| The Angevin kingdom. |
The Angevin kingdom.Though I have used the phrase "Anglo-Norman" to denote the school of manuscript illumination which, from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, existed on both sides of the Channel, it should be observed that manuscripts of a similar type to those of Normandy were produced in many places far to the south, and indeed almost throughout the whole dominions of the Angevin kings, including the whole western half of France down to Gascony and the Pyrenees. The fact is that to a great degree all forms of Norman art extended throughout the whole Angevin dominions, so that, for example, we find a Cathedral as far south as Bayonne (not far from the Spanish frontier) resembling closely both in general design and details of mouldings and carving the ecclesiastical architecture of Canterbury and Caen.
| English art in the XIIIth century. |
English art in the XIIIth century.English art at its highest period of development. The thirteenth century was the culminating period of Anglo-Norman art of all kinds; and indeed for a brief period England occupied the foremost position in the world with regard to nearly all the principal branches of the fine arts.
| Henry III. as an art patron. |
Henry III. as an art patron.The early years of the thirteenth century were a time of war and tumult, little favourable to artistic advance, but during the long reign of Henry III., which lasted from 1216 to 1272, progress of the most remarkable kind was made. The King himself was an enthusiastic patron of all the arts, ranging from manuscript illumination to the construction of such a fabric as Westminster Abbey; and the lesser arts of life, such as weaving, embroidery, metal work, together with stained glass, mural painting and other forms of decoration, were all brought in England to a wonderful pitch of perfection between 1250 and 1300.
| Houses of Henry III. |
Houses of Henry III.Immense sums were spent by the King in improving and decorating his Palaces and Manor Houses all over the kingdom with an amount of refinement and splendour that had hitherto been unknown. Many interesting contemporary documents still exist giving the expenses of the many works which Henry III. carried out. He spent large sums on fitting the windows with glass casements, laying down floors of "painted tiles," and in panelling the walls with wainscot which was richly decorated with painting in gold and colours. Large mural paintings were executed by a whole army of painters on the walls of the chief rooms; and decorative art both for domestic and ecclesiastical purposes was in England brought to a pitch of perfection far beyond that of any continental country.
| Chief works of Henry III. |
Chief works of Henry III.The chief works of Henry III. were the building of a magnificent Palace at Westminster in place of the ruder structure of the earlier Norman kings; the reconstruction of Westminster Abbey, and the providing for the body of Edward the Confessor a great shrine of pure gold, richly studded with jewels of enormous value. A long and interesting series of accounts of these and other lavish expenditures of money still exist in the Record Office[[100]].