Cunera’s scarfe is the story of Cunera, patron of the town of Rhenen (in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands). The town’s church is named after her, as are a long road, a lane, a hill, a school, liquor and cookies.
But why? Who was Cunera?
The Utrecht Comic Artists Association De Inktpot (The Inkpot) was asked to make a comic album about this young woman, who allegedly lived in Rhenen in the early Middle Ages.
The album contains work of several artists, each of them displaying another aspect of Cunera’s story. And those stories are bound together by the photo comic about student Emma, who hears all the stories during her visit to a museum.
The legend of Cunera developed in 3 phases:
1) a folk tale from the early Middle Ages about a feud at the court of the local nobles;
2) half way the Middle Ages the story was given christian elements and became a eulogy for the local rulers;
3) in the last period of the Middle Ages it was rewritten as a saint’s story, embedded in other christian legends and of importance for town and locals.
All three phases of her legend can be found in this album.
The album also contains historical information about Rhenen and it’s inhabitants: the early medieval ‘Court of Rhenen’, the christianization of the region, rise and fall of the countess of Hamaland halfway the Middle Ages and the development of Rhenen as a merchant’s town and place of pilgrimage.
Cunera’s Scarfe is made by Niels de Hoog, Ype Driessen, Wilma van den Bosch, Ronald van der Heide, Jan Dirk Barreveld, Wilbert van der Steen, André Slob, Joshua Peeters, Albo Helm, Brigida Almeida, Rob van Barneveld and Niels Bongers. Producer and initiator is Katrijn Kuypers.
De halsdoek van Cunera (in Dutch) is for sale (€10) in bookstores ans a couple of musea in Rhenen and Utrecht.
Or contact De Inktpot.
De Inktpot (The Inkpot) is a bunch of comic artists living in and around the city of Utrecht, working together on various comic art projects.
I contributed to The dance of the envoys (about the peace treaty of Utrecht, 1713) and Cunera’s scarfe (patron of the town of Rhenen).