Iconography of the Unicorn from India to the Italian Middle Ages
The earliest unicorn figure discovered in Iran dates to the proto-Iranian cultureof Amlash (9th-8th century B.C.). This consists of a small bronze statue representinga goat with a frontal horn. The unicorn measures four centimeters in height and sixand a half centimeters in length and was part of some grave goods
Worlds writ small: four studies on miniature architectural forms in the medieval Middle East
While academic discussion of ornament within medieval Islamic art has laboured much over the codification and meaning of certain forms, there has been relatively little research to date on the visual and iconographic function of architecture as ornament in this context…This thesis proposes, first and foremost, that there is significant cultural meaning inherent in the use of architecture as an inspiration for the non-essential formal qualities of portable objects from the medieval Islamic world.
Construction evolution of medieval tuscan monasteries: The case of badia San Savino in Cascina (Pisa)
The most important stage of this preliminary study has been the historical analysis: the history of the
S. Savino complex is marked by many alterations and modifications to the original structures, presumably
carried out to adapt them to the demands of different (Ceccarelli Lemut and Garzella, 1996 -Pazzagli, 1985- Redi, 1984).
ages and different functions
The Italo-Cretan Religious Painting and The Byzantine-Palaeologan Legacy
The paper aims to introduce the last significant school of painting, which was nurtured by the Byzantine sources, the so-called Italo-Cretan school, whose presence and influence lasted for more than 300 years. Its works are perceived not just as mere objects of veneration but have also high artistic and marketing value.
Harley MS. 3469: Splendor Solis or Splendour of the Sun – A German Alchemical Manuscript
Splendor Solis oder Sonnenglanz is the title of an illuminated manuscript that can rightfully be called one of the principal works of the alchemical tradition (fig. 1). The text survives in many witnesses dating from the early sixteenth to the nineteenth century, of which Harl. MS. 3469 is definitely the most famous and best preserved example.
Comparing Pilgrim Souvenirs and Trinity Chapel Windows at Canterbury Cathedral
The story begins with two tin pilgrim ampullae2 made before 1220 in Canterbury, England, that were found centuries later, one in France (now in the Cluny Museum) and one in Norway (now in the Historical Museum in Bergen, Norway).
The Representation of Christ in Byzantine Hermitages: A Comparison
The spread of Christianity had a tremendous effect on the culture and life of Cappadocia. Christianity was prevalent throughout the region as early as the 2nd-century A.D.1 During the 8th and 9th-centuries Arab invasions began to deplete the population and threatened to overcome the empire.
Domesticity, Intimacy, and Pictorial Space in the Fourteenth & Fifteenth Century Italian Renaissance
This connection between feeling and seeing is often exemplified in paintings that include depictions of either devotional or prominent secular figures within a carefully created domestic environment.
Eve and Her Daughters: Eve, Mary, the Virgin, and the Lintel Fragment at Autun
The lintel fragment of Eve from the Cathedral of St. Lazaire at Autun (Figure 1) has been praised by art historians as one of the greatest monumental figural works of the Romanesque period.
Looking a medieval gift horse in the mouth. The role of the giving of gift objects in the definition and maintenance of the power networks of Philip the Bold
Guenée dubbed the late fourteenth century le temps des alliances’, pointing to the effect on politics and administration in France of visible, recognised networks. These might be based on kinship, marriage and godparenting, where the obligations were well understood, but not necessarily written down
Symbols of Protection: The Significance of Animal-ornamented Shields in Early Anglo-Saxon England
Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic decoration of shields can be evidenced, at least sporadically, from Roman to Viking times. While textual and pictorial information contributes to this knowledge, detailed archaeological analysis depends primarily on the survival of metal fittings.
Magic and the Christian Image
My paper attempts to explore this medieval distinction between the magical and the Christian use of images.
Tradition and Transformation in the Cult of St. Guthlac in Early Medieval England
Do the variations reflect changes in purpose, patronage, doctrine, liturgy, or intended audience? Are they due to differences in authorship, geographical origin, or regional preferences? Analysis of the variations introduced into the corpus of materials, both narrative and visual, for a given saint over the course of the Middle Ages in England can elucidate the social, cultural, and historical significance of these changes.
Boniface’s Booklife: How the Ragyndrudis Codex Came to be a Vita Bonifatii
The most recent addition to the family of literary genres may be the booklife. Finding its origin in Roland Barthes’s Roland Barthes and now taught in English departments, the booklife proposes a union of sorts of writing and living. Whether the genre will be long-lived is an open question, that it can be fruitful is not in doubt. But medievalists already knew that the dividing line between book and life is always thin, especially if that life has been lived in and among books.
’I am well done – please go on eating’ – Food, Digestion, and Humour in Late Medieval Danish Wall Paintings
Jesus never laughed or smiled. Holy people behave like Him: they tend to be solemn, austere, and their body language is restricted. They ought in any case to behave like Jesus. But in late medieval Danish wall paintings some holy people rebel, and St Laurence even jokes.