Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Saturday 21 January 2012

The Royal Gold Cup


As today is the feast of St Agnes it seems not inappropriate to draw attention to the Royal Gold Cup, which is now in the British Museum. The Cup is decorated with enamelled scenes which narrate the story of St Agnes. The cup is a rare and spectacular survival of late medieval French goldsmiths' work, and is of the highest quality. A detailed account of the cup, its dating and history as well as of its decoration can be read here.


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