“Part 1 Look closely at Book2, Plate 3.20, unknown weaver after painting by Rogier van der Weyden, The Justice of Trajan and Herkinbald. How do its design, composition, and style relate to its original location and function, and the way it was made?”

The tapestry was designed to represent the notion of law and functioned as a warning to jurors gathering for judgement in the court chamber to seek the truth.

Two of the panels deal with the medieval legend concerning Trajan, who orders for his own son to be executed for trampling a womans son. When later Gregory the Great encounters Trajans skull with his tong still alive, he prays on behalf of the dead mans soul. The second pair of panels deal with Herkinbald, the uncompromising uncle who beheaded his nephew for wronging a young woman. He is later refused last rites at which point God places the sacrament directly on his tongue.

The use of tapestry conveyed an image of grandeur and prestige, virtues linked to princes at the majority of European courts. At the same time they served as objects of worship and extravagant decoration of chapels and cathedrals. Tapestries serv…(short extract)