Flowers of Fealty: Commemoration of the Christening of Elisabeth of Hesse (1598)
14 days ago
- #historical manuscript
- #renaissance art
- #royal celebrations
- Princess Elisabeth von Hessen-Kassel's christening in 1596 was a four-day event featuring fireworks, knightly tournaments, and pageantry.
- Wilhelm Dilich commemorated the event in 1598 with an ornate work titled 'Historische Beschreibung der Kindtauf des Fräuleins Elisabeth zu Hessen', capturing the celebrations and costumes.
- Dilich humbly compares himself to Diogenes in his introductory text, dedicating the work to the nobility of Hesse-Kassel as a memorial.
- A hand-colored copy of Dilich's work, presented to Landgrave Moritz, was later embellished with watercolor paintings of flowers by an unknown artist before 1606.
- The floral additions complement the manuscript's themes, with Latin poems wishing the princess growth and flourishing, accompanied by imagery of spring blooms.
- Dilich's texts juxtapose human nature's grim state with Elisabeth's portrayal as a fertility goddess, renewing mortal affairs, linking her name to 'abundance'.