medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Re: [M-R] Pietas
Ms. Filotas,
Here is an excerpt from my article on the subject, titled "From the Wound in Christ's Side to
the Wound in his Heart,
Progression from Male Exegesis
to Female Mysticism", in a Festschrift honoring Helen Damico.
I will send you the whole article if you lwant more
information.
First, the widespread
patristic and non-canonical tradition that the lance pierced
Christ's right side makes an entry of the lance into Christ's
heart on his left side physiologically unlikely, although one
physician has declared it feasible. The idea that the
lance pierced the right side finds support in the Ethiopic version of
John's Gospel and is nearly universal in the iconography of the
crucifixion. But the physiological impediment was eventually
ignored for the symbolic rectitude of right over left, and for
typological analogies favoring the right side, such as water flowing
from the right side of the temple in Ezekiel's vision (47:2,
Vulgate).
GHB
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions
of medieval religion and culture
I noticed - to be truthful, it was pointed out to me - that in the
Pietas at The Cloisters in N. Y., the wound in the side of Christ is
invariably on the right-hand side, this not being specified in St.
John. Is this the rule in all Pietas?Does any learned member of
this group know why?
Bernadette Filotas
--
George Hardin Brown, Professor of English Emeritus
Department of English, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
94305-2087
Home: 451 Adobe Place, Palo Alto, CA 94306-4501
Phones: Mobile: 650-269-9898; Fax: 650-725-0755; Home:
650-852-1231
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