medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I asked a colleague of mine who is currently working with a similar text
and have given her response below.
Best,
Bethanie Petersen
This sounds exactly like what I was reading about for my paper. Lina
Bolzoni discusses it her book on Medieval spiritual imagery. I think if
Im correct, she talks about a similar methodology coming from a text in
the 15th century. I cited it in my paper.
This is what she says in her book:
in a work written around the year 1480 by an anonymous master of the art
of memory-in a section dedicated to figured alphabets-a traditional
mnemonic device [is used where] the author presents an alphabet entirely
inspired by the Passion. Thus, A is the ladder leaning against the
Cross, B is the noose around the neck of Jesus, C is the basin in which
he washed his hands at the Last Supper before announcing his own death
and so on.
[1] Bolzoni, Lina. The Web of Images: Vernacular Preaching from Its
Origins to St. Bernardino da Siena. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004. p.158
-----Original Message-----
From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious
culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jessica
Boon
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2006 10:14 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [M-R] meditation technique
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
culture
I have run across a brief description of a technique for concentrating
during meditation that doesn't ring a bell, despite my speciality in
late medieval / early modern mystical and meditation techniques.
Has anyone read about a mnemonic method in which the devotee imagines
geometrical figures, one per arm of the cross, each of which figure has
a letter associated with each point, and each letter is the first
letter of a key word (or a phrase, each word of which starts with the
same letter). I.e, imagine a triangle on the left arm of the cross,
and one of the points has an M written next to it, and the M is the
first letter of an important word to meditate on that is provided in a
phrase that has about six words in it that start with M.
The treatise this is mentioned in is from Castile and written in the
1530s, but the author had read widely in spiritual treatises from
across medieval Europe. Thank you in advance!
Jessica A. Boon, PhD
Mellon Lecturing Fellow
University Writing Program, Box 90025
Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0025
jboon at duke dot edu
Assistant Professor of Church History (term starting Jan 1, 2007)
Perkins School of Theology (SMU), Dallas, TX
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