Miter from the Abbey church of the Benedictine Monastery of Saint Peter (BOSMFA 38.887)
A miter was a liturgical headpiece worn by a bishop or an abbot during church ceremonies. This miter’s purple and gold roundels suggest the prestige and elegance of gemstones. Its eight-pointed stars imply an astrological and otherworldly significance. The silk was woven in the eastern Mediterranean, but the miter was constructed in Germany. The silk used for the miter may have traveled along trade routes or diplomatic channels established during the crusades. The miter itself could have been worn during a monastic event to call support for the crusades. Chertsey Abbey, where the Chertsey tiles were laid, was also Benedictine and could also have owned miters and other vestments made of Islamic or Byzantine silk.
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