Bohemian portraitist who painted in Germany, USA and France.
This painting was purchased in 1899 for £400. The story is one of the
most famous in the history of the early Christian Church. Around 257 AD, the
Roman Emperor Valerian issued orders for all Christian bishops and priests
to be put to death and all property confiscated.Before he was captured, St.
Laurent, a deacon, began distributing the Church's treasures to the poor,
about whom he said 'these are treasures of the church'. St Laurent was forever
known for his meekness, blamelessness and trustworthiness.
This artwork was conserved in 2001 with the aid of a grant from North West
Museums Service.
In
this painting, a leading churchman shares out treasures among the poor before
they are stolen by the Roman Emperor Valerian. Churches often have close contact
with the most vulnerable members of society - the poor, the sick, the elderly
and the forgotten.
The way we deal with poverty in society has changed. In the past, churches
and kind individuals were expected to look after the starving and the sick
in our society. It is only in the past 100 years that the state has taken
on this role.
What would it be like if there was no welfare state, only charity, to help
those worse off? In the past, this meant many people were not cared for in
any way.
Once upon a time, the Church was the recognised giver of charity to the crippled,
the sick and the poorest of the poor.
Was this true altruism? Was it really true generosity? It could afford to be
so of course. For then, your wealth was based on how much land you held, and
the Church held plenty, in fact, it was the biggest landlord in the realm, had
about a third of every bit land there was; and, as a matter of fact, had a reputation
for being a much tougher landlord than your non-spiritual kinds of lords.
Inclusion wasn't really their thing, they weren't big on democracy either. The
abbeys, monasteries, cathedrals and churches were the most splendid buildings
in the land. Bishops and abbots were treated as equals by the nobility, and
even the King himself couldn't always make his moves unless he got the nod from
Mother Church.
There were those who said that there was something not quite right about this
state of affairs, something downright wrong in fact; that in a truly Christian
country there should be no lords, no peasants, no rich, no poor, only people…
But the only people who said this sort of thing were bitter and twisted God-less
malcontents, stirrers and troublemakers… rude types, oh, and as a general
rule, they also tended to be poor.
Though of course, they didn't say it too loudly, because if they did the Church
would arrange for them to be flogged, or hanged, or to have their insides cut
out and waved around on the outside, or it would arrange for them to be chopped
into pieces with a big axe, or burnt alive at the stake, or be beheaded, or
something quite unpleasant like that.
And if the Church didn't sort out these rude types, well, the nobility certainly
would. There wasn't much tolerance for rude types in those days.
)
