[MR] History Blog: What Do Cardinals Use to Carry Their Stuff Around? (Garth Groff and Sally Sanford)

[Elizabeth Caldwell]

I would have said their beaks.  🙂  🐦



-Lady Isabella who cannot pass up a good pun

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Message: 1
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2025 07:04:42 -0500
From: Garth Groff and Sally Sanford <mallardlodge1000 at gmail.com>
To: Atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org,  "Garth Groff & Sally Sanford"
        <mallardlodge1000 at gmail.com>,  Garth Groff Sally Sanford
        <sarahsan at embarqmail.com>
Subject: [MR] History Blog: What Do Cardinals Use to Carry Their Stuff
        Around?
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        <CAHgmDuA4V1ha0Ykg1A1VHt6cG__9Grs=3Eo93PFtMZbcUE4apw at mail.gmail.com>
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Noble Friends,

Today the History Blog features an interesting story about an elaborate
chest/casket/box/suitcase owned by an early 13th century Italian Cardinal.

The object in question was property of Cardinal Guala
Bicchieri (1160-1227), an attorney and papal legate, who acted as a
diplomat and trouble-shooter for popes Innocent III and Honorius III. It
was Cardinal Bicchieri who finally negotiated an end to England's
disastrous Barons' Wars, adding his seal to the reissued Magna Carta. Not a
bad accomplishment by any stretch of the imagination.

Cardinal Bicchieri was filthy rich, as befit a prince of the medieval
church. He had this casket made by the finest craftsmen to tote around his
documents, fancy vestments, treasures, underwear, or whatever else a
traveling cardinal might need (probably just one of the cardinal's many
luggage pieces, but the only one known to survive). The casket lived up to
its name by even holding Bicchieri's mortal remains for a time. The chest
is made from polished walnut, and adorned with all sorts of bosses and
gilded medallions, a true work of art.

Somewhat confusingly, the second image in the History Blog post is Richard
of Cornwall's similar casket, now held by Aachen Cathedral. It seems
intended to be a comparison shot. The first, third and fourth images show
the Bicchieri casket. In my humble opinion, Bicchieri's
slightly understated casket is the more attractive of the pair.

At some point during the box's long life some of its bling was
stolen, probably during the Napoleonic wars. Recently five missing bosses
appeared in a Paris art dealer's catalog with a ?50,000 price tag. The
Turin Civic Museum, which owns the casket, raised the funds to buy back the
stolen pieces through crowdfunding. These are not all the missing pieces,
but a good start to completely restoring this amazing piece of medieval
luggage.

You can see this chest at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72170 .

A brief bio of Bicchieri is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guala_Bicchieri
.

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  ?
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.


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