One of the most special attributes of the coronation insignia is the mantle, whose completely lifelike reconstruction will soon be available to the public in its original size, over three meters long, thanks to the retired master teacher Tibor Merencsics from Veszprém.
The Veszprémi Napló employee Rita B. Virág conducted an interview with the master, from which we publish an excerpt.
According to his claim, he never liked IT achievements, but then they became an invaluable help. After he and his dear student, György Jakabfi, scanned the gold-painted, half-size image of the mantle, he was not only able to enlarge it to the desired extent, but also experienced a real miracle.
– With the help of the program, I was able to reconstruct the color and pattern of the original Byzantine basic silk with different shapes, inscriptions and other motifs pre-embroidered on the embroidery frames. With the help of the technique, I was able to see the coronation mantle in its original glory, before it was cut apart, in a way that no one has been able to for about 800 years, filmed in 3D, he said.
Contrary to popular belief, the coronation robe was not made for the consecration of István I as king, it was never worn by our first king. There are several theories as to who it was actually made for. According to one of them, Queen Gizella made it for Prince Imre's coronation as king, but in the end he was never able to wear it, as he lost his life in tragic circumstances, during a wild boar hunt, just before his coronation. According to the other, prevailing hypothesis, István I and Gizella donated it to the Church of Mary in Székesfehérvár in 1031 as a vestry, which was later transformed into a mantle. The mantle, like the other coronation insignia, had a very turbulent fate, it disappeared several times in the course of history, then got around, and was finally returned to our country from the United States together with the crown in 1978.
Now the teacher is also trying to find out how much and what was cut out of the mantle. Two important details were redacted. On the first, based on the mandorla fragment, the composition and Latin text of the transfiguration of Jesus. Most likely, the royal couple will also appear here. In the reconstruction of the other important cut out part, we get back the image of Jesus crucified. Presumably, Gizella also participated in the making of the mantle. The initials of István I and Gizella's name were embroidered much more recognisably. It is also certain that the figures embroidered with gold threads were sewn together from several smaller pieces, as evidenced by the different embroidery styles and mistakes.
On the back bottom of the mantle, among the royal couple, not only Prince Imre, but also one of their children who died early can be reconstructed. The collar of the cloak is also worth mentioning. The style of this is completely different from the mantle. According to Professor Gyula László, it was a female house party crown. It was later placed on the mantle, probably as a relic.
Tibor Merencsics now plans to complete the entire work by the end of 2023. After that, he wants to present a scaled, printed version of the cloak to the public.
the entire article here .
Photo: Márton Pesthy/Napló
