medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>Acts 1:18 reads, "et suspensus
>crepuit medius et diffusa sunt omnia viscera eius." Is it possible
>that the Medieval depiction of Judas with a demon bursting from
>his stomach represents an attempt to reconcile the Gospel account
>his this verse in Acts? Do you have any idea how Medieval glosses
>handled this (if at all)?
That's an interesting possibility. The demon would present a linkage
between the two accounts of Judas' suicide, and provide a clearer reason
for the rupture of his entrails, which otherwise seems to be a somewhat
spontaneous happening (I can't see why it would result from hanging or even
from a fall).
I haven't looked at the gloss for this verse, but I would be surprised if
there were texts saying explicitly that J. was possessed and so forth,
since that would deprive him of full responsibility for his actions and he
is needed as a whipping boy. My argument is more along the lines that this
choice of depiction evokes possession on a subtle level since demons often
(though not exclusively) tend to live in the guts, and since the demon
frequently is shown exiting J's body. But now you've made me curious about
what exactly commentators said about the death of J. specifically.... I
was coming at this from an investigation into possession rather than into
the death of Judas, but now I wonder what medieval commentators said about
the relationship between J and the devil?
Thanks,
Nancy Caciola
History
UC-San Diego
>--
>
>Phil Feller mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
>Im Fremden das Eigene zu erkennen, in ihm heimisch zu werden, ist
>die Grundbewegung des Geistes, dessen Sein nur Rueckkehr zu sich
>selbst aus dem Anderssein ist.
>-- Hans-Georg Gadamer, _Wahrheit und Methode_ (11)
>
>**********************************************************************
>To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
>to: [log in to unmask]
>To send a message to the list, address it to:
>[log in to unmask]
>To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
>to: [log in to unmask]
>In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
>[log in to unmask]
>For further information, visit our web site:
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|