The gemstones in late medieval crowns

The few surviving crowns from the late Middle Ages, such as the crown of Blanche of Lancaster in the treasury of the Munich Residence or the Wenceslas Crown in Prague, are icons of art history and are among the oldest pieces of jewellery with a rich stone setting that was already described in detail at the time. The scientific studies of both crowns presented in the lecture therefore not only provide an identification of the types of minerals used at the time, but also provide information on the provenance, processing techniques and treatment methods of the gemstones as well as on gemological nomenclature in the late Middle Ages.