medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Fri, 21 Feb 2003, Leah Rutchick wrote:
> Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 09:03:35 -0500
> From: Leah Rutchick <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [M-R] The meaning of feet
>
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> I'm not sure how easy it will be for you to check out this
> dissertation, but I recall that the discussion, in part, concerns an
> exegesis, based on very specific readings of the liturgy, of very
> specific feet--those of the famous (to art historians) Christ of the
> Emaus pier relief in the cloister of Silos (11th C.). Note this is not
> Christ of the mandatum (the "feast" of foot washing), nor does the
> exegesis involve genitalia. The point here is that any associated
> meaning and symbology must draw on material evidence (written or other
> sources) of the date and place. I'm afraid I can't summarize the thesis
> for you, but it may be worth trying to get through your library.
>
> James Blaettler, S.J., THROUGH EMMAUS EYES: ART, LITURGY, AND MONASTIC
> IDEALOGY AT SANTO DOMINGO DE SILOS, PhD dissertation, The University of
> Chicago, 1989.
>
>
>
> Quoting Bret Busby <[log in to unmask]>:
>
> > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> > culture
> >
> > On Fri, 21 Feb 2003, Cameron Kippen wrote:
> >
> > > Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 15:21:38 +0800
> > > From: Cameron Kippen <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Reply-To: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> > > <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > Subject: [M-R] The meaning of feet
> > >
> > > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> > culture
> > >
> > > Hi
> > >
> > > My name is Cameron Kippen and I am a podologist (study of the foot
> > in health
> > > and disease) and shoe historian. A colleague has asked me to
> > verify
> > > something they were told but have found no evidence to support. To
> > ancient
> > > Judaic people, "foot" or "feet" were a euphemism for penis. In
> > Ruth 3:1-9
> > >
> > > Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I
> > not seek
> > > rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz
> > of our
> > > kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley
> > to night
> > > in the threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and
> > put thy
> > > raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not
> > thyself
> > > known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
> > And it
> > > shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where
> > he shall
> > > lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down;
> > and he
> > > will tell thee what thou shalt do.
> > >
> > > And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. And
> > she went
> > > down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in
> > law bade
> > > her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he
> > went to
> > > lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and
> > uncovered
> > > his feet, and laid her down.
> > >
> > > And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and
> > turned
> > > himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art
> > thou?
> > > And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy
> > skirt over
> > > thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
> > >
> > > According to my colleague the story doesn't make a lot of sense as
> > it reads.
> > > But would if
> > > "feet" were a euphemism for penis.
> > >
> > > Can anyone shed more light on this
> > >
> > > Much appreciated
> > >
> > > Cameron
> > >
> > >
> >
> > I am just a lay person, with an interest in history, but, to me,
> > from
> > the above text, "feet" means just the appendages at the bottom of
> > the
> > legs; and "uncover his feet" means, to me, removing the coverings
> > from
> > his feet; eg, taking off his sandals, or, in mediaeval (?) and
> > Victorian
> > England (and other similar countries), taking off his boots, etc.
> >
> > I cannot see the references to Christ washing people's feet, as
> > referring to anything other than that; washing people's feet, as a
> > gesture of humility.
> >
> > To validate or refute the allusion to genitalia, I suggest that the
> > approriate thing to do, would be to find a Talmudic (?) scholar, and
> > seek advice. I am not sure whether that is the appropriate term,
> > but,
> > from memory, there were scholars who interpreted the ancient holy
> > books
> > of Judaism (the Talmud, the Zohar, the Qabbalah, etc), to apply the
> > writings.
> >
> > In Perth (the city where curtin uni lives), there are synagogues, and
> > it
> > should be easy enough, to contact one, to find a person regarded as
> > sufficiently authoritative, to comment on your proposition. Also,
> > UWA
> > has a department of classical studies, and, Murdoch Uni (and
> > possibly
> > other local universities) teach theology, including comparative
> > theology, so there should be resources in Perth, from whence to find
> > this information.
> >
> > I may be completely wrong in all of this (I did say that I am only a
> > lay
> > person), but, the above is my understanding.
> >
> > --
> > Bret Busby
> > Armadale
> > West Australia
> > ..............
> >
>
I did say in my response above, that I am a layman, and, as such, I do
not understand Leah's response above, as it is not in layman's terms.
All that I understood of that response, is that it could be worth trying
to read the thesis cited.
However, I am an external student (full-time, off-campus), and travel to
the university is inconvenient and difficult, and, if the university
does not have a book, etc, it now costs 35AUD to request an interlibrary
loan via my university (Murdoch University), making such requests
unaffordable. Hence, that is not an option.
--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............
"So once you do know what the question actually is,
you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
Chapter 28 of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Trilogy In Four Parts",
written by Douglas Adams,
published by Pan Books, 1992
....................................................
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