Editing Richard II of England (section)

== Patronage and the arts ==
As part of Richard's programme of asserting his authority, he also tried to cultivate the royal image. Unlike any other English king before him, he had himself portrayed in [[panel painting]]s of elevated majesty,<ref>Saul (1997), p.&nbsp;238.</ref> of which two survive: an over life-size [[Westminster Abbey]] portrait (c.&nbsp;1390), and the [[Wilton Diptych]] (1394–1399), a portable work probably intended to accompany Richard on his Irish campaign.<ref>Alexander and Binski, pp.&nbsp;134–135. See also Levey, pp.&nbsp;20–24.</ref> It is one of the few surviving English examples of the courtly [[International Gothic]] style of painting that was developed in the courts of the Continent, especially Prague and Paris.<ref>Levey, pp.&nbsp;13–29.</ref> Richard's expenditure on jewellery, rich textiles and metalwork was far higher than on paintings, but as with his [[illuminated manuscript]]s, there are hardly any surviving works that can be connected with him, except for a crown, "one of the finest achievements of the Gothic goldsmith", that probably belonged to his wife Anne.<ref>Alexander and Binski, pp.&nbsp;202–203, 506. It is documented in the royal collection from 1399 and accompanied Blanche, daughter of Henry IV, to her Bavarian marriage. It is still in Munich. [http://www.history.ac.uk/richardII/images/crownbig.jpg image] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081031044630/http://www.history.ac.uk/richardII/images/crownbig.jpg |date=31 October 2008 }} See also [http://www.history.ac.uk/richardII/roll.html Richard's Treasure roll], The Institute of Historical Research and Royal Holloway. Retrieved 12 October 2008.</ref>

Among Richard's grandest projects in the field of architecture was [[Westminster Hall]], which was extensively rebuilt during his reign,<ref>{{Cite book |title=The History of the King's Works |date=1963 |publisher=[[HMSO]] |editor-last=Brown |editor-first=R. A. |volume=i |location=London |pages=527–533 |editor-last2=Colvin |editor-first2=H. M. |editor-last3=Taylor |editor-first3=A.J.}}</ref> perhaps spurred on by the completion in 1391 of John of Gaunt's magnificent hall at [[Kenilworth Castle]]. Fifteen life-size statues of kings were placed in niches on the walls, and the [[hammer-beam]] roof by the royal carpenter [[Hugh Herland]], "the greatest creation of medieval timber architecture", allowed the original three [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] aisles to be replaced with a single huge open space, with a dais at the end for Richard to sit in solitary state.<ref>Alexander and Binski, pp.&nbsp;506–507, 515. Only six of the statues remain, rather damaged, and the dais has been remodelled, but otherwise the hall remains largely as Richard and his architect [[Henry Yevele]] left it.</ref> The rebuilding had been begun by [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] in 1245, but had by Richard's time been dormant for over a century.<ref>Saul (1997), p.&nbsp;315.</ref>

The court's patronage of literature is especially important because this was the period in which the English language took shape as a [[Middle English literature#Late period|literary language]].<ref name="Tuck"/> There is little evidence to tie Richard directly to the patronage of [[English poetry#The Anglo-Norman period and the Later Middle Ages|poetry]], but it was nevertheless within his court that this culture was allowed to thrive.<ref>Saul (1997), pp.&nbsp;361–364.</ref> The greatest poet of the age, [[Geoffrey Chaucer]], served the King as a diplomat, a customs official and a clerk of [[Office of Works|The King's Works]] while producing some of his best-known work.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Riverside Chaucer |date=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-1928-2109-1 |editor-last=Benson |editor-first=Larry D. |edition=3rd |location=Oxford |pages=xi–xxii}}</ref><ref>McKisack (1959), pp.&nbsp;529–530.</ref> Chaucer was also in the service of John of Gaunt, and wrote ''[[The Book of the Duchess]]'' as a eulogy to Gaunt's wife [[Blanche of Lancaster|Blanche]].<ref>Benson (1988), p.&nbsp;xv.</ref> Chaucer's colleague and friend [[John Gower]] wrote his ''[[Confessio Amantis]]'' on a direct commission from Richard, although he later grew disenchanted with the King.<ref>Saul (1997), pp.&nbsp;362, 437.</ref>

Richard was interested in [[occult]] topics such as [[geomancy]], which he viewed as a greater discipline that included [[philosophy]], [[science]], and [[alchemic]] elements and commissioned a book on,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schama |first=Simon |title=A History of Britain 1: 3000 BC-AD 1603 At the Edge of the World? |title-link=A History of Britain (TV series)#DVDs and books |date=2003 |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |isbn=978-0-5634-8714-2 |edition=Paperback 2003 |location=London |pages=223 |author-link=Simon Schama}}</ref> and sponsored writing and discussion of them in his court.