medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: Cecil T Ault <[log in to unmask]>
> Thanks for a thorough thrashing, Christopher.
any time.
but not personally directed, Tom, i assure you.
i'd do --and have done-- the same to/for any Historian over on the medieval
history list who had gotten into some bad dope re the twin "Tyrannical
Constructs" of "Romanesque" and "Gothic". (ironically, it is the historians,
btw, who make so much of the idea of "the Tyranny of a Construct" --in their
case, that of "Feudalism"-- all the while being totally oblivious of the
equally Destructive concepts which they harbor re things artistic.)
or, for that matter, any Art Historian on the med-art list who ventured into
the Thicket of "Pure" History and got her dress severely caught up on any of
the innumerable Brambles to be found in that particular Briar Patch. (i am
thinking, specifically, about a discussion we had on that list a few years ago
about Linda Seidel's then-recent book on "Gislebertus of Autun", btw, which
has many good qualities but which is a total *disaster* when it comes to her
near-commical [mis-]use of Historical source material.)
mastering one discipline is hard enough --trying to get a handle on more than
one is a truely Monumental task.
luckily, i've not been able to master even one, but have done enough Dabbling
over the years in several to allow me to think that i've got a loose grip on a
greasy pole on a slippery slope towards recognizing how ignorant i really am.
which fully qualifies me to make judgements about others not so fortunate,
obviously.
i've been trying, without much sucess, to think of some catagories in, say,
medieval religion which might be analogous to those of "Romanesque" and
"Gothic" in art.
Panofsky's comparison of the uncanny parallels between "Gothic" architecture
and "Scholasticism" has, of course, been roundly criticised by Absolutists in
both disciplines (i assume --it's not a literature up with which i feel
obliged to keep, life being Short and all).
but i feel that he was definitely On To Something (and, at 156 small format
and rather widely spaced pages, is a pretty quick read).
as in : DUH.
let's see, was Rupert of Deutz a "scholastic" writer?
or Honorius "of Autun" ?
how about Guerric of Igny ?
asking suchlike questions is, it seems to me, about as fruitless as trying to
figure out what the *structural* reason might have been for the "architect" of
the lovely church of Morienval to use *rib* vaults (as we understand the term)
in his "ambulatory"
http://www.romanes.com/Morienval/Notre_Dame_de_Morienval_58.html
note that we are in the _rond point_ of the apse, the choir of the church is
on the right and the "ambulatory" is to be found beneath the round arch just
to the left of the pointed one in the choir main arcade.
i say "ambulatory" because the space is just a couple of feet wide, barely
enough for a single person to Amble through, providing he has been on a
Low-Carb diet for the last few years.
here it is in elevation :
http://www.romanes.com/Morienval/Notre_Dame_de_Morienval_55.html
just a tiny thing.
and yet, the fellow has vaulted this tiny space with *rib* vaults, surely at
considerable added difficulty and expense.
why?
>I'll get back to you after my wounds heal. yrs, tom ault
you'll be all right.
you're just strung out on BannisterFletcheristicism.
go Cold Turkey and apply a soothing Balm of some more Reality-Based account of
the origin(s) of "Gothic" architecture.
i don't know where that account might be found --being far to lazy to keep up
with the literature myself-- but perhaps someone else on the list might be
able to suggest something.
best from here,
christopher
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