medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> >Thanks, Rochelle. Is _Absent Voices_ out yet?
> Yes, finally. I was told shipment of pre-orders will start Monday.
Dear Rochelle,
If this book is germane to the present discussion (or anything else medieval!), may
we have an abstract, please?
> Yes, there is a misunderstanding; we are talking about _Christian_ statuary
> niches, not niches in general. No, there is not one basic shape for niches
> in general. Then, we have three separate concepts involved here. One is the
> niche, which is probably pre-historic, most likely an interpretation of the
> natural grotto/cave entry, and varies according to cultural interpretations.
> The second is the high place, which seems to appear anywhere sun-as-god is
> part of the theology; the high place shows up as ziggurats if there is no
> convenient high place on a mountain around. The third concept is the shape
> signifying the god(s) stands behind/protects the contents as manifested in
> different cultures.
In the case of the Virgin Mary, the niche also commonly became synchretically
associated with trees early in the Middle Ages.
> The concept of niche/cave is independent, so is the high place. Both of
> these concepts are found throughout the world and owe nothing to diffusion.
> The third concept, though, was disseminated...
This is a difficult problem. If we do not suppose diffusion, how does one account for
such "universal" motifs? I feel uncomfortable with ideas about Jungian archetypes,
myself, but some kind of psychoanalytic explanation seems inevitable.
> The shape is the third of the three concepts involved. The high arch,
> straight-side, narrow column is North-West Semitic; it is also the shape
> of _Christian_ statuary niches, Christian grave markers, drawn on Christian
> codices, the shape of church doorways and windows, arcades and cloisters, the
> shape of the tablets held by Moses in the MSS... It's the shape of "The" Law.
I appears that you have done a great deal of research on this. Have you published
on any aspect of it? I would certainly be interested in any references you might be
able to pass along.
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
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