medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 00:09:00 -0500
mata kimasitayo <[log in to unmask]> wrote, thanking Nancy Spies:
>yes, thanks nancy. and if an elephant (scil. somewhat
>fabulous to the carver) then why an elephant? why
>should such an object be in a cathedral? could it
>depict a biblical event/episode?
>
A difficulty here is the absence of reported context for this sculpture. Does your friend say where it is in the cathedral (e.g., in a family chapel) or whether it is part of, or placed over, a funerary monument? If the latter, its subject might have more to do with interests of a patron than with the church's function as a place of religious teaching and worship.
Assuming that the sculpture _is_ medieval, it could relate in some way to the exploits of Alexander the Great, popular in the central and later Middle Ages as a type of knightly (and kingly) heroic virtue. But without more information about this particular artifact, that's just speculation.
Best,
John Dillon
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