medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Jim,
Interesting. What about the Iberian Peninsula?
Tom Izbicki
Dr Jim Bugslag wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Tom,
> The geography of the macabre is rather fascinating. "Verminous
> Cadaver" tombs may be "rare" in England, and in France as well, but
> they are quite common in the Germanic countries, the oldest being that
> of Franz von Sarraz from the late 14th century (later ones get much
> more gruesome). On the other hand, any sort of cadaver or transi
> tombs are almost completely absent in Italy. Panofsky relates this, I
> believe, to another distinction between Italian tombs and those
> elsewhere in Europe: effigies in Italy are usually represented with
> their eyes closed, as opposed to open elsewhere.
> Cheers,
> Jim
>
> Thomas Izbicki wrote:
>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
>> culture
>>
>> Are the transi tombs more connected with the Memento mori / Ars
>> moriendi? I am reminded of the Wakeman centotaph at Tewksbury Abbey,
>> described thus on a web page I just found:
>> "This figure represents the usual 15th century effigy of a corpse in
>> an advanced state of decay. The difference with this one against
>> others is that this is a rare "Verminous Cadaver" with a mouse
>> gnawing at his bowels, a snake in his shroud near his feet, a worm on
>> his left knee, a beetle on his left arm and a frog near his head.
>> There is also what is thought to be a lizard on his left thigh.
>> Wakeman was consecrated as the first Bishop of Gloucester in 1541 and
>> is buried elsewhere."
>> This is the URL, but I could not get the pictures to display:
>> http://www.churchmousewebsite.co.uk/cadavertombs/tewkesbury_cadaver.htm
>> Tom Izbicki
>>
>> Dr Jim Bugslag wrote:
>>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
>>> culture
>>>
>>> Jon Cannon wrote:
>>>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
>>>> culture ...I like the term 'social body' for the late medieval
>>>> effigies one finds on transi tombs. I've recently studied one of
>>>> these in detail - John Carpenter, bp. of Worcester, to be published
>>>> by the Bristol Record Society later this year. In this case there
>>>> is (and probably never was) a 'social body', just a cadaver with
>>>> mitre and staff to indicate status in life. But the (lost but
>>>> reconstructable) architectural and iconographic setting for this
>>>> tomb strongly suggests a 'Resurrection' layer of meaning, too, at
>>>> least in this case.
>>>>
>>>> ...If these are the 'social bodies' of the people concerned, I
>>>> wonder if we need another for the more standardised and idealised
>>>> effigies of the C13/C14...
>>>
>>> In images of the Last Judgement, the Resurrected are generally shown
>>> naked, although one occasionally sees a naked bishop wearing his
>>> mitre or a naked king with his crown. One further factor that might
>>> argue against the "Resurrection" state is that the Resurrected have,
>>> I believe, not simply a perfectly resurrected body but also have
>>> their souls reconjoined with those bodies, whereas from about the
>>> late 13th century, one begins to get small images of a naked soul in
>>> the bosom of Abraham in the canopywork sheltering the effigy. And
>>> in the case of tomb brasses and other "floor tombs" the effigy is,
>>> if not intended to be walked on, at least expected to be walked on
>>> -- which might suggest that it was meant just to represent the
>>> mortal body rather than the Resurrected one. Another factor,
>>> certainly, is the lack of any naturalistic portrait for an effigy
>>> before about the late 14th century.
>>>>
>>>> ...In England there is a particularly inventive (and thus
>>>> instructive) phase in the earlier C14, when we get figures with
>>>> their eyes open (Bristol) or twisting on a bed of rocks, apparently
>>>> about to rise up and draw a sword (Burrough Green, Reepham,
>>>> Ingham); these presumably related to the much-studied and
>>>> extraordinary C13 sword-reaching effigies (eg Dorchester abbey and
>>>> elsewhere). If *these* chaps are depicted in the moment of
>>>> resurrection, their defensive reaction may not sit well when
>>>> Judgement begins!
>>> When it comes right down to it, there are a lot of anomalies in
>>> funerary effigies, and this probably, to some extent, registers
>>> broader anomalies concerning what happens to souls between death and
>>> the Last Judgement. Even at the "official" level of theology, there
>>> does not appear to have been a clear single position on many aspects
>>> of eschatology.
>>>>
>>>> ... I am interested to learn that Panofsky talks of family tombs
>>>> with kids in the C14. I can't think of them in England. Tomb with
>>>> 'weepers', yes, but not specifically kids. In any case, I presume
>>>> even our medieval people didn't think dead children would be
>>>> resurrected at age 33! ... (though nothing would suprise me...)
>>>
>>> There are lots of English family brasses.
>>> Cheers,
>>> Jim
>>>>
>>>
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