The wall paintings which adorn the chapel of the south transept of Santa Maria at Terrassa are among the most notable works of art to bear witness to the early dissemination of an iconography of Saint Thomas Becket. They were discovered in 1917 as the result of restoration work in the Romanesque church, which itself was been consecrated on 1 January 1112 (Figure 18.1). The pictorial cycle immediately caught the attention of scholars. In addition to the pioneering studies of J. Soler i Palet, who first published the paintings in a series of four articles in the newspaper La Vanguardia, scholars such as Josep Gudiol i Cunill quickly picked up on the extraordinary discovery.1
In 1927 a private collector, Lluís Plandiura, financed the restoration of the paintings, which were detached and remounted in the apse by Arturo Cividini (Figure 18.2). Several years later, the American researcher and friend of Plandiura, Chandler Post, included the paintings of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket in his survey of painting in Spain, lamenting the damage that the restoration had caused to the central area.2 Recently, numerous studies have been done on the paintings, among which those of Milagros Guardia stand out for their contributions to the field of iconography.3
In spite of this attention, a number of questions concerning the selection of episodes and the commissioning of the paintings remain unresolved. Art historians have traditionally thought of Terrassa as the passive recipient of a cult that was already well established, and the creation of the paintings has been assumed to follow on from the acquisition of relics and/or of a work of art, such as an enamelled Limoges casket, which could have provided the iconographical model. However, this fails to address why Terrassa should have become associated with Becket at all, or address the route whereby the paintings came to faithfully illustrate events that took place in Canterbury Cathedral.
Terrassa certainly presents us with an extraordinary depiction of Becket’s martyrdom, one that is notable not only for its precocious date, a matter that will be explored later, but also for its fidelity to the events that took place in Canterbury Cathedral.4 The paintings are arranged in three registers, consisting of a theophanic image of Christ accompanied by two other figures in the semi-dome (colour plate XIX top), a hagiographical cycle dedicated to Thomas Becket (central register) and a band of fictive curtains (lower register).
Considering the iconography, the most interesting scenes are those in the central register, where we can see Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered by men loyal to King Henry II of England on 29 December 1170.5 The scenes at Terrassa are arranged as a frieze, in which three episodes of the martyrdom are represented (colour plate XIX bottom). Beginning from the left we see the initial meeting between Thomas, accompanied by Edward Grim, and three knights, who adopt a threatening or hostile attitude. One of the knights points a finger at the archbishop, while another readies himself to draw his sword. Becket wears the usual clothing of an archbishop: a white pallium decorated with black crosses, a red robe, chasuble and a mitre with lappets. He holds a crosier in his right hand, whose spiral top is decorated with the head of an animal in imitation of metalwork. The scene depicts three of the four knights (Reginald FitzUrse, William de Tracy, Hugh de Morville and Richard le Breton) who will execute the archbishop. All three are wearing a gambeson or short robe that gives us a glimpse of their underpants, fastened to the shorts with a cord according to the custom of the 12th century, and low boots of elongated profile, adorned with welts or leather strips. This is rare in representations of the martyrdom. The knights are usually shown with military clothing and are equipped with shields as well as swords, as in Cotton Claudius B 11 which is considered the earliest surviving example (c. 1180) of a cycle dedicated to Thomas Becket (Figure 18.3).6
The second scene, in the centre, depicts the murder of the archbishop. The first of the assaulters raises his sword and removes the crown of Thomas’s head, seen immediately beneath the airborne mitre, from which lappets and blood fall, here suggested by parallel lines. The English prelate tilts his head and raises his hand, while a second aggressor holds the saint by his chasuble and aims a blow to his neck. In an attempt to protect Becket, Grim embraces the archbishop and is wounded in his left arm. The scene shows certain similarities with the monumental cycle preserved in the presbytery of the church of Saints Giovanni e Paolo at Spoleto (Figure 18.4), where Grim is wounded and also embraces the archbishop. Nevertheless, there are variations, such as the depiction of an altar at Spoleto, a relatively common element in the iconography of Becket. We should also remember that although Becket was not in the act of celebrating the Eucharist, in most images of the murder he is represented in front of the altar, preparing to celebrate Mass. An altar also appears in the frescoes at Santa Maria di Reggimento – now preserved in the Museum of Casamari (Lazio) – where the murder is accompanied by the effigy of Becket with Saint Benedict and Saint Leonard.
