Lancelot in Silesia

A while ago I came upon an article on Medievalists.net about a series of early fourteenth century wall paintings depicting the story of Sir Lancelot in a medieval tower house at Siedleçin in Lower Silesia. Having been whitewashed they were initially rediscovered in the nineteenth century and have gradually been recovered and studied.

 

The Siedlečin Tower was built in 1312-15 by Duke Henry ( Henryk ) I of Jawor and the paintings are thought to be from a few years later. They may represent the influence or interests of his wife, a daughter of the King of Bohemia, whom he married in 1319.

The Medievalists.net account can be seen at Finding Sir Lancelot in Medieval Poland 

Wikipedia has an entry for the building at Siedlęcin Tower

The Tower represents one aspect of the convoluted aristocratic politics of medieval central Europe. In particular it is a section of the story of the fragmentation of Piast authority in the western lands of the Polish kingdom in the extended absence of central royal authority, and the dynastic moves that led towards Bohemian overlordship in 1392. There is an introduction to the region from Wikipedia at Lusatia .

There is a biography on Wikipedia of the builder at Henry I of Jawor and one of his spouse at Agnes of Bohemia, Duchess of Jawor  These biographies, and the links within them, are interesting in exploring the complex of familial ties amongst the aristocratic elites of the region and also by indicating the potential cultural contacts that could have flowed from them. Some aspects of those possibilities were examined in a 2015 guest post on the Edward II blogspot which can be seen at Edward II, Duke Henryk and 14th-Century Murals at Siedlęcin 

Tomb effigies now displayed in the town hall of Lwówek Ślaşki which represent, in all probability, Duke Henryk and his wife Agnes ( Anežka)

Image: Ludwig Schneider/ Edward II Blog

In England virtually the sole surviving example of such domestic paintings are those at Longthorpe Tower, which lies very much in the western suburbs of Peterborough. They also are dated to around 1330 and combine religious and secular themes. As a collection both by date and their nature they are very much a counterpart to those at Siedleçin. There is more information about these paintings and the history of Longthorpe at Longthorpe Tower from English Heritage, at Longthorpe Tower, and from Wikipedia at Longthorpe Tower

The important remains of mid-thirteenth century paintings in what was the refectory of the priory at Horsham St Faith, just north of Norwich, are perhaps comparable in their blending of the sacred and the secular. Painted to tell the story of the establishment of the priory, they depict its foundation after misadventures whilst travelling back from pilgrimage to Rome befell the husband and wife, Robert and Sybil Fitzwilliam. They founded the house in thanksgiving for their safe return. There are images at The Batchelor Collection - Wall Paintings