>Dear Elena,
>Your query reminds me of several fifteenth-century English depictions
>of the Last Supper, such as that in the Hours of Elizabeth the Queen
>(if I remember correctly) and the glass at Great Malvern, in which
>fish is prominently displayed on the dining table and where Judas is
>shown stealing a fish and hiding it under the table (this was also
>shown in stained glass at Peterborough, now lost). This imagery is
>usually explained in two ways; firstly (anachronistically|) that Good
>Friday was a 'fast
>day', so the disciples ate fish; secondly that Judas stealing the
>fish recalls the comment in John's Gospel that he was a thief and
>pre-figures his betrayal of Christ.
>
>Perhaps other listmembers have come across similar images or
>discussion.
>
>Best Wishes
>
>Miriam Gill
>[log in to unmask]
Dear Elena,
Fish is shown on the table in sculpture even earlier than that: the
12th-century Norman font at North Grimston (in North Yorkshire) has a last
supper scene with all twelve disciples. Every open dish displayed on the
table has a fish in it. One of the disciples, who may be Judas, has his
left hand under the table as if he is concealing something. For further
details, see the article by Veronica Fiorato, "The Font at St Nicholas'
Church, North Grimston, North Yorkshire", *Medieval Yorkshire* no. 26
(1997), 2-5.
Best wishes,
Brian Donaghey
Brian Donaghey - Dept of English Language & Linguistics, University of
Sheffield - Tel. 0114 22 20213
...nec bibliothecae potius comptos ebore ac vitro parietes quam tuae mentis
sedem requiro, in qua non libros, sed id quod libris pretium facit,
librorum quondam meorum sententias, collocavi.--Boethius I pr.5
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|