Keywords: Illuminated membrane, with portrait of Elizabeth, 1572.jpg en Illuminated initial membrane with portrait of Elizabeth I Court of King's Bench Coram Rege Roll Easter Term 1572 <br> <br/>The King's Bench was the senior common law court until 1875 dealing with crimninal offences The decorative initial P was the Placita plea put before the queen The portraits were commissioned by court officials from artists and are unique though they came to follow a standard design after 1584 <br> <br/>This example in which the queen wears a red cap was executed by the same artist as that for Michaelmas 1571 Art historian Erna Auerbach speculated that the unusual absence of the crown suggests a painter who was not accustomed to paint the picture of the Queen within the initial of a legal document ; she added that it is difficult to connect the two portraits with other well-known portraits of the queen Reference Erna Auerbach Tudor Artists A Study of Painters in the Royal Service and of Portraiture on Illuminated Documents from the Accession of Henry VIII to the Death of Elizabeth I London Athlone Press 1954 pp 123 “24 David Loades Elizabeth I The Golden Reign of Gloriana London National Archives 2003 ISBN 1903365430 Uploaded by qp10qp 1572 PD-old-100 16th-century illuminated manuscripts Elizabeth I of England in manuscripts Ermine clothing in art |