The intention at Terrassa was clearly to represent Becket’s martyrdom in detail, as well as to individualise the characters, by staying close to the story as it was told in the Vitae. The knight who holds Becket by his robe, the sword inwardly curved across the picture surface, together with other meticulously painted details – like the droplets of blood – suggest that an attempt is being made to depict events as they had occurred at Canterbury cathedral. In this respect, it is worth underlining how important Becket’s blood was for the diffusion of the cult. Pilgrims who visited Canterbury took away with them small ampullae made of lead or tin, containing the so-called holy water of Saint Thomas – a mixture of water and traces of blood that had a beneficial effect on the sick. These ampullae might also carry scenes of Becket’s murder, often accompanied by tituli referring to his miraculous abilities.7
The middle register of the cycle at Terrassa culminates with the deposition of the martyr’s body in the tomb and the ascent of his soul, sustained by two angels. The shrouded body is placed in the tomb by two men (Figure 18.5). The one on the right is the same as appears in the earlier scenes, and therefore presumably represents Edward Grim. The character on the left is traditionally identified as John of Salisbury, one of the principal diffusers of the cult.8 John of Salisbury played a major role in Becket’s rapid canonisation, and vehemently defended the veracity of the miracles produced in Canterbury after his death.9 It is a perfectly reasonable identification.
In this context it is worth remembering that John of Salisbury maintained that Becket was buried in a marble tomb (sarcophago marmoreo) in the crypt of the cathedral.10 The tomb, henceforth, was a regular feature in the iconography of Becket, and appears in Cotton Claudius B 11 (c. 1180) as well as MS Harley 5102 of the end of the 12th century (Figure 18.6).11 From the late 12th century onwards Becket’s martyrdom and tomb also appear on Limoges enamel caskets where, just as at Terrassa, the soul of the deceased is carried in a clipeus by two angels. In some cases, such as the reliquary casket of the Victoria and Albert Museum of London (Figure 18.7), we find a complex ensemble of scenes presided over by a character with papal attributes who blesses the body of the martyr with the assistance of a cleric holding prayer books.
The upper part of the apse is dominated by an image of Christ in Majesty, enthroned within a mandorla decorated with four-petal flowers and blue and red circles (colour plate XIX top). Christ blesses and impresses a book on the heads of two characters, following a common scheme for the representation of ordination ceremonies. In this, I believe that Thomas Becket (on Christ’s right) and Edward Grim (on the left) are represented. The range of colours of Becket’s clothes is remarkable, fully corresponding with the robe of Christ, and establishing a clear connection in dignity. The fact that Grim was an eyewitness of Becket’s martyrdom, and his prominence in the scenes of the middle register, would justify his presence next to the Maiestas Domini.12 To better understand the scene, however, certain details should be pointed out. The representation of a maniple, an ornament of consecrated ministers, in the hands of both characters, reminds us that sacrifice and pain offered to God will be recompensed in celestial life. Moreover, seven candlesticks are depicted beneath Christ, an iconography usually associated with the Apocalypse, and whose appearance is strange in this context.13 The inclusion of the candlesticks and stars surrounding the Maiestas is not fortuitous, however. It should be seen as an allusion to the Last Judgement and the Apocalypse, where Becket and Grim will receive eternal salvation as their reward. In the same way that Christ returned to the Father after his crucifixion, Becket’s martyrdom ensures him a place beside God. We must not forget that the text corresponding to the opening of the fifth seal refers to the souls of the martyrs which, like Becket, ‘had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held’ (Revelation 69–11). In any case, the appearance of Christ in the apse is unique in the iconography of Becket, and otherwise unparalleled in surviving ensembles of paintings, miniatures and enamels that depict Becket’s martyrdom.
