Alcuin of YorkLectures delivered in the cathedral church of Bristol in 1907 and 1908 . Elephant from the tomb of Charlemagne. To face p. 290. ELEPHANT-ROBES. 291 that either in the year 1000, when Otho IIIopened the tomb, or in 1166, under Barbarossa,when Charlemagne was canonized, this piece ofsilk replaced the decayed robe originally buriedthere. We know of the two elephant-robes re-ferred to from Anastasius \ who gives an enormouslist of the art works in gold and silver and silkand cloth of gold which were wrought for Leo III,Charlemagnes contemporary. One item is tworobes of Syrian purple,
Alcuin of YorkLectures delivered in the cathedral church of Bristol in 1907 and 1908 . Elephant from the tomb of Charlemagne. To face p. 290. ELEPHANT-ROBES. 291 that either in the year 1000, when Otho IIIopened the tomb, or in 1166, under Barbarossa,when Charlemagne was canonized, this piece ofsilk replaced the decayed robe originally buriedthere. We know of the two elephant-robes re-ferred to from Anastasius \ who gives an enormouslist of the art works in gold and silver and silkand cloth of gold which were wrought for Leo III,Charlemagnes contemporary. One item is tworobes of Syrian purple, with borders of cloth ofgold wrought with elephants . These robes Leogave to Charlemagne. We can all but give the exact date of this re-markable Byzantine beast. The inscription breaksoff exactly where the date came. The Greek in-scription worked in the stuff (Plate VIII) sets forththat it was made under Michael the greatchamberlain and controller of the privy purse ofthe emperor, when Peter was the manager ofZeuxippos, i. e. the Byzantine court factoryin Negropont. Then comes the tantalizing Indic-tionos (? B), and the date is lost.
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidalcuinofyorklect00brow
