wired enamel, King St Ladislaus's herm, relic
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A type of partitioned enamel. Tiny sheets were fastened to the object they wanted to decorate, then small cells were soldered to this made of twined silver wire (filigran). These cells were filled with enamel. After burning the enamel shrinks and the wires come out of the surface. This technique originates from Byzantium, from the 14th century. It reached Hungary by North Italian mediation. Its earliest relics in Hungary come from the Sigismund age: they are St Ladislaus's herm (sometime between 1406-1443) and the Saxon elector prince, Frederick's ceremonial sword, which was presented to him by King Sigismund (1425). The technique spread in Hungary in the second half of the 15th century, and then it spread towards Central-Europe.
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King St Ladislaus's herm
St Ladislaus's skull was kept at his burial place, in the cathedral of Nagyvárad in a herm, that is a head relic holder. It was first mentioned in 1273. However, a fire in 1406 destroyed this herm, as it was described in one of King Sigismund's charters, but the relics were not damaged. Today's relic holder must have been made after this fire, so it was certainly completed by 1443, since then the tower of the cathedral - where the herm was kept - tumbled down, but the relic holder was not damaged. In 1565 Protestants robbed the saint king's tomb. Bishop Demeter managed to recover the relic holder, and took it with himself to Gyulafehérvár, Pozsony, then in 1602 to Győr. He had it restored in Prague. The Gothic crown was replaced with the present one there. The shoulder part of the herm is covered with wired enamel, the head is made of a convex silver sheet, which is gold plated. In the inside there is the skull relic in a silver case. Some people think the herm was made by masters Martin and George of Kolozsvár and they see the portrait of Béla III in it. But these suppositions are baseless.
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relic (Latin reliquia = memory, remains)
The earthly remains of Christian martyrs or saints, and all the objects that can be connected to Jesus Christ or the saints. Relics were built into altars of churches, or were put onto those. Usually they were kept in decorative relic holders.
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