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Harrison, Jill
(2019).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14629712.2019.1626108
Abstract
The Trinity Altarpiece by the Netherlandish artist Hugo van der Goes is a little-discussed signifier of a sophisticated court culture and a specifically Scottish Renaissance. In this article the double-sided panel depicting the commissioner, Provost Edward Bonkil, Queen Margaret of Denmark and Saint George, is considered afresh. By situating the Scottish court within the wider context of courtly cultures in Denmark and Burgundy, it identifies a network of powerful individuals with political and religious links to the Queen. Close analysis of the panel brings to light chivalric ideals, the importance of diplomatic and trade relationships with Flanders and the presence of the ‘devotio moderna’ in Scottish religious practice. New evidence is presented which allows a suggestion to be made regarding the identity of St George and the subject of the lost central panel.