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Renaissance Medals: Charles the Bold and Ludovico Ariosto

Charles the Bold / Ram Between Two Briquettes

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Bronze (cast), 39.4 mm Ø, 25.6 g

by Giovanni Candida, c. 1474

Obverse: Bust of Charles the Bold facing right, laureate, undraped, with truncation in Roman style. Around, DVXKAROLVS / BVRGVNDVS . Surrounded by a plain border.

Reverse: A ram couchant to sinister between two briquettes, on which are inscribed VELLVS (on sinister) and AVREVM (on dexter). On the outer side of each is a flint darting sparks. Above, IELAIEMPRINS ; below, BIENENAVIENGNE . All on a field semé with sparks, surrounded by a wreath.

Obverse Inscription:
DUX KAROLUS BURGUNDUS
Charles, Duke of Burgundy

Reverse Inscriptions:
VELLUS AUREUM
The Golden Fleece
JE L'AY EMPRINS, BIEN EN AVIENGNE
I Have Undertaken It, May Good Come Of It

Charles the Bold, born on November 10, 1433, was the son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and Isabella of Portugal. He held the title of Count of Charolais until his father's death in 1467, at which time he succeeded him as Duke. Ambitious to enlarge his domain, his actions sparked the Burgundian Wars in 1474, but he was handed three major defeats by the Swiss in 1476 and at Nancy in 1477. It was at the Battle of Nancy, on January 5, 1477, that Charles was killed, his mutilated body not being discovered for several days. With his sole heir being his daughter Maria, Charles was the last of the Valois Burgundy dukes, and the duchy was split between the French crown and Habsburg archduke Maximilian I of Austria, who married Maria in August of 1477.

This medal was probably issued at the time of the siege of Neuss in 1474. The ram on the reverse refers to the Order of the Golden Fleece, which was established by Charles's father. Charles was made of a Knight of the Golden Fleece when he was but twenty days old. The inscription above and below the ram is the joint motto of Charles and his third wife, Margaret of York.

This medal and three others of similar style form a distinct group produced at the Burgundian court between 1472 and 1480. Giovanni Candida has been suggested as the most probable artist behind this group. However, they all feature portrait heads on a scale larger than that in all other works by Candida. Barring this attribution, it is possible they could belong to the oeuvre of an unidentified Burgundian medalist.

References: Hill 828; Pollard (NGA) 256




Ludovico Ariosto / Bees Issuing from Hive on Fire

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Bronze (cast), 37.8 mm Ø, 21.1 g

by Pastorino de' Pastorini, c. 1552-1553

Obverse: Bust of Ludovico Ariosto facing left, laureate, bearded, wearing a shirt and coat. Around, LVDOVICVS ARIOST POET . On truncation, signed · P · (incised). Surrounded by a beaded border.

Reverse: Bees issuing from the top of a hive, the base of which is on fire. Around, PRO BONO / MALVM . Surrounded by a beaded border.

Obverse Inscription:
LUDOVICUS ARIOST POET
Ludovico Ariosto, Poet

Reverse Inscription:
PRO BONO MALUM
Evil In Return For Good

Ludovico Ariosto was born in Reggio on September 8, 1474, but was raised in Ferrara. Best known as a poet, he also coined the term umanista (student of human affairs or human nature), which eventually evolved into the English words of humanist and humanism. In 1503 he came under the patronage of Cardinal Ippoltio d'Este. His most well known work, the epic poem Orlando Furioso, was first published in 1516 in 40 cantos and was further enlarged for an edition of 1532 to 46 cantos. However, his patron failed to appreciate this work and he was compensated poorly. When the cardinal went to Hungary in 1518, he wished for Ariosto to accompany him. Ariosto excused himself and was promplty dismissed from service. Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, (and the cardinal's brother) then took Ariosto under his patronage. In addition to being a poet, Ariosto was a diplomat and was also appointed governor of Garfagnana. He died on July 6, 1533.

The obverse portrait and clothing are similar to the right-facing bust found as the frontispiece of the 1532 edition of Orlando Furioso, though the laurel wreath is an addition. The reverse design and inscription refer to unjust returns, and had appeared in early editions of Orlando Furioso. On the medal, it alludes to the cardinal's lack of appreciation. In this case, the bees, who had provided honey, are now expelled from their home by the fire that has been lit beneath their hive.

The medal likely dates to Pastorino's early years in Ferrara, where he joined the service of the Duke of Ferrara in 1552. It has been suggested that it may have been commissioned by one of Ariosto's sons or one of his brothers or sisters. Opinion on the quality of the medal has been divided. Cornelius von Fabriczy noted the following: "The busts of two great celebrities Ariosto and Titian belong to his best works, thanks to their unassuming simplicity and the absence of that affected pose which detracts from the impression conveyed by so many of Pastorino's male portraits." On the other hand, George Hill opines that the portrait "is, as one might expect, uninspired." He also discusses the reverse, saying: "It is one of the few of the artist's medals that has a reverse. His reverses are banal, and he was wise not to trouble himself to make many."

References: Attwood 538; Toderi-Vannel 1839

Comments

  • harashaharasha Posts: 3,079 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Your posts always are a delight!
    Honors flysis Income beezis Onches nobis Inob keesis

    DPOTD
  • ZoharZohar Posts: 6,629 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Excellent as always. I like them both.
  • STLNATSSTLNATS Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭
    Nice! Amazing how contemporary they look. And (typically) excellent writeup.

    Thanks for sharing.


    image
    Always interested in St Louis MO & IL metro area and Evansville IN national bank notes and Vatican/papal states coins and medals!
  • worldcoinguyworldcoinguy Posts: 2,999 ✭✭✭✭
    Excellent additions Iosephus! The reverse themes on each are quite interesting.
  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    Iosephus, I love your posts about medals from this era as always but I am confused about the Charles the Bold medal's reverse. The description says ram to sinister and then VELLVS is described on being on the sinister briquette. Am I missing something? Shouldn't VELLVS be dexter and AVREVM be sinister?
  • IosephusIosephus Posts: 872 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Iosephus, I love your posts about medals from this era as always but I am confused about the Charles the Bold medal's reverse. The description says ram to sinister and then VELLVS is described on being on the sinister briquette. Am I missing something? Shouldn't VELLVS be dexter and AVREVM be sinister? >>


    I'll admit to having been a bit confused with the heraldic terms when I was first researching the medal and saw the reverse described in such a manner. What I found (thanks Wikipedia!) was that the terms dexter (right) and sinister (left) refer to the positions with respect to how a physical shield would be held by the bearer (rather than with respect to the viewer). Thus, from the viewer's point of view, the terms are actually reversed. So, the ram couchant (lying down with head raised) is to sinister (to the bearer's left/to the viewer's right), and then VELLVS is on the sinister (bearer's left/viewer's right) briquette and AVREVM is on the dexter (bearer's right/viewer's left) briquette. I think (hope) that I have that correct.
  • PatARPatAR Posts: 347 ✭✭✭
    Always enjoyable and educational. Thank you, Iosephus.
  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    Thanks for the clarification. That is so weird that you would consider the directions as you would if you were facing outward along with the shield. Maybe a throwback to the days of knights carrying shields but it's super confusing in coin and medal descriptions these days.
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Excellent as always. I like them both. >>

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    I especially like the reverse design of the second one.

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