The three registers of the paintings are separated by two wide strips, which originally bore two inscriptions that are partially lost. A third inscription embellished the curtains of the lower register. The outlines of some letters can still be seen, giving the date of Becket’s death – 29 December: ‘THOMAS (…) IIII ·K(alendas)· IANVARII’. A second inscription, unpublished and currently illegible, was written on the red strip framing the apse.14
The third inscription is located just below the scene of the martyrdom: ‘[TH]OMA BO[NORUM] (damaged area) [NV]S S(an)C(t)A PLVS VALET ARTE SUA’. Finally, in the folds that form the curtains, a third epigraph is partially preserved: ‘PRO XR(ist)O … . . SPOLIARI NON DUBITAVIT VIVIT QVM (damaged area) [THO]MAS QUE(m) SEMP(er) AMAVIT’. The tituli appearing at Terrassa could have their origins in the rich liturgical manuscripts documented in the Augustinian houses attached to Saint-Ruf d’Avignon. As we shall see, these contained numerous references to Thomas Becket. We have been able to identify certain similarities between the respective inscriptions and prayers for the office of the Feast of Saint Thomas Becket, which often directly relate Christ with the archbishop of Canterbury (‘Christe Jesu, per Thome vulnera/ Que nos ligant/ relaxa scelera’), as occurs on the lower register of the paintings.15 It was Tancred Borenius who first suggested that the inscriptions could be related to the offices of Saint Thomas, citing as a parallel the second antiphon for Matins of the Feast of the translation of St Thomas of Canterbury, established in 1220.16 Analysis of the tituli reveals several points of connection between the rhyming verses of the office of Thomas Becket and the Terrassa paintings. In my opinion, the conceivers of the cycle knew this rich liturgical corpus and used it as a textual source for the paintings. As for its interpretation, on the one hand the epigraphs evoke the miraculous abilities of the archbishop (ARTE SUA), while on the other they connect his Vita and Passio with those of Christ. This latter parallel was frequently developed in texts of the Vitae by authors such as John of Salisbury, who compared Becket’s Passion with the sacrifice of Christ in epistle 303.17 Hence, the inclusion of scenes of the Passion of Christ in some Limoges enamel caskets. (Figure 18.8).
Finally, the extrados of the arch is ornamented with a series of concentric intertwined circles, integrating white eight-petal flowers. This decoration is interrupted by two angels with censers, holding a canvas in which there is a figure in a mandorla (Figure 18.9). The scene resembles the depiction of the ascent of Becket’s soul in the lower register, and is almost certainly intended as Becket, thus duplicating the scene. The reason for the repetition is probably that the iconographic model for Becket’s martyrdom was a Limoges enamel casket, where Becket’s martyrdom was usually accompanied by the ascent of his soul (Figure 18.10).
The rapid canonisation of Becket, just three years after his death, hastened the dissemination of his cult throughout the Latin West, being especially relevant in England, France and Italy.18 From 1176 the consecration of churches, chapels and altars dedicated to Saint Thomas is documented, while references to his feast proliferated in liturgical manuscripts. The cult of Becket was adopted early in the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in the Kingdoms of Castile and León.19 Remarkable imagery of Becket is also preserved, such as the relief from San Miguel de Almazán (Figure 18.11), the pictorial cycle of San Nicolás de Soria (c. 1300) or the effigy of Becket preserved in the church of Santo Tomás Cantuariensis at Salamanca.20 Promotion of the cult in Castile and its consequent impact on the arts have traditionally been connected to Eleanor of England (1162–1214), daughter of Henry II, who married Alfonso VIII of Castile in the same year as Becket was martyred. Indeed, in 1179 the queen supported the endowment of a chapel dedicated to the archbishop of Canterbury that had been founded two years earlier at the Cathedral of Toledo.
