medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Eliana,
As various people have pointed out, a _zona_ is a bodily cincture; wearing an iron one is almost certainly a form of penitential self-mortification. Cinctures are commonly worn around the waist and in those instances _zona_ is usually translated as "belt" (also the word's extended significance, as in zones of the earth) or as "girdle". But a _zona_ can also be worn around one's torso to cover the breast. A modern term for that is "bandeau" and a generic one is simply "band": your saint will have bound herself across the breast with an iron band.
You might have a look at translations of Apocalypse 1. 13 to see what terms are used to render the the golden _zona_ that the angel there is said to wear across his breast (_praecinctum ad mamillas zona aurea_). In view of _mammillas_ and _precinxit_ (to say nothing of the conceptual opposition between _ferrea_ and _aurea_), it seems likely that your author has this passage in mind.
Best,
John Dillon
(not confident that this will be posted in a timely manner)
On Wednesday, October 31, 2007, at 6:18 am, Eliana Corbari wrote:
> Dear list members
>
> I am studying the vita of a Dominican lay woman as part of my
> dissertation. I would be grateful for your suggestions on what a "ferrea
> zona" may be, and what translation you would reccomend. Here is the full
> Latin sentence:
>
> "Ferrea pridem zona ad mammillas super nuda se precinxit".
>
> thank you for your help.
>
> E. Corbari
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