 |
 |
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Around here (northern Vermont) bathtub Virgins are very serious and a reflection of the strong French Canadian influence. Laurel Broughton University of Vermont John B. Dillon wrote: > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture > > At 04:58 PM 6/25/2004 +0000, Marjorie Greene wrote: > >> Another howler is the use of an up-ended, half-buried bathtub to serve as >> a "shrine" for statues of Mary. What was that discussion recently >> centering on our distance from medieval superstitions? :-)) > > > Marjorie, Are such bathtub shrines seriously meant or parodistic? In > either case, they are of course a form of the statuary niche, a devotional > form going back to Roman times (at least). Between Roman times and the > recent past such niches may have been chiefly a form of ecclesiastical or > other public decor; I don't suppose that the private practice of erecting, > say, a front-yard Virgin in her arched concrete niche is very old. But > what do we know about smaller votive niches in the inside of, or in the > exterior fabric of, private homes in the Middle Ages? Are these known to > have existed? > > Bathtubs are usually shiny porcelain: white ones (which is most of them) > substitute for the painted white exterior of the sort of free-standing > votive niche noted above. In some aesthetics, shininess or glitter is a > positive feature. South Italian or South-Italian-influenced niches or > edicules sometimes have panes of reflective glass inside them today. That > particular feature harkens back to the glittery edicule-fountains found in > villas of Roman Campania and may represent a continuity in taste, as does > also (I suspect) the modern and ancient coastal south Italian practice of > decorating such niches with seashells. (A striking example of the latter, > from Roman-period Baiae, is in Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum, accession > no. GR.159.1910.) > > Best, > John Dillon > > ********************************************************************** > 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