The worship of Becket was also quickly adopted in the Kingdom of Aragon. In 1186 Bernat de Berga, bishop of Barcelona, consecrated an altar in Barcelona Cathedral, located above the galilee, and shortly afterwards, in 1190, a chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket is documented at Prat de Dalt (Caldes de Montbui). By c. 1180 the Feast of Saint Thomas of Canterbury appears in the Llibre de les Refeccions of the Monastery of Ripoll, while the Liber Consuetudinum Vicensis Ecclesie of canon Andreu Salmúnia should not be dated much later, and also contains the Feast of the English prelate.21
When it comes to the appearance of Becket at Terrassa, as will be developed later, the primary agents were members of the congregation of St-Ruf. This is also the reason why the cycle is positioned in so privileged a position, close to the main altar and on the route taken by the canons from the cloister into the church. Houses of canons regularly attached to the Augustinian abbey of Saint-Ruf at Avignon played a leading role in the spread of the cult of Becket in southern France and Spain. And the essential link between the congregation of St-Ruf, Catalonia and England was the sometime abbot of St-Ruf, and subsequent Pope Adrian IV, Nicholas Breakspear (died 1159).22 Breakspear was fundamental to the expansion of the congregation of St-Ruf, and directly participated in the foundation of Augustinian houses in Catalonia. His close relationship with the count of Barcelona also encouraged contacts between Catalonia, Saint-Ruf at Avignon and England – contacts that clearly flourished from the middle of the 12th century onwards. St-Ruf was a conduit whereby liturgical texts and compilations of miracles concerned with Becket travelled from Canterbury to the Mediterranean, and on via its network of Augustinian monasteries.
Thus, Hispanic houses of canons regular were at the forefront of the adoption of the cult of Becket during the years that followed his martyrdom. A landmark in the expansion of the congregation of Saint-Ruf in the Iberian Peninsula was the foundation of Santa Cruz de Coimbra, in Portugal. Coimbra was the most influential Augustinian house in the Kingdom and one of the most notable cultural centres of the Iberian Peninsula.23 During the second half of the 12th century it became the most important monastic scriptorium in Portugal – along with Alcobaça – and its library was enriched with numerous codices that had been copied for it at the Abbey of Saint-Ruf.24 One of these manuscripts, now in the library at Porto, contains a compilation of texts of special interest related to the archbishop of Canterbury.25 It is a manuscript of the first third of the 13th century, comprising various books for the Divine Office and the Mass, along with the Passio sancti Thome Cantuariensis archiepiscopi et martyris by the anonymous author IV, and a compilation of Miracula sancti Thome Cantuariensis by Benedict of Peterborough, in two different codicological units.26
Coimbra exerted a notable influence on subordinated priories like San Vicente de Fora (Lisboa), where a late- 12th-century sacramentary was made containing prayers for the Mass of Saint Thomas Becket.27 Coimbra also maintained contact with Augustinian houses in the neighbouring Kingdom of León, specifically with Saint Isidore at León, where two manuscripts that refer to the archbishop of Canterbury are documented: a martyrology in which information related to Becket was added in the late-12th-century, and a text for liturgical use composed in 1187.28 Besides these codices, a relic of Becket was preserved in León, documented in the Translatio et miracula of Saint Isidore.29 Moreover, in February 1156 Pope Adrian IV had asked King Alfonso VII to yield a place to the canons of Saint-Ruf in the Diocese of Toledo for an Augustinian house.30 The monarch gave the church of San Vicente de la Sierra to St-Ruf, located in a rural area near Toledo, where an important monastic scriptorium flourished in the second half of the 12th century, from which an Augustinian customary survives which also contains prayers dedicated to Becket.31
It is within this context that the choice of iconographic programme for the chapel might be better understood. In my opinion, the ‘documental’ character of the paintings of Terrassa and the faithful representation of events as described in the early accounts of Becket’s martyrdom cannot be explained without direct knowledge of these texts, which at this period were copied and distributed through the congregation of Saint-Ruf. Although no codex of a similar nature to the Coimbra manuscript is preserved from Terrassa, it is probable that the agents involved in creating the paintings knew these liturgical manuscripts and that they were used as a source for the wall paintings.
