[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.01,0:00:08.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Beth Harris: We're in Saint John's Hospital in Flanders, in
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.46,0:00:13.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the city of Bruges, and we're looking at a reliquary in the shape
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.94,0:00:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a chapel. And this is fabulously decorated with paintings by the great
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.10,0:00:25.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Northern Renaissance painter, Hans Memling. The shrine tells the story of
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.34,0:00:27.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Saint Ursula. Dr. Anna Koopstra: It is made out of wood,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.12,0:00:32.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it is sculpted and has these beautiful decorations like finials,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.54,0:00:37.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and turrets, and small figures of saints in niches. And then the sides
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.42,0:00:41.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are painted. Dr. Harris: And it's hard, I think for us to overstate
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.36,0:00:48.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the importance of relics. These objects, these physical pieces of the bodies
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.40,0:00:54.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of saints, or even objects that were associated with saints and holy figures
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.96,0:01:00.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were venerated, people made pilgrimages to visit them. These were objects
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.70,0:01:05.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that mediated between the earthly and the spiritual world and could in a
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.88,0:01:10.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very tangible way, help you earn a space in heaven. Dr. Koopstra:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.28,0:01:13.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As we stand here on one of the short sides, we see the
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.18,0:01:17.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Virgin with two nuns from the community here in the hospital.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.74,0:01:22.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are depicted as also standing inside of a church. Now,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.68,0:01:28.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we know that the shrine was intended for this community, but it is interesting
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.12,0:01:32.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it is two nuns who are depicted. Though they may be standing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.50,0:01:38.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the whole of the community rather than two specific individuals.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.55,0:01:42.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: We start on one side and we move, and in a way,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.04,0:01:48.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this object could take you on a virtual pilgrimage together with Saint Ursula.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.46,0:01:53.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Memling is such an amazing painter in terms of creating these illusions
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.34,0:01:57.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of reality that we very much feel a part of what we're seeing.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.97,0:02:02.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Koopstra: So the actual story that we see of Saint Ursula is
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.48,0:02:08.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a story about traveling, making a pilgrimage to Rome. The story begins with
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.74,0:02:15.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ursula disembarking her ship. She is traveling accompanied by other female
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.68,0:02:21.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,virgins, 11,000 it is said, and she's disembarking here in Cologne. And
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.64,0:02:25.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we know that because the buildings that we see in the distance,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.58,0:02:28.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of those is Cologne Cathedral. Dr. Harris: They've set out
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.22,0:02:33.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Brittany. They've sailed along the Rhine, they disembark at Cologne,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.94,0:02:37.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the figures are so filled with movement. Their ship has docked.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.78,0:02:42.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The figures are unloading goods. We see Saint Ursula beautifully dressed
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.98,0:02:48.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in blue and white. She looks very noble, and the entourage is about
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.34,0:02:51.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make its way into the gates of the city. If we look
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.64,0:02:56.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really closely, we can see that Ursula appears again in the background.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.53,0:03:00.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Koopstra: Cologne will also be the place where, upon return,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.60,0:03:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she will die, and this is alluded to in the background where we
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.32,0:03:09.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,see an angel announcing this. Dr. Harris: We're seeing three stops
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.44,0:03:12.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on this side in her journey, and in the next one,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.32,0:03:17.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she's disembarking at Basel. And from here, they'll make their way on foot.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.07,0:03:21.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Koopstra: These scenes are filled with people, and yet they
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.24,0:03:26.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are so cleverly devised that our eye immediately picks up on Ursula,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.84,0:03:32.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is dressed similarly in every scene. And then the journey continues
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.24,0:03:38.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on foot and we see people receding into the distance and snowy mountaintops,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.96,0:03:42.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which will be the Alps. Dr. Harris: Ursula and her entourage have
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.34,0:03:46.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to travel across the Alps on their way to Rome, which is the
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.48,0:03:52.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,final destination of their pilgrimage. Ursula is kneeling and being greeted
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.44,0:03:54.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the Pope. Dr. Koopstra: Her tresses are now undone, her hair
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.81,0:03:58.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is long, but we recognize her. And then through this open portal, we
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.88,0:04:02.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,look into the building, where her husband to be
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.24,0:04:08.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will be baptized. And that is on the right. We see Ursula attending
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.72,0:04:12.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mass, another person confessing. Dr. Harris: So here in this next
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.52,0:04:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scene, we understand that they've left Rome and they've arrived at Basel,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.36,0:04:21.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we can see them disembarking. And in the foreground, we see the
