The Legend of Saint George in Jindřichův Hradec (Neuhaus) and the Problem of Ambivalence in Courtly Culture 1 Ivan Gerát In 1338, a cycle depicting the legend of Saint George was painted on the walls of the great hall in the castle at Jindřichův Hradec (germ. Neuhaus in Böhmen; figs. 1–4).2 The dating of the murals is based on an inscription which also names the local lord, Ulrich, as their patron: “Diez gemel herr Ulrich von dem Neienhausse hat haisen malen nach Cristus geburt dreuzehn c dert iar im achtunddreisigsten iar ”.3 Even though monumental vitae of this saint were painted at many places in both Western and Eastern Europe, the cycle in Hradec seems to have been the longest. Moreover, these paintings provide important evidence as to how treatment of this traditional topic evolved in the new context of chivalric culture. The meanings and functions of the narrative cycle in the castle were adjusted to the needs of a new audience, namely medieval knights, identified by their coats of arms underneath the pictorial legend.4 Therefore, the story is recounted with a new focus on problems that were of special relevance to aristocratic warriors. The meanings of the Hradec cycle were generated through the network of relations between the pictorial cycle and the written legends, and in how the pictorial cycle related to the spatial structures with specific historical functions. The castle had been owned by the lords of Hradec since at least 1220, when a charter names Henry (Jindřich, Heinrich), from the Vítek family, alongside his castle in Hradec: Heinricus de nuovo castro.5 It was subsequently expanded in several phases. At the time when the legend was being painted in 1338, it consisted of a palas adjacent to the large keep. The hall with paintings depicting the legend of Saint George was on the highly elevated second storey of the palas, between the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and a spacious room with a fireplace. The prestigious great hall was the first to be visited on this level, where the entrance from the side of the inner courtyard was positioned. This space, the core of the castle complex, hidden behind at least two protective walls, was not intended for public use. The lords of Hradec clearly reserved the right to decide who could come near to their palas, and they would only meet carefully selected visitors in the hall next to their private rooms. The Christian community of Hradec, as well as pilgrims, could use at least one other church and a hospital run by the Teutonic Order in the town, outside the castle walls.6 This spatial and functional situation of the paintings in Hradec is substantially different from some older pictorial cycles devoted to Saint George located in Fig. 1 Jindřichův Hradec, castle, great hall, southern corner and south-western wall (photo: open source/Matěj Baťha)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTMyNjA1