A few more references to left-aligned Pietas. Nigel Morgan, 'Texts and
Images of Marian Devotion in C14 England' in N. Rogers, ed., England in the
C14: Proceedings of the 1991 Harlaxton Symposium (Stamford: Paul Watkins,
1993) refers to depictions of Mary cradling the dead Christ on her left arm
in the Taymouth Hours and the Hours of the Compassion of the Virgin in
Keble College MS 47. There is a similar depiction in a wooden sculpture in
the church of Our Lady of Ginderbuiten in Leuven. However, most of the
left-aligned examples seem to be English - and am I correct in thinking
that most of the English ones are left-aligned? (This interests me because
the only definite Welsh example I know of is very much on the Continental
model, with Christ laid flat on his mother's lap and his head on her right
hand.)
On the other hand (sorry) I have been looking again at photos of the
rescued churchyard cross at Llanarth near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire.
This has always been understood to be a Virgin and Child - but the Child is
large even by medieval standards and could be one of these strange
intermediate Pietas with the adult Christ on his mother's lap and his hand
extended to touch her. But it is very worn and I haven't yet seen the
original.
Maddy
Dr Madeleine Gray
Department of Humanities and Science
UWCN
'Reading is sometimes an ingenious device for avoiding thought'
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