St Henry

Today is the feast of St Henry, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, who died in 1024. The illustrated Wikipedia article about him is here.

Last year the New Liturgical movement had some splendid articles about Bamberg, which is particularly associated with Henry. From amongst these I would recommend this article on the cathedral, which as it stands to day is one of the triumphs of late twelfth and early thirteenth century German architecture and another on the contents of the treasury. This includes the burial vestments of Pope Clement II and imperial mantles, including one that belonged to St Henry himself. Not only are such survivals precious in themselves, but they are a wonderful indication of the splendour of eleventh century liturgy and monarchy - even if they have suffered depredations over the centuries.

Quite enough to make one want to go on holiday to Bavaria.