medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Carlos,
"One foot shod, one not" prompts a number of ancient classical associations of dubious relevance, e.g. Vergil's rustic slingers from southern Latium (_Aen._ 7. 689-90: uestigia nuda sinistri / instituere pedis, crudus tegit altera pero) or Jason fulfilling the prophecy made to Pelias (e.g. Hyginus, _Fab._ 12).
But you fight find something in the literature on St. Wilgefortis if this Wikipedia article is correct in asserting that the wearing of but one shoe is frequent in her iconography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilgefortis
It's quite possible, of course, that the unevenly shod figures in Toulouse and at San Martín de Artaiz relate to each other only in some very general way, e.g. in that the wearing of only one shoe is perceived as a violation not merely of a social norm but symbolically also of the natural order. Figures so portrayed could then be abnormal or defective in any of a number of respects.
Best,
John Dillon
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