloak, which all
bishops still wear, with the _Rochet, Pectoral Cross_, and _Purple
Cassock_, as their _ordinary dress_; but, in modern times, the
_Mozetta_ is laid aside, when the prelate puts on his officiating
vestments; though he retains the cassock, cross, and rochet,
underneath them. My informant says, that this mozett is common on the
tombs of bishops who died in former ages."
[83] The same idea is to be observed on many ancient monuments: among
others, it is engraved on the fine sepulchral brass to the memory of Sir
Hugh Hastings, in Elsing church.--See _Cotman's Norfolk Sepulchral
Brasses._
[84] By the words _Lilia_ and _Quercus_, are designated the armorial
bearings of the King of France, and Pope Julius IInd, of the House of
Rovere.
[85] The bodies of the Cardinals d'Amboise were dug up in 1793, together
with most of the others interred in the cathedral, for the sake of their
leaden coffins: at the same time the lead was also stripped from the
transepts; and a colossal statue of St. George, which stood on the
eastern point of the choir, was likewise consigned to the furnace.
[86] Ducarel says (_Anglo-Norman Antiquities_, p. 20.) that she was the
favorite mistress of two successive kings; but I do not find this
assertion borne out by history.
[87] Vol. IV. p. 47.
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