The Thornham Parva Retable - and its Frontal

The always excellent series of videos from The Antiquary, Dr Allan Barton, has recently included two about the Thornham Parva Retable. 

This famous, and precious, survival from the early fourteenth century is now housed in the small Suffolk church of Thornham Parva, to which it was given about a century ago. There is good reason to believe that it originated in the Dominican friary church at Thetford and was preserved by a recusant family following the dissolution of the friary in 1538. The Retable has become appreciated and well known as an indicator of what once decorated the friaries, and other churches, of later medieval England.

The video can be seen at How did this painting survive the English Reformation?

This has been followed by a second video which was a complete revelation to me, pointing out that most of the painted altar frontal that originally accompanied it survives in the Musée de Cluny in Paris. The two match for size and style, and their joint survival seems almost miraculous. Like the Retable the history of the frontal until the museum acquired it in the later nineteenth century appears lost.

The video about it can be seen at How are these two medieval paintings connected?

It would be wonderful to see the two items reunited in an exhibition - and, better still, set up with an altar, so that, at least once, the traditional Dominion rite could again be celebrated at it.

St Dominic in art and faith

Today is the feast of St Dominic, who died in 1221 and was canonized in 1234.

His shrine tomb is in Bologna, and there is an article about it and about the reliquary of his skull here. The Arca is piece made in two stages, in the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Here is acontemporary photograph:

Image: Wikipedia



An older photograph showing the altar with a fine display of candles

Image: www.artand architecture.org.uk

This is a photograph of his head reliquary, made by the Bolognese goldsmith Jacopo Roseto in 1383

In England the Thornham Parva retable from the early fourteenth century survives in a small Suffolk parish church, but is thought that, together with afrontal now in the Musee de Cluny in paris, originally belonged to the Dominican friary in Thetford. On the left is St Dominic, and on the right the first Dominican martyr, St Peter Martyr:

The Thornham Parva retable

Image:inkoosmill.co.uk

There is more about the retable with details of the figures here.

Also in Suffolk there is this later fifteenth century English stained glass representation of St Dominic, from the remains of the beautiful glazing of Holy Trinity church at Long Melford:

A figure of St Dominic with at his feet either Henry Hardman or William Thwaytes.

Window nXIX,2a

St Dominic is shown in blue rather than the black of his Order as the latter colour would only be used for details in glass due to its opacity.

Image: Gordon Plumb's photostream of Flickr,

This is a day upon which to give thanks for St Dominic and his Order, which is certainly present and active in Oxford - "Gods Dogs" are a very positive part of Catholic life here. It is also a day upon which I try to remember in my prayers the deceased Dominicans of the medieval house in Pontefract, about which I posted recently.