Gilchrist and Aston both suggest that women are placed on the north side of
the church because this is the side on which the Virgin Mary was
represented, at Christ's right hand, in depiction of the Crucifixion and
Last Judgement.
Maddy
Dr Madeleine Gray
Department of Humanities and Science
UWCN
'Reading is sometimes an ingenious device for avoiding thought'
Bill East
<[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask]
Sent by: cc:
medieval-religion-request@mail Subject: Re: Psycho-Saptial Liturgics
base.ac.uk
02/10/00 11:32 AM
Please respond to
medieval-religion
... The right side of the altar,
[from the point of view of the Bishop sitting behind the altar] the
favored position, is associated by amalarius with paradise, the elect,
the Gentiles, and with safety. Conversely, the left side is associated
with hell, the temporal world, the Hebrews, strife, and danger. The
ninth-century practice of placing women on the right and men on the
left was explained by the rationalization that women, being the weaker
sex, should be protected. The movement of the gospel from left to
right for the reading was interpreted as symbolic that Christ preached
first to the Jews and then, when reject by them, was accepted by the
Gentiles. Its return to the left at the end of the service foreshadows
the conversion of the Jews."
And many such things he writes.
The Supple Doctor.
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