Pacino di Bonaguida: A knight from Prato (1335)

(British Library, London, UK)

An illuminated page made by the Florentine artist Pacino di Bonaguida (active 1300-1340). This page comes from the book 'Regia Carmina', written by the Italian writer Convenevole da Prato (1270-1338). In the book the Italian city of Prato requests Robert of Anjou (1277-1343), King of Naples and Sicily, to unite Italy under his rule and restore the Papal rule in Rome (between 1309 and 1376 was the Avignon Papacy during which the pope resided in Avignon instead of Rome, a result of a conflict between the papacy and the French crown). This page shows an armed knight from the city of Prato on horseback who carries a shield which appears to be a modification of the arms of Anjou. Page from the around 1335.