The Courtrai Chest is an

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

chest that incorporates

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

carvings depicting scenes from the

Franco-Flemish War The Franco-Flemish War>(; ) was a conflict between the Kingdom of France and the County of Flanders between 1297 and 1305. The war should be seen as related to the original Gascon War and the First War of Scottish Independence, as Philip IV of ...

, in particular the

Battle of the Golden Spurs The Battle of the Golden Spurs (; ) or 1302 Battle of Courtrai was a military confrontation between the royal army of Kingdom of France, France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the 1297–1305 Franco-Flem ...

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

(Courtrai) in Flanders. The chest is among the few surviving contemporaneous depictions of those historically-significant events.

History

The Coutrai Chest is a 17th-century oak construction but incorporates an older front-face measuring 102 cm by 71 cm, dating from the 14th century.''Carved Chest at New College, Oxford'' by Charles Ffoulkes, The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, July 1912, volume 21, issue 112, pages 240–1 This bears carvings in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

illustrating episodes from the

(1297–1305) from the Bruges Matins (13 May 1302) to the

(11 July 1302). The Chest was discovered around 1905 in the village of Stanton St John,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, which was a village largely owned by

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. Found by Warden of the College,

William Archibald Spooner William Archibald Spooner (22 July 1844 – 29 August 1930) was a British clergyman and long-serving Oxford don. He was most notable for his absent-mindedness, and for supposedly mixing up the syllables in a spoken phrase, with unintentional ...

, on a "Warden's Progress", it was in a barn of a college tenant where it was used as a feed bin for animals.New College, University of Oxford, Treasures and Chattels: http://www.new.ox.ac.uk/courtrai-chest''Early Furniture-I. Coffers'' by Aymer Vallance, The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, June 1912, volume 21, issue 111, pages 153–161. Nothing is apparently known of the circumstances in which the Chest arrived in Oxfordshire. The Chest is kept at New College, Oxford, where it may be viewed by appointment.

Reproduction

A full-sized reconstruction of the original is displayed at the Kortrijk 1302 Museum in Belgium where it is known as the "Oxford Chest" (''Kist van Oxford''). This reproduction comprises a reconstruction of the whole chest including the stiles or legs supporting it, as would have been present in its original form but are missing from the remains of the original.

Scenes

File:Brugse metten.jpg, File:Kist van oxford 2.jpg, File:Kist van oxford 3.jpg, File:Kist van oxford 4.jpg, File:Goedendag_on_chest_of_Kortrijk.jpg, File:Kist van oxford 5.jpg, File:Kist van oxford 6.jpg,

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , last1=Verbruggen , first1=J. F. , title=The Battle of the Golden Spurs (Courtrai, 11 July 1302). A Contribution to the History of Flanders' War of Liberation, 1297-1305 , date=2002 , publisher=Boydell Press , location=Woodbridge , isbn=0-85115-888-9 , pages=195–210 , edition=English trans. New College, Oxford Chests (furniture) Collection of the Ashmolean Museum Franco-Flemish War 14th century in the county of Flanders

History

Reproduction

Scenes

See also

References

Bibliography