My most sincere thanks to all the learned listmembers who replied to my
query with helpful information, bibliographic indications and so on. You
have all given me splendid help with my question.

Aline Hornaday

 At 11:15 PM 9/1/99 -0400, you wrote:
>I am coming to this discussion very late, but I wanted to add a few items.
>A couple of people mentioned the issue of Gesta specifically devoted to
>body part reliquaries, but I don't think the exact publication date was
>given:  Vol. XXXVI/1, 1997.  This issue includes papers that were
>originally given at the 1995 College Art Association in a session
>organized by the International Center of Medieval Art.  It includes a
>useful article by Barbara Drake Boehm, "Body-Part Reliquaries: The State
>of Research."
>
>I thank Sarah for drawing attention to my article on Saint Agatha in the
>1994 issue of Studies in Iconography.  I have been working on the issue of
>the depiction of martyrdom and torture, particularly as it relates to
>gender, in conjunction with my dissertation, now (thankfully) nearing
>completion.  I am studying a late-13th-century manuscript of the Legenda
>aurea, the earliest surviving extensively illuminated copy of this text
>(with 135 extant miniatures.)  A large proportion of these illustrate the
>torture and death of martyrs, and I am interested in the different ways
>that male and female martyrs are treated.
>
>To answer a few of the queries in the original post:
>In general, presentational scenes of martyrs, standing and holding their
>attributes (often the instrument of their torture or death), tend to be
>more common in the later Middle Ages (14th, 15th centuries).  Narrative
>scenes of torture and execution are favored earlier (of course there are
>many examples of each type both early and late, but this is a general
>observation.)
>
>In my experience, it is more common for FEMALE martyrs to be depicted
>nude, both in art and in the text.  The stripping of female martyrs seems
>to have been a humiliating part of the torture itself.  At least in the
>manuscript that I am working on (HM 3027 at the Huntington Library in San
>Marino, CA), female martyrs are often depicted nude even if the text
>specifically states that they are NOT.
>
>Saint Agatha is usually nude from the waist up, and as Sarah mentioned,
>there are numerous artistic examples of her having her breasts cut off.
>She is often tied to a pole with her arms spread apart, mimicking the
>position of Christ on the cross (and of course, all martyrs were
>"witnesses" to the crucifixion of Christ); she even has a torturer on
>either side of her much as Christ has the soldiers flanking him with lance
>and sponge.
>
>In accounts of her passion, Agatha in fact endures a number of
>other tortures, but almost without fail the one chosen for artistic
>depiction is
>that of her forced mastectomy.  Saint Peter visits Agatha in prison and
>restores her breast (only one breast is removed in the text of the Golden
>Legend, but usually both are removed in images); this scene of miraculous
>restoration is rarely shown.
>
>Tying this back into the body part discussion---if you are interested in
>visiting a relic of Saint Agatha (she's the patron saint of wet-nurses,
>and helpful for all ailments of the breast, including breast cancer),
>there are presently six breasts purported to have been hers.
>
>
>Martha Easton
>Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
>
>
>On Fri, 27 Aug 1999, Sarah Salih wrote:
>
>>
>> Dear Margaret,
>>
>> Yes, there are indeed images of female saints having their breasts cut
off. I'm not an art
>> historian, but from my limited knowledge of such things, I'd say that
these are the favourite
>> images of such martyrs.  They seem quite keen on nudity, too.  I think
there's a
>> distinction between single images of a saint, for which you want a clear
identifying emblem,
>> and cartoon-strip style depictions of their whole lives, in which you get
as many torture
>> images as anyone could wish for.  For more information, see Martha E
Easton, "St Agatha
>> and the Sanctification of Sexual Violence," Studies in Iconography 16
1994 83-118.  Martha
>> is one of a number of people currently working on images of martyrdom.
If Sam Riches is
>> still lurking on this list, she can give better information on recent
work in this area, including
>> her own.
>>
>> Sarah Salih
>> On Fri, 27 Aug 1999 11:55:22 -0400 Margaret Cormack wrote:
>>
>> > From: Margaret Cormack <[log in to unmask]>
>> > Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 11:55:22 -0400
>> > Subject: Body Parts
>> > To: [log in to unmask]
>> >
>> > learned listmembers,
>> > 	the following query is probably directed primarily to art historians, but
>> > others may have insight and suggestions as well.
>> > 	I am trying to find out about the "visibility" of body parts (relics or
>> > depictions in art) at various times in the Middle Ages. It is my
>> > understanding that early reliquaries were beautiful jewelled containers,
>> > which might at most indicate the nature of the relic contained (they might
>> > be shaped like a head, arm, etc.) but which  carefully concealed it, unless
>> > one were lucky enough to be present on those rare occasions when the shrine
>> > was opened. The ? 15th ? century, however, saw the development of
>> > reliquaries with crystal insets which allowed one to actually view the
>> > tooth, blood, hair, or whatever contained in the reliquary.
>> > 	Further, statues and painting of the saints would usually (as discussed in
>> > a few recent postings) depict the saint, fully dressed, with an emblem of
>> > his martyrdom. A statue of St. Lawrence, for example, takes the form of a
>> > young man dressed as a deacon, carrying a gridiron. Catherine is shown with
>> > her wheel, Barbara with her tower, etc.
>> > 	When do we start finding images of St. Lawrence actually being roasted, of
>> > St. Erasmus having his guts wound out, etc?
>> > What about the female saints who carry, not the instruments of torture, but
>> > the mutilated body parts - St. Lucy her eyes, St. Agatha (?) her breasts?
>> > Do we ever find images of St. Agatha (if she is the right one) having her
>> > breasts cut off? I suspect that female nudity (or partial nudity) is less
>> > common than that of males. Has anyone written on this topic?  How do
>> > portrayals of the bodies of saints (or other bodies) this relate to
>> > crucifixions or other portrayals of Christ?
>> > 		Thanks,
>> > 		Meg
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>
>



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