medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Christopher, I'll have to look at that again. The scales for bread and the mina measure for wine are shown here, as you suggest, since the Vita says that Benedict gave Maurus these for the community rations, warning him not to vary from these. What I'm interested in is the implement held by the figure with the greeenish hair and orange cloak to Maurus's left (which one member entertainingly ID'd as a disembodied parrot's head; the other suggestion: a badly realized riding crop, seems likely.
The color issue is interesting and extremely puzzling in this MS. Usually monastic habits follow some sort of iconographic scheme. But here, as you suggest, they seem to vary for the sake of design and color, much like orange and gree horses etc.
best,
jbw
-----Original Message-----
From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture on behalf of Christopher Crockett
Sent: Thu 7/13/2006 1:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] 2nd summer mystery
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
a slow news day, obviously.
From: John Wickstrom <[log in to unmask]>
>The illustration shows Maurus leaving Monte Cassino to establish the first
Benedictine monastery in France.
http://www.kzoo.edu/history/Wickstrom/Maurus.jpg"http://www.kzoo.edu/history/Wickstrom/Maurus.jpg
>He is accompanied by (among others) a delegation from the Bishop of LeMans
who asked for the foundation. The third of these delegates from your right
(with greenish hair and orange cloak), is holding some sort of instrument in
his hand that I cannot even begin to identify. It may have to do with the
animal skin (rug?) that is slung over his saddle. Can anyone help with this?
my first thought was that it was a censor (thurible?), since i saw the little
cup-like Thingie which is visible against the red of the fourth monk on his
left.
then i saw an identical cup-like Thingie at about 2 o'clock above that one,
just off the shoulder of the figure on his left.
my reading of it is a set of scales.
he's got his reigns in his left hand, between the thumb and first finger, and
that first finger runs through a hole in the handle of the scales.
follow that handle down diagonally and you find a cross bar at right angles to
it, and from that cross bar are suspended our two cup-like Thingies.
look for something to do with scales in your Vita, probably connected to the
liquid in the vase which his abatial collegue is handing him.
or is that Maur, standing in the doorway of the abbey, doing the handing off?
there seems to be some hierarchy implied by the color of the habits worn(?)
--abbots wear blue, ordinary monks brown, priors(??) in green livry (???).
of course, we've got red and green horses too, so there goes that particular
Mare's Nest.
anyway, it's a set of scales, not censors.
c
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