 |
 |
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture What follows is not about kneelers as such but rather is a follow-up to Jim's useful observation about the position of King Robert of (mostly mainland) Sicily's tomb in Naples' church of Santa Chiara. Another example from the same city is the tomb of the poet Jacopo Sannazaro (d. 1530) in his church of Santa Maria del Parto on what was once a small estate given to him by his friend King Federigo, the last Aragonese king of mostly mainland Sicily (busts of Federigo and of Sannazaro occupy circular niches on the building's facade). Though the tomb has long been hidden from view by a late sixteenth-century stuccoed inner apse: http://www.ilportaledelsud.org/images/casati/smdp01.jpg when it was first erected (later 1530s; the base on which it now rests is a late seventeenth-century addition) there was no such barrier. Honoring the church's donor, it will have been visible directly behind the altar of the building's upper church. Here's a view: http://tinyurl.com/odvbb8k Though there are no kneelers, the Servites to members of whose order the church was given by Sannazaro and who regained it in 1971 make sure that at its base there is a vase of white flowers (when I've been there they've been roses), thus fulfilling the injunction at the beginning of Pietro Bembo's epigraph for Sannazaro (inscribed in full on the tomb), _Da sacro cineri flores_. And it is of course possible to pray at the tomb: I once heard Sunday mass from back there when the priest who had kindly helped me have a look came out from the rectory some fifteen minutes before the time announced at the church's parish entrance on the Via Francesco Caracciolo (not the monumental entrance shown in photographs) fully vested and proceeded immediately to the celebration at what presumably was the actual regular time just then. Best, John Dillon On 03/26/15, Laura Jacobus wrote: > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Thanks Jim. Yes, there are (or were) quite a few Italian 14thC tombs like that- Henry VII in the apse at Pisa, and Boniface VIII (who incorporated his tomb into a shrine for St. Boniface)- and the tomb I'm considering (Enrico Scrovegni's in Padua) is also in the apse behind the high altar. And yes, passers by were asked to pray for the deceased, as well as priests who were obviously paid to do so. But I'd never imagined them kneeling before the tomb to pray, precisely because it so closely resembles the kind of kneeling in adoration (of the host, or of a saint depicted there) that one might expect at an altar. Kneelers in front of tombs just somehow seems wrong! > > The arrangements for prayers for the founder and his family at Ewelme are really interesting because, if I recall rightly from Goodall's book, the almsmen had to gather around the tomb for daily prayers, and those prayers consisted of mental prayers (ie they were told to think of the founder and effectively beam positive thoughts at him), rather than formal ones that were read or recited. There's nothing in the statutes that I recall that required them to kneel, but maybe it was just assumed that you kneel when you pray. Since writing my query, I've found a tomb inscription that asks passers-by to kneel and to pray, which is suggestive. > > > Still, if anyone knows of any tombs in their original settings with kneelers/prie-dieus I'm still interested to hear of them. > > > all best > > > Laura > > > Dr. Laura JacobusSenior Lecturer in History of Art > Birkbeck College, University of London > > > > For details of my book on Giotto and the Arena Chapel see http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9781905375127-1 > > > > > On 25 March 2015 at 20:47, James Bugslag <[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask])" target="1">[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Hello Laura, > > I don't know whether there might be kneelers there, but the tomb of King Robert of Anjou in S. Chiara in Naples is certainly placed right behind the high altar, and forms a sort of de facto altarpiece. Interesting question. There were certainly many tombs with inscriptions requesting passers-by to pray for the souls of the deceased. > > Cheers, > > Jim > > > > From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [[log in to unmask](javascript:main.compose()] on behalf of Laura Jacobus [[log in to unmask](javascript:main.compose()] > > Sent: March 23, 2015 9:33 AM > > To: [log in to unmask](javascript:main.compose() > > Subject: [M-R] kneelers/prie-dieus in front of tombs or altars > > > > > > > > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Has anyone come across surviving examples of kneelers placed in front of tombs during the medieval period? The ones I'm thinking about are described in an inventory as three 'kneelers, two of stone with columns around'. The only possible place I can see for them to go is in front of some tombs behind the altar. One of the tombs is that of the church's founder, and prayers were certainly said for him, so that would seem to have been their purpose. I know that at Ewelme prayers were said around the founder's tomb, but I don't think the arrangements for doing so are made clear and I'd rather imagined people standing there. I would like to see any existing examples of kneelers at tombs if anyone is aware of them. Italian ones would be a bonus. > > > > all best > > > > > > Laura > > > > Dr. Laura Jacobus Senior Lecturer in History of Art > > Birkbeck College, University of London > > > > > > > > For details of my book on Giotto and the Arena Chapel see http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9781905375127-1 > > ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe 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: unsubscribe 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/medieval-religion