The driving force behind the paintings of Thomas Becket at Terrassa was, in all likelihood, a canon with Anglo-Norman origins called Harvey, a very common name in England during the 11th and 12th centuries – as with Hervey le Breton (bishop of Ely, 1109–31) or Hervey of Keith (first marshal of Scotland, who died around 1196–99).32 A priest and canon of Saint-Ruf, Harvey played an important role in the community of Santa Maria at Terrassa, and is the most prolific named scribe to transcribe and sign documents there during the second half of the 12th century. He wrote a total of seventeen surviving documents in two different periods: the first between 1158 and 1175 and the second between 1184 and 1186. The last document in which he is recorded as a canon (Signum Arvei, presbiteri, canonici Sancti Rufi) is dated 7 June 1207.33 In addition to his name, his identification as a canon with an Anglo-Norman background depends on the character of his handwriting. This conforms with the rapid and more informal script used in many Anglo-Norman royal, episcopal and baronial charters of the third quarter of the 12th century, both in its letter forms and in the treatment of certain diagnostic forms, which reinforces our hypothesis as to his origins (Figure 18.12).34 As is often the case at this period, his signature presents small variations: harvey, ervey, arvey. Most likely, Harvey came to the community of Terrassa through Saint-Ruf at Avignon which, as we have seen, maintained strong ties with the Anglo-Norman world through Pope Adrian IV. Even though Saint-Ruf had no daughter houses in England, many English Augustinian priories, such as Merton, where Becket himself had been educated, came into contact with the congregation and became familiar with their customs thanks to the role of Adrian IV.35 Regarding the circulation of canons, we should note that in 1148 Nicholas Breakspear had ordered the transfer of monks from Saint-Ruf to Catalonia, to join the restored see of Tortosa under Gaufred of Avignon, a former canon at Saint-Ruf. Later, another canon of the congregation, Durand, became abbot of the Priory of Saint-Ruf at Lleida.
If we accept his Anglo-Norman origins, Harvey and the congregation of Saint-Ruf were the decisive agents for the introduction of Becket’s cult to Terrassa. Of course, there is no way of knowing the precise role played by the canon and scribe in the process whereby the cult was received, nor can we prove with absolute certainty that Harvey directly participated in the commission of the paintings. However, given his origins, Harvey is the most likely candidate to have endowed an altar in the south transept chapel, and organised its consecration in honour of the archbishop of Canterbury, just as Pere de Ripollet had endowed the altar of Thomas Becket in the Cathedral of Barcelona in 1186.36 It is very likely that the new painted cycle was made for the chapel of Terrassa in order to emphasise the Passio of Becket.
Thus, the role played by Harvey within the Augustinian house of Terrassa was potentially crucial. Furthermore, the fact that the canon-scribe is documented at Terrassa in two distinct periods may be relevant. Between 1179 and 1187, that is for most of the time that Harvey was absent, the priest Guerau de Santfeliu closed documents and was the most active scribe at Terrassa. However, between 1185 and 1187, that is during the time that Harvey had returned, Guerau wrote just three documents. Harvey seems to have left Terrassa for a short period (1175–84), and the reasons for his absence in the community are unknown, but his return in 1184 corresponds with our suggested date for the execution of the paintings. Although no documents have so far come to light that would enable us to trace Harvey’s career while he was away from Terrassa, it does seem likely that Harvey was behind the chapel and its embellishment with a pictorial cycle of ‘documental’ character.
Traditionally it is thought that the south transept wall of Santa Maria at Terrassa was opened out in the later 12th century, sometime after the construction of the church, and that the apse was specifically built for the paintings. However, both the archaeological and the documentary evidence suggest the chapel formed part of the church that was consecrated in 1112, and that it was simply re-consecrated and painted in the late 12th century. From an archaeological perspective, the south transept wall is uniform: the arches used over the window, to form the small closet near the southwest angle, and over the chapel apse, are similar, and use an identical constructional technique (Figure 18.13). The mortar that is used is the same, as is the plaster used at the base of the south wall and chapel apse.
