Ivo of Chartres, his ivories and his inheritors

Ivo of Chartres (1040–1115) offers a case study about how objects – ivories in particular – knitted together social relations and established kinship networks across medieval France. An active reformer amidst the Investiture Controversy, Ivo is best known today for his lively and compelling correspondence. This article, however, argues that Ivo should also be remembered for the carved ivories in his possession. At least three ivories from the late eleventh century (although two are now lost) can be associated with Ivo: a comb, a set of tablets (probably a diptych), and his crosier, which is now in Florence's Bargello Museum. Interweaving Ivo's written reflections on the role of ivory objects in his life as reformer, bishop, politician, and friend, the essay further traces the history of Ivo's crosier as it was passed to following generations of reform-minded canons.