Transient Astronomical Events as Inspiration Sources of Medieval Art. III: The 13th and 14th Centuries, and the Case of the French ‘Ordre de l’Étoile’

Abstract: Going ahead in our long term project of analyse the role of transient astronomical events as inspiration sources of Medieval art, we extend our interest towards the 13th and 14th centuries, epochs of strong changes either in society, art and science. It is our aim to verify if the relationship we found in the 11th century between the number of artworks, where a star is represented, and astonishing transient astronomical events was in this new situation still valid. Moreover, in order to check the influence of astronomical events on 14th-century social and cultural environment, we focus on the case of the Ordre de l’Étoile, a chivalry society founded by John II of France (Jan le Bon, roi de France) at the end of 1351, looking in ancient chronicles for some relevant contemporary astronomical event as inspiration source for the “star” in the Order name, in the garb of its knights and in its motto.