A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...
or
throne
A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the mon ...
. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent
architectural
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
feature, particularly over
high altars in
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...
s, where such a structure is more correctly called a
ciborium when it is sufficiently architectural in form. Baldachins are often supported on columns, especially when they are disconnected from an enclosing wall. A cloth of honour is a simpler cloth hanging vertically behind the throne, usually continuing to form a canopy. It can also be used for similar canopies in interior design, for example above beds, and for processional canopies used in formal state ceremonies such as coronations, held up by four or more men with poles attached to the corners of the cloth.
"''Baldachin''" was originally a luxurious type of cloth from
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
, from which name the word is ultimately derived, appearing in English as "''baudekin''" and other spellings.
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...
records that
Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry ...
wore a robe "''de preciosissimo baldekino''" at a ceremony at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
in 1247. The word for the cloth became the word for the ceremonial canopies made from the cloth.
Canopies of state
In the Middle Ages, a hieratic canopy of state (or "estate"), cloth of honour, or cloth of state was hung above the seat of a personage of sufficient standing, as a symbol of authority. The seat under such a canopy of state would normally be raised on a
dais
A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)[dais]
in the Random House Dictionary< ...
. The cloth above a seat generally continued vertically down to the ground behind the seat. Emperors and kings, reigning dukes and bishops were accorded this honour. In a 15th-century manuscript illumination the sovereign Grand Master of the
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
in Rhodes sits in state to receive a presentation copy of the author's book. His seat is raised on a carpet-covered dais and backed with a richly embroidered ''dosser'' (French, ''"dos"''). Under his feet is a cushion, such as protected the feet of the King of France when he presided at a ''
lit de justice''. The King of France was also covered by a mobile canopy during his coronation, held up on poles by several
Peer
Peer may refer to:
Sociology
* Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group
* Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm"
Computing
* Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...
s of France. The
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
in particular, is very often shown sitting under a cloth of honour in medieval and Renaissance paintings where she is shown enthroned with saints.
The cloth was often simply a luxurious textile, often imported and with rich patterns, as in
brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word " broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "emb ...
s, but might have heraldic elements. French kings are often shown with blue cloths patterned with the gold
fleur-de-lys.
Margaret Beaufort, mother of
Henry VII in her portrait by an anonymous artist, c. 1500 prays under a canopy of estate; one can see the
dosser against the gilded leather wall-covering and the tester above her head (the
Tudor rose
The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor rose consists o ...
at its center) supported on cords from the ceiling. The coats-of-arms
embroidered or woven into the
tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...
are of England (parted as usual with France) and the portcullis badge of the Beauforts.
Sometimes, as in the
presentation miniature
A presentation miniature or dedication miniature is a miniature painting often found in illuminated manuscripts, in which the patron or donor is presented with a book, normally to be interpreted as the book containing the miniature itself.Brow ...
''
Jean Wauquelin presenting his 'Chroniques de Hainaut' to Philip the Good'' by
Rogier van der Weyden, the cloth continues over the seat, and then to the floor. In the summer of 1520, a meeting was staged between
Francis I of France
Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...
and
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, where the ostentatious display of wealth and power earned the meeting-place the name of
''The Field of Cloth of Gold''. The canopy of estate may still be seen in most formal
throne room
A throne room or throne hall is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure (usually a monarch) is set up with elaborate pomp—usually raised, ...
s.
State bed
The state bed, intended for receiving important visitors and producing heirs before a select public, but not intended for sleeping in, evolved during the second half of the seventeenth century, developing the medieval tradition of receiving visitors in the bedroom, which had become the last and most private room of the standard suite of rooms in a Baroque apartment.
Louis XIV
Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
developed the rituals of receptions in his state bedchamber, the ''
petit lever'' to which only a handful of his court élite might expect to be invited. The other monarchs of Europe soon imitated his practice; even his staunchest enemy,
William III of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic f ...
, had his "grooms of the bedchamber", a signal honour.
The state bed, a ''
lit à la duchesse''—its canopy supported without visible posts— was delivered for the use of Queen
Marie Leszczyńska
Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; ; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska, was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of Sta ...
at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
, as the centrepiece of a new decor realized for the Queen in 1730–35. Its tester is quickly recognizable as a baldachin, serving its time-honoured function; the bedding might easily be replaced by a gilded throne. The queens of France spent a great deal of time in their ''chambre'', where they received the ladies of the court at the morning ''lever'' and granted private audiences. By the time Marie Antoinette escaped the mob from this bedroom, such state beds, with the elaborate
etiquette
Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...
they embodied, were already falling out of use. A state bed with a domed tester designed in 1775-76 by
Robert Adam
Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
for Lady Child at
Osterley Park and another domed state bed, delivered by
Thomas Chippendale for Sir Edwin Lascelles at
Harewood House
Harewood House ( , ) is a country house in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built, between 1759 and 1771, for Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy West Indian plantation ...