To that archaeological evidence, we should add the documentary record. The chapel could originally have housed the altar of Saint Adrian, documented from 1117 and consecrated by Oleguer, former prior of Sant Adrià del Besòs and abbot of Saint-Ruf at Avignon: ‘Ego Berengarius Raimundi, bono spiritu ductus, dono et laudo atque evacuo domino Deo et ecclesie Sancte Marie Egarensi et altari Sancti Adriani, quod infra prescriptam basilicam est’.37 Another document from 1153 tells us that the altar of Saint Adrian was ‘in eadem ecclesia constructi’, which indicates there was an altar and by extension a chapel dedicated to the saint at Terrassa. Saint Adrian was an important cult in the houses attached to the congregation of Saint-Ruf, used in the dedication of churches (Sant Adrià del Besòs) and chapels (Terrassa). It was also the papal title chosen by Nicholas Breakspear. Thus, the canons of Sant Adrià del Besòs, who had been moved and re-established in Terrassa, could have brought the dedication with them, and were given a space for the veneration of the saint at Terrassa from the outset.38 The location of the chapel in the southern arm of the transept is not accidental: it was a prominent position, close to the altar of Saint Mary, above the floor level of the nave and positioned between the church, the cloister and the monastic dependencies (Figure 18.14). Around the middle of the 16th century the dedication of the chapel changed again, this time to Saint Lucy, and it was decorated with a Renaissance altarpiece in oils by A. Sabater in 1546. In consequence, we should assume that the installation of the 16th-century altarpiece precipitated the closing of the apse, as a result of which the wall paintings came to be hidden behind whitewashed walls until their rediscovery in 1917. A photograph made shortly after their rediscovery shows how the fixings for the 16th-century altarpiece had damaged the wall paintings (Figure 18.15).
Building chapels dedicated to the archbishop of Canterbury in Spanish churches was widespread in the last quarter of the 12th century. Thus, various altars dedicated to Thomas Becket are known, such as the aforementioned altar in Barcelona cathedral, located above the galilee. In addition, there were chapels in the cathedrals of Sigüenza, where Becket’s chapel was consecrated by Bishop Joscelmo before his death in 1178, Toledo (1177), Zaragoza (c. 1200) and Burgos, the last endowed by Archdeacon Matthew in or shortly before 1202. The case of Toledo Cathedral is perhaps the most significant of all. The Augustinian reform became effective at Toledo around the middle of the 12th century. Then, in July 1177, Count Nuño Pérez de Lara with his wife, Teresa, endowed an altar dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket in the cathedral.39 Two years later, Alfonso VIII and Eleanor Plantagenet brought the chapel under their protection. The altar was to be attended by a priest who served God and Becket and who prayed for their souls. This was similar to what happened in Barcelona, where Pere de Ripollet, canon and sacristan, endowed the altar of Thomas Becket.
Narrowing down the position of Becket Chapels is more difficult. The chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket in the church of San Nicolás at Soria was located in the south transept, near to the presbytery, a privileged place close to the main altar, as at Terrassa. The chapel at Soria was also decorated with a cycle of mural paintings dedicated to Thomas Becket, though these are dated to around 1300. Everything suggests this was also the case at Sigüenza Cathedral, whose canons had lived sub regula Augustini beati atque Ieronimi from 1144. Some time later, the chapel was rededicated to San Juan and Santa Catalina. According to Gregoria Cavero the chapel was used as an episcopal mausoleum, becoming, in the 14th century, a pantheon of illustrious families.40
Historically, the wall paintings of Santa Maria at Terrassa have been attributed to the Master of Espinelves, a painter associated with Vic, and named after the altar frontal from Espinelves (c. 1187) now in the Episcopal Museum of Vic (Figure 18.16).41 This altarpiece was probably made towards the end of the 12th century to complete the church which had been restored and re-consecrated in 1186.
As the result of collaboration between the Magistri Cataloniae project (UAB), the Episcopal Museum of Vic (MEV), the Centre de Conservació i Restauració de Catalunya (CRBMC) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (CETEC-PATRIMONI), the wall paintings of Terrassa and the altar frontal of Espinelves have been analysed using infrared spectrography. This has demonstrated that the wall paintings at Terrassa share techniques with Catalan altar frontals, specifically the use of tinfoil (Petula Stagni) in the candlesticks and possibly also in some of the haloes (colour plate XXI, bottom).42 There are also many stylistic similarities between Espinelves and Terrassa. The treatment of the hair is particularly symptomatic, conceived as large blocks of colour divided by curvilinear incisions, as we can observe in the Christ of Terrassa and the Christ Child on the altar frontal at Vic. The treatment of the garments is also remarkably close, where the Master of Espinelves shows great virtuosity and originality. We have already noted how short robes, showing a glimpse of underpants, feature at Terrassa. These appear similarly in the altar frontal. Certain other decorative details have gone unnoticed, however. In particular, the four-petal flower motif is used hierarchically in both works. This motif appears only in the robes of Christ and Becket in the paintings of Terrassa, and in the clothes of the Virgin, Christ, the prophets and two of the Magi on the altar frontal from Espinelves. The articulation of the bodies of the figures is also very distinctive. At Terrassa, John of Salisbury bends his head slightly and stretches his arms following the same model that was used for the figure of King Melchior in the frontal of Espinelves (Figure 18.17). The faces are similarly related, and are characterised by the presence of very marked contour lines, suggesting the artist had prior knowledge of working with drawings and miniatures.
