Bringing the Holy Land Home: The Crusades, Chertsey Abbey, and the Reconstruction of a Medieval Masterpiece

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The Miter from the Abbey Church of St Peter of the Benedictine Order is a religious textile highly popular in Christian and Catholic beliefs. This specific miter is conducive with the 13th century and features a highly decorative head with lappets that follow along the body of the person wearing said textile. Normally, this Miter would be worn with liturgical styles of this time including chasubles, creating a pristine religious image for the abbots and bishops. The orientation of the miter would have the bishop or priest wearing the miter to wear the head in such a way the both flaps that held the design would be on either side of his head. This would then allow the lappets to fall down the body of the bishop. The head of the miter uses intricate designs such as eight-pointed stars, six-petalled rosettes, and purple and green silk circles. The head would most likely have been designed with jewels and expensive gems that would have indicated the elite standing that the wearer held. Specifically, the use of purple, a color synonymous with power and reign, signified this distinct eliteness that the constructor of the Miter desired to create.

Following down the Miter and body of the abbot or bishop are the lappets of this specific miter. The design includes small figurines that would consist of animals important to the Christian religion, influenced by Islam. These lappets were designed in an orphery style that was influenced by the Byzantine empire and often found in Miters correlating to the same time in the Byzantine area. Overall, the miter's construction allows the bishop or abbot this specific textile was built for to create a sense of power over the 'normal' or 'regular' members of the church to promote religious strength and integrity. The miter continues to be seen as a deeply religious symbol throughout history with the Pope and other high clergy people of the church adorned with this textile regularly. The historical and visual analysis of this Miter allows an understanding of the interactions, devotions, and intentions of the population this Miter influenced in the 13th century.

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