Episcopal miter of Kettil Karlsson
Type:
Vestments
Date:
1459 to 1465
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Sweden
Medium:
Enamel,
Glass,
Pearl,
Rock crystal,
Silk,
Silver or gold thread
Dimensions:
79 × 30 cm
Description:
This miter was worn by Kettil Karlsson (ca. 1433–65), the young bishop of Linköping, from 1459 until his death from bubonic plague six years later. A sixteenth-century Swedish chronicle describes how he "laid down my episcopal vestments and took up both shield and spear" when he fought against King Christian I, head of the Kalmar Union that united Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and beyond. Episcopal vestments became more elaborate over time, but a miter this elaborate was worn only on the most important feast days. The Linköping miter is adorned not only with thousands of tiny pearls embroidered on a red silk, gold-thread ground but also with thirty-eight cloisonné enamels on the headpiece and down both lappets (streamers). Each circular enamel is framed by additional nonfigural enamel plaques and (mostly imitation) gems. The miter is topped by a gilt-silver knob, and small bells are suspended on chains from each lappet, below the personal heraldic emblems of Kettil Karlsson.
On the front of the miter, the vertical row of enamels is flanked by the scene of the Annunciation, with the angel Gabriel's announcement in Latin and the Virgin's response spelled out in pearled scrolls. The back depicts saints Peter and Paul, the patrons of Linköping Cathedral. The cloisonné enamels depict Christ, fourteen named apostles, angels, and unidentified men. The figures with labels are identified in a mix of Latin and Greek letters and were probably made in late thirteenth-century Sicily, Venice, or Constantinople (then under "Latin" rule). They were valuable items, reused at least once before being attached to the miter in Sweden in the fifteenth century; how and why they crossed the European continent is unknown.
On the front of the miter, the vertical row of enamels is flanked by the scene of the Annunciation, with the angel Gabriel's announcement in Latin and the Virgin's response spelled out in pearled scrolls. The back depicts saints Peter and Paul, the patrons of Linköping Cathedral. The cloisonné enamels depict Christ, fourteen named apostles, angels, and unidentified men. The figures with labels are identified in a mix of Latin and Greek letters and were probably made in late thirteenth-century Sicily, Venice, or Constantinople (then under "Latin" rule). They were valuable items, reused at least once before being attached to the miter in Sweden in the fifteenth century; how and why they crossed the European continent is unknown.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
10,
11
Repository and Online Resources:
• See details of the miter here.
• Read the Historiska Museet (Swedish Historical Museum) essay on the miter.
Image Credits:
Gabriel Hildebrand, Historiska Museet, CC
