Tomb Plaque of Blanche of France (1328–92), daughter of Charles IV of France and Jeanne d'Evreux

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The inscription, in translation, reads: “Here lie the entrails of the lady of noble memory, my lady Blanche, daughter of the late Charles, king of France and of Navarre, and of the queen, Jeanne d’Evreux, his wife. This daughter was the wife of my lord the Duke of Orleans of the house of Valois and of Beaumont, son of the late king Philip of Valois and of the queen Jeanne de Bourgogne, who died in the year one thousand three hundred eighty and twelve, in the month of February. Pray for the lady.” While the body of Blanche of France was interred at the royal abbey of Saint-Denis next to her sister Marie (whose bust is exhibited nearby), the entrails were buried at Pont-aux-Dames, an abbey that the royal family supported. The freestanding Virgin and Child exhibited nearby also comes from Pont-aux-Dames.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art