medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
i first thought that the figure on the bottom left
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Yorkminsterwalterdegraytombvertical.jpg
was wearing a crown, but Genevra's detail of it
http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/images/deGray7.jpg
shows that it is the base of the column that he's wearing, only being mistaken
for a crown when viewed from below.
the motif of wavy hair beneath a crown is a common enough one in 13th c.
French sculpture.
as on the Becket at Chartres:
http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/getimage-idx?cc=chartres;entryid=x-fcsp333610225;viewid=FCSP333610225.TIF;quality=m800;view=image
c
------ Original Message ------
Received: Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:14:53 PM EDT
From: Christopher Crockett <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] Walter de Gray and dragon
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> From: "Cormack, Margaret Jean" <[log in to unmask]>
>
> >Can you (or other list members) comment on how common it is for a saint
to
> be portrayed treading on a dragon, and when the motif starts to appear?
>
>
> the motif is, of course, quite ancient --think: an Egyptian god or Pharaoh
> striding on the back of a crocodile (symbol of Seth, an evil god), holding
a
> lance and stabbing the beast in the mouth with it.
>
> (an interesting variation is in a Coptic relief, 2,000 years later, in the
> Louvre depicting a mounted "Roman" soldier stabbing a crocodile, under his
> horse, in the mouth.)
>
> but, it is may be that the English tomb sculptor did not have Egyptian
> artifacts before his eyes, or even in mind.
>
> closer in time (and space) might be somewhat later manifestations of the
> theme, as on the South porch of Chartres cathedral:
>
>
http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/getimage-idx?cc=chartres;entryid=x-fcsp333610220;viewid=FCSP333610220.TIF;quality=m800;view=image
>
>
http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/getimage-idx?cc=chartres;entryid=x-fcsp333610225;viewid=FCSP333610225.TIF;quality=m800;view=image
>
> the figure of the bishop on the right has been identified by Clarke Maines
> (and, perhaps largely accepted) as Becket, standing on Hank 2 and, as it
were,
> Giving him the Shaft.
>
>
> the Chartres figure is only a generation or so before the York tomb, and
the
> Becket connection might have particularly resonated with an English bishop.
>
> did Walt de Gray ever make a pilgrimage to Chartres?
>
> but, failing that, i would think that the motif is just too common to be
able
> to say with any certainty that Chartres was the "model" for the tomb
effigy.
>
> i'm sure that there is literature on the de Gray tomb which will probably
run
> all this to Earth.
>
> c
>
> **********************************************************************
> To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
> to: [log in to unmask]
> To send a message to the list, address it to:
> [log in to unmask]
> To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
> to: [log in to unmask]
> In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
> [log in to unmask]
> For further information, visit our web site:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|