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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture On Tuesday, January 18, 2011, at 3:32 pm, George Brown wrote: > > Thanks, John, for including the fine page from the Huntington Library > MS. In the illustration who/what is the babe standing on the pillar? > > GHB <SNIP> > >Herewith an expandable view of the Felix of 14. January being stabbed > to death by students as depicted in a late thirteenth-century copy of > French origin of Jacopo da Varazze's _Legenda aurea_ (San Marino, CA, > Huntington Library, ms. HM 3027, fol. 22v): > >http://tinyurl.com/4jywbp4 > > > >Best again, > >John Dillon > > Dear George, As Jim Bugslag has already explained, this is a standard representation of a pagan idol. If you want to know which divinity it is supposed to represent, you're out of luck: Jacopo da Varazze (_Legenda aurea_, cap. 19), following Bartolomeo da Trento (_Liber epilogorum in gesta sanctorum_, cap. 31), merely says _ad quodcumque ydolum ducebatur_ (Bartolomeo: _ante quodcumque ydolum ducebatur_). Ditto for the fellow with the crown. He's a version of your generic persecuting emperor. Neither Bartolomeo da Trento nor (more importantly, since it's his work that's being illustrated) Jacopo da Varazze identifies the persecution in which the supposed brothers Felix are said to have suffered or even mentions an emperor at all in this context. Best again, 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