The cope with horsemen

The group of Bamberg imperial robes also includes the cope with horsemen (DMB Inv.No. 3.3.0003). Until well into the 18th century this garment was the only one considered to be a donation of Emperor Heinrich II (973-1024, ruled 1014-1024) in the Bamberg Cathedral treasury.

Today, the cope with horsemen appears in the form of an extended semi-circular cope of black-blue silk fabric (weft-faced compound twill) with gold embroidery.
Its surface is filled with thirteen large medallions, which divide the surface into one complete and two truncated horizontal rows and seem to imitate a fabric with a continuous pattern.

In the medallions, an emperor with a falcon and a large flower staff is riding away from three lancinated warriors. At the same time, the horse is being attacked by a lion.

An explanatory video explicates the depictions and their source as well as the Kufic inscription on the original lining. The way in which such a robe is worn is also shown and the changes that the cope with horsemen underwent over the centuries are looked at.

The changes made to the cope with horsemen during the restoration in 1952-1955 as well as during late medieval repairs can be seen in selected photographs. The original conception can also be traced.

Tanja Kohwagner-Nikolai