Majorossy Judit: Egy történelmi gyilkosság margójára. Merániai Gertrúd emlékezete, 1213 - 2013. Tanulmánykötet - A Ferenczy Múzeum kiadványai, A. sorozat: Monográfiák 2. (Szentendre, 2014)
IV. - Mielke, Christopher: Gertrúd királyné és kortársai anyagi kultúrája
Oswald.51 Even further, some royal women adopted a complete rejection of this sumptuousness; Gertrude’s daughter, (Saint) Elizabeth of Thuringia/of Hungary (1207-1231) donated robes she had made herself to the Franciscans while she herself received a hair shirt from Saint Francis himself.52 Her example proved to be very popular in Central Europe and beyond; Saint Louis IX of France (r. 1226-1270) wrote a letter with guidelines to follow Elizabeth’s example, in particular rejecting flashy clothing.53 Most clothing from this period does not survive, yet there is a silk shirt (the so-called Elisabethkleid) in the collection of the Andechs Abbey with curious connections to Queen Gertrude. A reference from 1457 shows that it was in the possession of the abbey by 1388, and in 1519 an inventory makes the reference that it was the wedding dress of Elizabeth of Hungary (d. 1231), but that originally it had been the coronation mantle of Queen Gertrude. Silk fabric rarely survives with such a connection, but it does seem that the Elisabethkleid dates from around the eleventh century, so it is very difficult to elaborate on the connection between Queen Gertrude and the silk garment.54 Clothing played an important role in the immediate aftermath of the queen’s murder as well; when the king — Andrew II - was on his way to fight in Halich, messengers met up with him at Lelesz (in the Cistercian monastery) and handed him a piece of the queen’s bloodstained clothing as proof of her violent murder.55 There are fragments of clothing found in the grave of Gertrude’s mother-in-law, Agnes Chätillon of Antioch (d. 1184) upon its excavation in 1848. They were identified as fragments of her veil and include light-blue silk of exceptional quality as well as gold lacework rosettes.56 Enikő Sipos has taken a closer look at these fragments and her conclusions were that two of the bigger rosettes were decorative elements in the queen’s dress, the narrow strips of blue silk were probably part of her veil (about which Eva Kovács stated that it would have covered the queen’s face rather than her hair), and the knotted pieces of gold thread were probably part of the queen’s hairnet.57 The queen was also buried with a gold ring that had an almandine intaglio in it with the figure of a winged woman (perhaps a siren) with a serpent’s tail playing a harp.58 In addition to showing the personal wealth of the queen, jewellery could also be used in a very ceremonial way. (Figure 5) Rings could be used in the coronation ordines for medieval queens, but it has been noted that rather than being an embodiment of a wedding ring, it has more to do with the queen’s relationship and support of the church, and especially care for the poor and missionary activity.59 Eleanor of Provence (cca.1223-1291) gave many rings to foreign knights and members of the military elite, specifically as a means of ingratiating herself with them, an act which raised hostility towards her much in the same vein as shown to Queen Gertrude.60 Christopher Mielke: The Material Culture of Queen Gertrude and Her Contemporaries Figure 5 Ringsfrom the grave of Constance of Aragon, c. 1222 (Daniele 1784) 51 Wild (ed.) 2012: 9,16. 52 Klaniczay 2002: 294. 53 Klaniczay 2002: 237—238. 54 Müller-Christensen 1981: 332-334. 55 Kosztolnyik 1996: 47. 56 Czobor 1900: 218. 57 Sipos 1999: 64. 58 Czobor 1900: 217-218. 59 Nelson 1997: 310. 60 Howell 1998:168-180,182-183,198. 212
