medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I'm not sure how easy it will be for you to check out this
dissertation, but I recall that the discussion, in part, concerns an
exegesis, based on very specific readings of the liturgy, of very
specific feet--those of the famous (to art historians) Christ of the
Emaus pier relief in the cloister of Silos (11th C.). Note this is not
Christ of the mandatum (the "feast" of foot washing), nor does the
exegesis involve genitalia. The point here is that any associated
meaning and symbology must draw on material evidence (written or other
sources) of the date and place. I'm afraid I can't summarize the thesis
for you, but it may be worth trying to get through your library.
James Blaettler, S.J., THROUGH EMMAUS EYES: ART, LITURGY, AND MONASTIC
IDEALOGY AT SANTO DOMINGO DE SILOS, PhD dissertation, The University of
Chicago, 1989.
Quoting Bret Busby <[log in to unmask]>:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
>
> On Fri, 21 Feb 2003, Cameron Kippen wrote:
>
> > Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 15:21:38 +0800
> > From: Cameron Kippen <[log in to unmask]>
> > Reply-To: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> > <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: [M-R] The meaning of feet
> >
> > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
> >
> > Hi
> >
> > My name is Cameron Kippen and I am a podologist (study of the foot
> in health
> > and disease) and shoe historian. A colleague has asked me to
> verify
> > something they were told but have found no evidence to support. To
> ancient
> > Judaic people, "foot" or "feet" were a euphemism for penis. In
> Ruth 3:1-9
> >
> > Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I
> not seek
> > rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz
> of our
> > kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley
> to night
> > in the threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and
> put thy
> > raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not
> thyself
> > known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
> And it
> > shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where
> he shall
> > lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down;
> and he
> > will tell thee what thou shalt do.
> >
> > And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. And
> she went
> > down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in
> law bade
> > her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he
> went to
> > lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and
> uncovered
> > his feet, and laid her down.
> >
> > And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and
> turned
> > himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art
> thou?
> > And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy
> skirt over
> > thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
> >
> > According to my colleague the story doesn't make a lot of sense as
> it reads.
> > But would if
> > "feet" were a euphemism for penis.
> >
> > Can anyone shed more light on this
> >
> > Much appreciated
> >
> > Cameron
> >
> >
>
> I am just a lay person, with an interest in history, but, to me,
> from
> the above text, "feet" means just the appendages at the bottom of
> the
> legs; and "uncover his feet" means, to me, removing the coverings
> from
> his feet; eg, taking off his sandals, or, in mediaeval (?) and
> Victorian
> England (and other similar countries), taking off his boots, etc.
>
> I cannot see the references to Christ washing people's feet, as
> referring to anything other than that; washing people's feet, as a
> gesture of humility.
>
> To validate or refute the allusion to genitalia, I suggest that the
> approriate thing to do, would be to find a Talmudic (?) scholar, and
> seek advice. I am not sure whether that is the appropriate term,
> but,
> from memory, there were scholars who interpreted the ancient holy
> books
> of Judaism (the Talmud, the Zohar, the Qabbalah, etc), to apply the
> writings.
>
> In Perth (the city where curtin uni lives), there are synagogues, and
> it
> should be easy enough, to contact one, to find a person regarded as
> sufficiently authoritative, to comment on your proposition. Also,
> UWA
> has a department of classical studies, and, Murdoch Uni (and
> possibly
> other local universities) teach theology, including comparative
> theology, so there should be resources in Perth, from whence to find
> this information.
>
> I may be completely wrong in all of this (I did say that I am only a
> lay
> person), but, the above is my understanding.
>
> --
> Bret Busby
> Armadale
> West Australia
> ..............
>
> "So once you do know what the question actually is,
> you'll know what the answer means."
> - Deep Thought,
> Chapter 28 of
> "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
> A Trilogy In Four Parts",
> written by Douglas Adams,
> published by Pan Books, 1992
> ....................................................
>
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