The Literary Sources of the 'Finiguerra Planets'

Saints in whose honour the portable altar was dedicated and whose names appear on the back. 'Bernardus' is by no means a misspelling for 'Bernwardus'; in fact, the portrait represents Bishop Bernard I ( 1301153), who founded the Benedictine abbey of St. Godehard and here enjoyed veneration as a Saint. It remains to explain the dedicatory inscription of "Thidericus abbas tertius." The difficulty which puzzled Labarte and Goldschmidt is easily overcome by interpreting it, not as "Thierry the Third, Abbot of...," but as "Thierry, third Abbot of...." As a matter of fact, the Abbots of St. Godehard's, Hildesheim, used to number themselves according to their respective place in the succession of abbots from the foundation of the abbey onward. Thus the first three abbots were called 'Fridericus abbas primus' (ca. I 40o-ca. I 55), 'Arnoldus abbas secundus' (ca. 1155-1181), and 'Thidericus abbas tertius' (I18I-1204) respectively. This date and place of the portable altar fit in with the detailed description given by Georg Swarzenski of the artistic activities in Saxony during the second half of the I2th century.' Swarzenski had already a reason for mentioning the Abbey of St. Godehard as a place where works of art were appreciated : Frederick, its first abbot, commissioned a precious book cover at the studio where goldsmiths, scribes and other artists worked for Henry the Lion (1142I 195), the Bishops of Hildesheim, and other lords spiritual and temporal.2 This portable altar, too, we may conclude, originated with the same monks of Helmarshausen, or, to make allowance for the objections raised by one or two of Swarzenski's critics, of Hildesheim or Brunswick. These artists combined the old craftsmanship of Saxony, which had flourished ever since the time of Bishop Bernward (996-IO22), with the fresh suggestions imported from Byzantium after the crusade of Duke Henry, in I I72,3 and from Winchester after Henry's marriage with Princess Matilda, daughter of King Henry II of England, in Ix68. To return once more to the recent history of the altar, we may even suggest an explanation of how it came into private ownership. Count Renesse-Breidbach, its first owner at the beginning of the I9th century, was a Privy Councillor of the Archbishop of Treves.4 It was to Treves Cathedral that