medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
You can, I think, see an ombrellino, in this photo of some "traditional"
Dominicans in procession with the Blessed Sacrament...
http://www.papastronsay.com/dominicans.htm
JBW
>-----Original Message-----
>From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval
>religious culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>Behalf Of Christopher Crockett
>Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 2:09 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [M-R] Offertorium - 31
>
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion
>and culture
>
>From: Bill East <[log in to unmask]>
>
>> --- Christopher Crockett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>>> Among the surviving pilgrims' badges is at least one which depicts a
>procession in which a cult statue of the V & C is being
>carried on a bier, with two accompanying figures carrying what
>for all the world look like long handled spades but which are
>likely something else
>
>http://www.christophersbookroom.com/cc/badges/forgeais/forgeais
>4_115.jpg
>
>> > umbrellas or parasols is what first occured to me (i've seen
>> > pictures
>of Thibetan processions with guys carrying parasols)...
>
>> You don't need to go to Tibet to find a brolly in a procession. The
>liturgical term is ombrellino, and this liturgical parasol is
>(or was - you don't often see them nowadays) regularly used to
>shelter the blessed Sacrament on outdoor processions.
>
>o.k., OO, on your say-so i've cancelled my flight to Thibet.
>
>presumably there was no blessed Sacrament to be shaded in this
>procession, however.
>
>it's not clear (to me or, presumably, anyone else) exactly
>*what* is being depicted (procession-wise) on this badge --or
>on the other ones from Chartres which have survived
>
>http://www.christophersbookroom.com/cc/badges/newbadges.html
>
>a pilgrim's souviner of something actually witnessed by the
>pilgrim during her visit to Chartres seems most likely to me
>--a procession on a special feast day of the Virgin in which
>her cult statue was removed from its architectural setting
>(partially depicted on some of the badges) and carried on a
>bier, perhaps through the city?
>
>the procession in which we find these spades/parasols/whatever
>
>http://www.christophersbookroom.com/cc/badges/forgeais/forgeais
>4_115.jpg
>
>is clearly related to other processional scenes in which we
>see the V & C being carried on a bier
>
>http://www.christophersbookroom.com/cc/badges/forgeais/forgeais2_28.jpg
>
>http://www.christophersbookroom.com/cc/badges/spencer/spencer_c
>hartres/spencer239b.jpg
>
>http://www.christophersbookroom.com/cc/badges/mitchiner/mit_ch_
>recto.jpg
>
>what is being carried, presumably, is not really the V & C in
>the flesh (or human stand-ins for them??) but rather an Image
>of same, perhaps the ancient (early 11th c. at the latest)
>cult statue known as "Notre-Dame-sous-Terre"
>which was kept, appropriately enough, in the cathedral crypt
>built by Bishop/Saint Fulbert for just that purpose ; or
>perhaps the more recent chryselephantine one which was on the
>main altar of the newly-built cathedral (though the
>architectural setting which we see in an "abbreviated" fashion
>on some of the badges would suggest a shrine chapel rather
>than a more or less stand-alone image on an altar).
>
>the relationship (lineage) of the various badges to each other
>is also not clear, but we can see from those that have
>survived that there were very probably a number of other
>"types" which have not survived in even a singular exemplar.
>
>indeed, there is no reason not to believe that there were very
>sophisticated badges, conceived by ymagiers of the first rank,
>which were cast in precious metals (or enameled?) and that
>these few modest, "folk art" pewter replications which we have
>are but pale reflections of those superior "Prime Objects". [i
>use the terms "Prime Objects" and "Replications" here in the
>sense elaborated by George Kubler in his _The Shape of Time_
>(Yale U. Press, 1962).]
>
>what we see in the pitifully few exemplars which we do have
>appears to be the same sort of "degradation" of the image
>through sucessive copying which is common in numismatics where
>--in a not too dissimilar creative process-- an image of, say,
>a human head in profile becomes first distorted in the next
>die which is cut, then, die following die, becomes totally
>unrecognizable and, perhaps, even morphs into something
>entirely different as sucessive artisans try to "make sense"
>out of whatever traditional image they have been called upon
>to replicate.
>
>the badges, as opposed to coins, were cast (presumably in
>stone molds) rather than "struck", but the principle is
>essentially the same.
>
>From: merum <[log in to unmask]>
>
>> Although these two mystery objects may well be ombrellini, I
>> discounted that
>possibility yesterday for two reasons. (a) even allowing the
>low quality 'crude' engraving as Christopher remarked in his
>note, these are too small and wrong proportions in
>relationship to the bearer and (b) there wouldn't likely be
>two of them.
>>
>> Stan Metheny
>
>
>"scale" can't be used as a criterion for anything here i'm
>afraid, Stan.
>
>for instance, there is no reason to believe that the cult
>statue was actually *larger than life* as it is depicted on
>all the badges --clearly it has been enlarged to conform to
>its relative importance in the scene.
>
>likewise, the hanging lamps hanging in niches on either side
>of the statue
>
>http://www.christophersbookroom.com/cc/badges/spencer/spencer_c
>hartres/spencer239b.jpg
>
>are nearly as large as the heads of the figures carrying the bier.
>
>and the "verso" of that particular badge (on the right) has
>elements which are
>*way* out of whack, scale-wise.
>
>the large, bejewelled "sainte chaisse" reliquary which held
>the Major Relic of the Cathedral is at the top ; the relic
>itself (the _camisia_ of the Virgin) is below it --much larger
>than the reliquary itself-- and, at the bottom what appears
>for all the world to be a coin of a particular, nearly unique
>chartrain type, *huge* in size compared to the other objects.
>
>"realism" is simply not an operational principle in the
>context of this sort of artifact.
>
>>and (b) there wouldn't likely be two of them.
>
>why not?
>
>one on either side of the bier would make more sense than some
>asymetrical arrangement, it seems to me.
>
>c
>
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