bavarikon4UDescription
In the Bamberg Cathedral Treasure, six so-called imperial robes have been preserved. They are considered mementos of the diocese‘s founders, Emperor Heinrich II († 1024) and his wife Kunigunde († 1033). This group also includes the white cope of Kunigunde. Originally, this embroidery did not adorn a semicircular coat, but a rectangular textile made of white silk. The 72 imperial motifs, which combine Byzantine and occidental elements, and the inscriptions come from a western workshop and have been made at the same time. The embroidered "HEINRICI" confirms the connection to Heinrich II. As the embroidery was cut out of the original carrier fabric and transferred to a red garment over the course of the Middle Ages, it can no longer be determined whether it was originally a rectangular coat or a cloth for the emperor's grave. In this form it is mentioned as a red cope of Kunigunde in the registers of relics. During a repair in 1478/1479, the Bamberg embroiderer Jörg Spiß added a cope shield with a picture of Saint Kunigunde and the bead-embroidered inscription "S. Cunegundis Pallium" as well as a locking latch with "Hortus conclusus" on the front, which reflects a veneration of Kunigunde similar to that of the Virgin Mary in Bamberg. During the last restoration between 1956 and 1962, this composition was dissolved and a new cope was created, onto which all the important elements have been transferred.