Book of the Knights of the Brotherhood of Santiago

Book of the Knights of the Brotherhood of Santiago

A magnificent armored knight with a sumptuous feather cap, raised sword, and shield on the back of a decorated steed, designated with title and name, distinguished by his personal coat of arms. 300 such depictions of the highest quality and particular historical interest are collected in the Book of the Knights of the Brotherhood of Santiago from Burgos. The Book of Knights is simultaneously the charter of the brotherhood and the armorial of the city of Burgos and is a work of book art of the highest rank. In it, the members of the brotherhood were recorded and pictured in the most sumptuous illustrations from the founding in 1338 until the end of the 17th century, so across four centuries. All of the participating artists attest that the city of Burgos took up an exceptional position in the art history of Spain ca. 1500.

High-Ranking Burghers as Noble Knights

Armorials of this kind also came about in France, England, and Germany at the end of the 14th century. Yet the Book of the Knights of the Brotherhood of Santiago represents one of the oldest and most richly furnished specimens. The fact that the wonderful illustrations stretch across a time period approaching four centuries additionally makes the book a unique item. As the Brotherhood of Santiago was founded in Burgos ca. 1338, they recorded the statutes and members in a book, as was typical. Yet they decided to fall back on the exceptional depiction of the members as splendidly armored knights. The book of the brotherhood takes an unusual position between a guild book and a book of heraldry. The members of the brotherhood, who saw themselves as followers of the Order of Santiago, were assembled from the citizens of the city Burgos and were all of them visually depicted.

Heraldry and Historical Names

The fact that the Book of Knights was continued from the beginnings of the brotherhood until the 17th century makes it an outstanding historical document. The arrangement of the knights with their heraldically interesting coats of arms and descriptions can be seen as an armorial of the city of Burgos, but also makes exciting glimpses into the art-historical developments of the time possible. Today the Book of Knights is part of the treasures of the Borgos Cathedral. There are 90 miniature pages out of a total of 146, which are richly accentuated with gold and silver. The miniatures allow the exciting world of the medieval knight tournament to rise again before the eye of the beholder.

A Grandiose Artwork from Four Centuries

The Book of the Knights of the Brotherhood of Santiago is also particularly interesting form an art-historical perspective. The development of art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance can be read in the illustrations. As a result there were not just some gifted artists, but rather the best miniaturists of their time who were involved in the book! Burgos did not only assume and important position among the art centers of Spain for sculpture ca. 1500. The Book of Knights shows that illumination had also reached its highlight in Burgos during this time. Hence the so-called “Miniaturist of 1338” and the “Miniaturist of 1501” are distinguished in research. Aside from that, numerous additional anonymous, but stylistically outstanding artists participated over the centuries in the continuation of the book. All of these aspects, both the overwhelming artistic furnishings as well as its historical significance, make the Book of the Knights of the Brotherhood of Santiago an exciting and significant work of Spanish illumination and art history.