medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
With respect, Erik, I think Tom is onto something. Your group of children might very well exhibit different ways of holding a lily or a palm frond, just as different ways of holding these are illustrated here:
http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/Images/ARTH_214images/van_eyck/ghent/annunciation_angel.jpg
detail:
http://www.feedback.nildram.co.uk/richardebbs/essays/images/annuncvaneyck.jpg
and here:
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/nuns/olgrace/images/Dom-lily.jpg
(St. Dominic, whom we'll see again)
and here:
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/art/o/oost/elder/f_martyr.jpg
Not medieval, but note that she's not gripping the frond in a way that would allow her to write were the frond a quill. For that you really need the thumb and two other fingers pressing on the implement.
So even this frequently seen manner of holding a lily (thumb and only one other finger doing the holding) doesn't suggest writing:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sta05001.jpg
On the other hand, note how Dominic and Catherine of Siena are holding quills here:
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/art/s/simone/4altars/3pisa/3pisa.jpg
or how Dominic is doing that here with his lily that is also a quill:
http://www.magdalene.org/withsaints/martini2.jpg
And Catherine of Siena is shown here holding her lily with fingers in the right position to write were the object a quill:
http://www.prosanctitate.org/images/m_scaterin.jpg
When the fingers are in that position, it is reasonable to think of a quill, even if the object depicted is instead a palm frond or a lily. How often that occurs I couldn't say; it may be significant that in this case there are also depictions of the saint in question holding a quill (see above).
Best,
John Dillon
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