The Master of Espinelves was most likely a painter trained in the workshop at Vic Cathedral. Given the relationship between Terrassa and Vic, both of which were houses of canons regular associated with the distinguished house of Saint-Ruf at Avignon, it is possible the painter would have been recommended by Vic as an artist suited to paint the chapel of Thomas Becket at Terrassa. Recent research by Manuel Castiñeiras on the training of painters in the 12th century suggests that they undertook a graduated and highly structured artistic apprenticeship that took in all forms of painting – manuscript illumination, panel painting and wall painting – probably under the protection of a large ecclesiastical institution, such as a monastery (Ripoll) or cathedral (Seu d’Urgell or Vic).43 It is not possible to say if the Master of Espinelves was a cleric or a layman, but it is clear that his work was influenced by a clear sense of the ‘religious’. Indeed, the numerous epigraphs – tituli et explanationes – which accompany the paintings from Terrassa and Espinelves, suggest the painter had enjoyed an education comparable to that of clerici or conversi, and had been instructed within a monastic or cathedral school. Not only are the inscriptions painted with skill in a well-developed hand, the painter seems to share a familiarity with monastic culture, suggesting he may have been resident within a religious community. If so, he would have been in reasonably good company. There are a number of documented instances of the artist conversus in the second half of the 12th century, as in the case of the painter Walter de Colchester, who entered the Abbey of Saint Albans as a monk; the magister operis frater Bernardus, the first architect whose name is recorded working on the Cathedral of Tarragona; or the Master Pere de Coma, who was responsible for the construction of the cathedral at Lleida.44
As far as the dating of these paintings is concerned, two events are relevant. First, in 1187 a new nave and apse were built for the church of Sant Vicenç d’Espinelves. The altar frontal will have been made and placed in the new church at around this date. Second, the canon Harvey, after a period elsewhere (1175–84), returned to Terrassa, where he can be detected signing documents once more between 1185 and 1187. It is likely, therefore, that the paintings were made in the half-decade between 1185 and 1190.
In conclusion, it seems clear that just as the proliferation of churches, chapels and altars dedicated to the archbishop of Canterbury underlines the extent to which the cult of Becket spread rapidly, the rich corpus of manuscripts concerned with his life and the liturgies developed for his feasts, underlines the role played by the Augustinians in the diffusion of the cult, especially those that belonged to the congregation of Saint-Ruf at Avignon. Becket appears in numerous codices made for Saint-Ruf’s dependencies (San Vicente de la Sierra, Coimbra) and in wall paintings at associated houses such as Terrassa. We also should not forget that Becket was educated in the Augustinian Priory of Merton (Surrey), and even at the moment of his martyrdom, texts of the Vitae maintain he was wearing the vestment of a regular canon.45 It is likely that Augustinian communities took an active role in promoting Becket because they saw him as one of their own – thus the Vita, Passio and Miracula were copied in various daughter houses of Saint-Ruf- to which an extensive liturgical corpus was soon added that played a significant role in the spread of the veneration of the archbishop of Canterbury.
The research undertaken on the paintings of Terrassa and developed in this article formed part of a Research Project Movilidad y transferencia artística en el Mediterráneo medieval (1187–1388): artistas, objetos y modelos- MAGISTRI MEDITERRANEI. HAR2015–63883-P. I am indebted to Manuel Castiñeiras for his help and suggestions during the preparation of this text. I would also like to express my most sincere thanks to Domènec Ferran and Antonio Moro (Museum of Terrassa), to John McNeill and to the staff of the Historical and Local Archive, for the facilities they provided and their help in enabling me to consult the documentation concerning the church of Santa Maria at Terrassa.
