Ignore this if it got through the first time, I'm not
sure...
By way of a semi-relevant aside...
There is a reference to colour symbolism in Dante's 'Il
Convito, about which the translator of my version,
Katharine Hillard (Kegan, Paul, Trench & Co, London, 1889,
yes I know its old, but an excellent and well annotated
translation) writes in a footnote of some medieval 'mystic
language of colours' referring us to the 'Vocabolario
Dantesco' of Loius Blanc.
In 'Il Convito' Book IV, Canzone 3,6, Dante writes:
'Nobility exists where Virtue dwells,
Not Virtue where she is;
As that is heaven where we see the stars,
But not the converse.
And we in women, and the age of youth
See this most saving power
Part of their fear of shame,
Which is not quite a virtue.
Therefore from her, as cometh perse from black,
All virtues take their rise.'
Hillard defines perse as 'A colour composed of purple and
black where the black predominates.' In 'Inferno', 5.89 the
Florentine uses perse to represent sombreity.
In 'Il Convito', Dante attributes the same meaning to both
'perse' and black, that is nobility, with perse more
specifically representing Virtue, which proceeds from
Nobility, the implication that only the noble in spirit can
be virtuous (in the commentary of Book IV, Dante explains
at some length the difference between nobility of birth,
and true nobility, that of good conduct and moral probity.
In 'Il Convito' IV:20:1 Dante explains Canzone 3.6:
'When it continues, "Therefore from her as cometh perse
from black", the text proceeds to the definition of
Nobility that we are seeking; wherein we may see what this
Nobility is, of which so many people speak so mistakenly.
It says, in conclusion from what has been said before that
all virtues (or rather their first parent, that is the
elective habit, of the proper mean) come from her, that is
Nobility. Perse is a colourcomposed of purple and black,
but the black predominates, and the colour takes its name
therefrom; and so virtue is a thing composed of nobility
and passion, but because nobilty predominates therein,
virtue is named from her, and is called goodness.'
Hillard makes the following translators note from this:
'In this paragraph, 'denominata' should be translated
'classed with.' 'Perse' is not named from black, but
classed with it, as a dark colour, and so virtue is classed
with nobility and called goodness.'
What interests me most here is this late medieval
association of the colour black with Nobility (of spirit
and morals, not birthright), and, by extension with virtue,
symbolising, as it does that Nobility is the greater
portion of virtue. This seems totally at odds with our own
association of the colour black with evil and negation and
depression. When did the symbolism of the colour change?
Where did the association of black with virtue and Nobility
originate?
On Sun, 05 Jan 1992 03:39:57 -0700 Andrew Gow
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> On medieval colour symbolism, see the work of Friedrich Ohly and his pupils
> (Ohly-Schule) at Muenster in the 60s through present. That's not to say
> there's not room for further woek, however.
>
> Andrew Gow
>
>
>
>
> At 11:27 AM 1/29/00 -0800, you wrote:
> >I believe that color was of supreme symbolic/iconographical importance
> >in the Middle Ages, especially in mss., and not just in images. This is
> >a topic that could use some exploration. I'm reminded of the French
> >symbolist poet Rimbaud, who wrote a poem about the "color" of vowels.
> >Medieval Synesthesia - dissertation/book, anyone?
> >Kathryn Wildgen
> >Newcomer to the list
> >Professor of French
> >Un. of New Orleans
> >
> >"Jennifer M. Lockhart" wrote:
> >>
> >> I wonder if anyone can help a neophyte to the world of manuscripts! I was
> >> taking a look at a bible at University of Pennslyvania, MS 286, a Paris
> >> bible from 1300. I noticed that there was something that looked like an
> >> index in the front...probably 30 pages of alphabetized Latin, with no
> >> illuminations. The first letter of each line was highlighted in a color
> >> of red or blue. The As lasted for a several pages. I though I spotted
> >> some proper nouns at the beginning of some lines, things like "Balaam."
> >> I didn't translate the Latin, but could with more time...I just happened
> >> to be looking at this book in another context, but was curious about this
> >> feature.
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Jennifer Lockhart
> >
----------------------
Graham Williamson-Mallaghan
School of Classics and Theology
Queens Building
Queens Drive
University of Exeter
EX4 4QG
01392-676239
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