medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
http://www.geocities.com/cdesastre20008/ABBOT.htm
(note that the .jpg can be expanded to a size which is several times larger
than a browser window --with *plenty* of detail.)
From: Marjorie Greene <[log in to unmask]>
> The man is holding a staff
yes, specifically "a staff resembling a shepherd's crook carried by bishops
and abbots as a symbol of office."
http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=crosier
sometimes [mis-?]spelled as "crozier".
>but as far as I can see, there is no other indication of his status as bishop
or abbot.
the articulation of the drapery is quite schematic, but the outer garment
definitely ends in a V-shaped bottom hem (with "nested V folds" across its
surface).
and i *think* i can make out, on each side of the bottom of the "V", the two
ends of the long, ribbon-like Thingie which Bishops (but not abbots) wear
--being both severely sartorially and vestmentally challenged i don't know the
names of either the V-shaped overgarment nor the ribbon-like Thingies.
otOh, there seems to be some sort of cape-like Thingie which falls partially
over both shoulders.
though we can't see his bald pate, those cute little bangs suggest a tonsure.
>It's impossible to see in the image what he is doing with his right hand.
Blessing?
it's not broken off or damaged, though both arms have been drastically
foreshortened by a licenced artist.
he's holding his hand up vertically, level with his head, and it appears (to
me) that there are two upright fingers visible --blessing, yes.
> Where is this capital located? and is it "in the round" or a half capital
against a wall?
neither.
i think it is a half capital, atop an "engaged [half] column", part of a
compound pier in an arcade.
>Finally, why a lion? Could it not be some other sort of beast?
the "face" could be that of an Ox, i suppose, but there does seem (visible at
the highest resolution of the .jpg) to be a flowing mane, definitely a Leonine
--rather than, say, a Bovine-- feature.
and the longish, parallel, wavy lines on either side of the long snout work as
cat's whiskers.
the numerous large, blunt teeth are..."problematical" --which is a specialised
iconographical term meaning something like "Who knows what the hell the
sculptor was thinking?"
>Is it possible you have a local saint surrounded by two elements of
his legend?
a local Bishop (perhaps also a saint), somehow connected to this rural church
(which is perhaps mentioned in his Vita), an exegete noted for his sermons on
the gospels of SS Mark and John.
what's the status of the church, Carlos?
did it belong to an abbey or a cathedral chapter?
c
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"To initiate a war of aggression ... is not only an international crime, it is
the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that
it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."
--International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, Germany, 1946
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