Raising the standard of Charles I at Nottingham
Michael Rizzello (1926-2004)
Category
Coins and medals
Date
1992
Materials
Silver
Measurements
517 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
United Kingdom
Order this imageCollection
Osterley Park and House, London
NT 773248
Summary
Silver, Raising the Standard of Charles I at Nottingham, medal designed by Michael Rizzello (1926-2004) and Michael Harvey (1931-2013), struck by the Royal Mint, Llantrisant, 1992. A silver medal depicting the Raising the Standard of Charles I at Nottingham on 22 August 1622. The first medal in a set of twelve issued by the Royal Mint in 1992 and 1993, to mark the 350th Anniversary of the English Civil War. On the obverse, designed by Michael Rizzello (1926-2004), a group of soldiers raise the royal standard on the ramparts of Nottingham Castle, watched by Charles I and, at right, his son, the future Charles II. At left a drummer and trumpeter proclaim the occasion. The banner is inscribed at top 'GIVE CAESAR HIS DUE' and at bottom 'DIEU ET MON DROIT'. On the reverse, designed by Michael Harvey (1931-2013), the legend reads: RAISING THE STANDARD OF CHARLES I AT NOTTINGHAM/. 22 AUGUST 1642. / I reign under the auspices of Christ'. The latter phrase refers to the motto chosen by Charles I, ‘Christo auspice regno’ found on some of his coins.
Full description
The Civil War was fought, mainly in England, between 1642 and 1649, and resulted from a long struggle for power between King Charles I (1600-49) and Parliament, which had reached crisis point with Charles’s dismissal of Parliament. The raising by Charles of his standard at Nottingham Castle, on 22 August 1642, marked the starting point of the Civil War. Charles had left London with his family in January of that year and had taken up residence in York. In the course of 1642, each side began to gather its supporters, Charles trying without much success to raise an army in the north. He had rejected Parliament's proposals for the future government of the country, which he claimed were being drawn up by "raisers of sedition and enemies of my sovereign power." The king chose Nottingham for the formal raising of his standard, since the town could be reached from the Humber estuary by the river Trent, whence he hoped to gain support from the Netherlands. As the scene on the medal shows, the weather was windy and wet and the standard blew down within a week, which was generally regarded as a bad omen. This was the first in a series of twelve medals issued by the Royal Mint at monthly intervals from June 1992, to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the outbreak of the English Civil War. The twelve medals illustrate the significant points in the conflict, from the raising of Charles I’s standard at Nottingham on 22 August 1642, to his execution on 30 January 1649. The designs of the obverses of the medals were commissioned from three leading contemporary artists, John Lobban, Michael Rizzello and Avril Vaughan, whilst the reverses, each of which contains a quotation relating to the subject of the medal, were designed by the distinguished lettering artist Michael Harvey, best-known for the names of celebrated Renaissance artists carved into the stonework of the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery. Michael Harvey’s original artwork for the series is in the Library of the University of Reading (URL MS 5115, file 392). The selection of the twelve episodes and the accompanying legend was devised by the historian of Tudor coinage Dr Christopher Challis. The medals were issued in silver and in bronze, in editions of 2,500 and 5,000, retailing at £84.50 or £49.50 per medal respectively. It was possible to buy the medals singly or as a set of twelve, the latter housed in an African walnut case. The whole series is in the collection at Osterley, but without the wooden case (NT 773248-773258, NT 773623). Jeremy Warren 2019
Provenance
Given to the National Trust in 1993 by George Child Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1910-1998).
Marks and inscriptions
Obverse, banner: GIVE CAESAR HIS DUE / DIEU ET MON DROIT Reverse, legend: RAISING THE STANDARD OF CHARLES I AT NOTTINGHAM. / 22 AUGUST 1642. / I reign under the auspices of Christ
Makers and roles
Michael Rizzello (1926-2004), designer Michael Harvey (1931-2013), designer The Royal Mint, manufacturer
References
The Royal Mint Annual Report, 1991-92, p. 11.