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.70,0:04:27.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,figures again this time leaving Basel in order to head back toward Cologne.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.57,0:04:33.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Memling is an amazing narrator of this story, but also an amazing painter
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.20,0:04:39.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of these small details that draw us in. For example, the vestments that
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.54,0:04:45.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Pope is wearing, his tiara, patterns that we see, the small gems,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.72,0:04:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the different hats, the texture of the figure's hair. There's so much to
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.00,0:04:55.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,convince us of that reality. Dr. Koopstra: And still in all of
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.60,0:05:02.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that variation, you are able to follow the main storyline, and that is
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.78,0:05:05.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the skill of the artist. Dr. Harris: And our eye does immediately
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.96,0:05:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go to Ursula herself in the foreground, her hands clasped in prayer as
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.20,0:05:17.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she continues her pilgrimage. The next two scenes are the climax of the
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.16,0:05:23.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,story. And here we see terrible violence. And those figures are Huns, they're
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.78,0:05:29.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pagans, and these innocent Christian women are being brutally murdered.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.14,0:05:35.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's that very martyrdom that ensures their place in heaven.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.72,0:05:39.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Koopstra: And we see Ursula twice. We see her once still on
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.44,0:05:44.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ship, where she catches the body of her husband to be,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.96,0:05:51.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who's been pierced by a sword. And on the right we see Ursula very
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.44,0:05:55.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,serene, moments before her death. And there's so much you see here as
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.08,0:05:59.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well. Details like, the armor, that is shiny, and it also reflects the
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.44,0:06:04.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people standing around. Ursula herself is very serene, like a beacon of
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.76,0:06:07.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,calm. Dr. Harris: One of the things that's so interesting about
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.90,0:06:13.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the legends of Saint Ursula is that the people of Cologne found just
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.24,0:06:18.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,outside their walls, a large cemetery that dated back to Roman times,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.24,0:06:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but which they interpreted as the site of the burial of Ursula and
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.12,0:06:28.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the maidens that accompanied her. And so there were so many relics to
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.58,0:06:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,be had, and these relics made their way to all sorts of places
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.22,0:06:39.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Europe that became themselves, sites of pilgrimage like here in Bruges.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.95,0:06:45.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Koopstra: We know that it was finished in 1489 because in that
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.26,0:06:49.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,year, on the feast day of Saint Ursula, on the 21st of October,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.88,0:06:56.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a very solemn ceremony, the relics were taken out of an older
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.54,0:07:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shrine to this much more ambitious shrine painted by Memling.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.78,0:07:06.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: So this is an object that is commissioned by the community here
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.30,0:07:14.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to honor Ursula's relics and to also, as the patrons, show their devotion
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.70,0:07:17.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their faith. Dr. Koopstra: One of the other things is the roof.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.00,0:07:22.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We see on each side three medallions, here with the virgin,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.80,0:07:28.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Christ and God, the father, the coronation, and then two music making angels.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.40,0:07:33.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the way that it is painted also references a different material.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.53,0:07:37.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: And we might have other reliquaries actually made of
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.74,0:07:44.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,gold with enamel. But here, very simple materials made to look and to
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.14,0:07:49.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,appear very luxurious. Until I was in front of this, it was hard
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.88,0:07:54.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for me to believe that the gold decorative forms that we see on
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.82,0:08:00.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the roof weren't real, weren't sculpted, but they are painted. Memling is
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.36,0:08:02.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showing us what he can do as a painter. Dr. Koopstra: And so
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.28,0:08:10.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,opposite the panel with the standing Virgin in the chapel, we see Saint
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.16,0:08:14.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ursula protecting, in her robe, a large group of women. She holds the
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.62,0:08:18.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,arrow referencing how she died. Dr. Harris: And these beautiful
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.50,0:08:25.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,jewels in her crown, the clasps of her cloak, the beauty and sumptuousness
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.74,0:08:31.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Ursula in heaven. Here Ursula is being likened to the Virgin Mary.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.75,0:08:34.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Koopstra: It should also be noted that this object would've
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.20,0:08:38.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only come out once a year on the Feast day of Saint Ursula.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.22,0:08:43.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: So like so much art history, this object has been transformed from
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.46,0:08:48.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one that helped people on a spiritual journey to what it is today,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.36,0:08:51.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a work of art, that we can admire and perhaps still have some
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.96,0:08:55.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of that sense of it's tremendous spiritual value.