Christ's College : The Letters Patent of Christ’s College, 1505

Christ's College

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>The Letters Patent of Christ’s College, drawn up under Henry VII at the direction of his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort, were issued on 1st May 1505. At the time of this re-foundation, John Syclyng became first Master of the College, seamlessly continuing in this role after having previously been Proctor (or Master) of God’s House, the pre-existing foundation. The quality of the illuminated decoration on the opening page is outstanding, and thought to be the work of a group of Dutch artists known as the Masters of the Dark Eyes. On the opening page, the text is entirely surrounded by a splendid border in which the Beaufort portcullis, the red rose of the House of Lancaster and the white daisy which was Margaret’s own personal badge, are prominently featured. Henry VII’s heraldic supporters – a Welsh dragon and a Lancastrian greyhound – may be seen emerging from triangular panels of scrolling foliage. The red and gold foliage decoration indicates the identity of the illuminators, since it is characteristic of the Masters of the Dark Eyes. The ‘Masters’ had royal patronage, and are also credited with illuminating a personal prayerbook of Lady Margaret’s now in the library of Westminster Abbey, lending support to the theory of their involvement with the Letters Patent volume featured here. The text itself is written in the fine hand of a scribe named Paulus Cooke, whose name appears on <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(41);return false;'>page 41</a> within one of the flourished initials at the top of that page. </p><p>Lucy Hughes<br /> 7^th July 2025 </p></p>