, Yorkshire in 1773 are two of the last English state beds intended for a main floor State Bedroom in a non-royal residence.
St. Peter's Basilica
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...
commissioned
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...
to design and construct a large structure that would be placed over the main altar, believed to be above the tomb of
Saint Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupat ...
, in the new
St. Peter's Basilica. The canopy imitated cloth in bronze, as did many subsequent imitations. This famous and spectacular feature is generally called the "Baldacchino", though strictly it is a ciborium.
Bernini's design for the Baldacchino incorporated giant
solomonic columns
The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian or Composite cap ...
inspired by columns that ringed the altar of the Old St. Peter's. These columns were originally donated by
Constantine, and a false tradition asserts they are the columns from the
Temple of Jerusalem. The lowest parts of the four columns of Bernini's Baldachin have a helical groove, and the middle and upper sections of the columns are covered in olive and bay branches, which are populated with a myriad of bees and small putti. Pope Urban VIII's family coat of arms, those of the
Barberini family, with their signature bees, are at the base of every column.
All of these combine to create a feeling of upward movement.
Processional canopy
A baldachin may also be used in formal processions, including
royal entries,
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...
or funeral processions, to
signify the elite status of the individual it covers. The origins of such an emblematic use in Europe lay in the courts of the
Neo-Assyrian state, adopted in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
perhaps as early as the late seventh century BC, but relegated to the use of women by the late fifth century (compare
parasol).
[M. C. Miller, "The Parasol: An Oriental Status-Symbol in Late Archaic and Classical Athens," ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies,'' 112 (1992) 91-105.]
Such canopies might be made of anything from muslin to heavy brocade, or even constructed of less flexible materials, and are supported by poles, whether affixed to a carriage, or carried by people walking on each side. An Egyptian pharaoh, for example, was escorted both in life and in death by such a canopy of estate.
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
, the ruler of Spain from 1939 to 1975, frequently walked under a baldachin after formally proclaiming Spain a monarchy—a privilege he appropriated as de facto regent for life.
Surname Baldacchino
The surname Baldacchino comes from the artisans who used to make the Baldachin. The surname is found mainly in the islands of Malta and Sicily, particularly in Agrigento and Naro.
Gallery
Image:Knights hospitaller.JPG, The Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes under a canopy of estate, on a dais: there is a cushion under his feet.
Image:Margaretbeaufort.jpg, Margaret Beaufort, Queen Mother, at prayer, by an anonymous artist, about 1500.
File:Lorenzo Lotto 060.jpg, A cloth of honour held over the Virgin by angels, in an altarpiece by Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpieces, religiou ...
Image:Versailles Queen's Chamber.jpg, At Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
, the ''Chambre de la Reine'' features the centrally-placed state bed delivered for Queen Maria Leszczinska.
Image:Taddeo Zuccari 003 Entrée de François Ier & Charles V à Paris (cropped).jpg, King Francis I of France
Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...
, Charles V, and Cardinal Alessandro Farnese
Alessandro Farnese (5 October 1520 – 2 March 1589), an Italian cardinal and diplomat and a great collector and patron of the arts, was the grandson of Pope Paul III (who also bore the name ''Alessandro Farnese''), and the son of Pier Luigi Farn ...
Image:Bedroom of the emperor.jpg, A baldachin in Empire style
The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...
above a daybed
Daybeds are used as beds as well as for lounging, reclining, and seating in common rooms. It may be considered a form of multifunctional furniture. Their frames can be made out of wood, metal or a combination of wood and metal. They are a cross ...
Image:22_Kroningshall_i_det_kongelige_slott_i_Stockholm_A.JPG, Baldachin covering the Silver Throne
The Silver Throne ( sv, Silvertronen or ) is a throne which has been used by the Swedish monarch at coronations, accessions to the throne and state opening of the parliament. The Silver Throne is located in the Hall of State at Stockholm Palace.
...
in the Hall of State of Stockholm Palace, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
.
File:Chateau de Blois 38.jpg, Balachin in blue decorated with ''Fleurs-de-lys
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol.
The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
'' in the former royal residence of Château de Blois
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
.
See also
*
Ciborium
*
Monopteros
A monopteros (Ancient Greek: , from the Polytonic: μόνος, 'only, single, alone', and , 'wing') is a circular colonnade supporting a roof but without any walls. Unlike a tholos (in its wider sense as a circular building), it does not have w ...
*
Aedicule
In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n. ...
*
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands.
Etymology
The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Burgundian example King René's Tournament Book,
BnF
{{Authority control
Architectural elements
Interior design
Textiles
Christian processions