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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

----- Original Message -----
From: "Theresa Gross-Diaz" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [M-R] The meaning of feet

"As I understand it, the reference to "feet" as a euphemism for genitals was
fairly common ...
 And since he was a scholar of Hebrew as well as of the Bible, St Jerome
knew this and recognized that what was going on in this passage of Ruth was
basically that Ruth was proposing to Boaz, and both of them behave quite
respectably.  Later medieval exegetes who did not know Hebrew, did not pick
up on the double entendre, nor on Jerome's rather delicate circumlocutions
about it (again, I am writng from memory, ...)..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, does this shed light on the origins of the legend of St Jerome and the
lion's paw, which, I understood, is metaphorically related to chastity and
sexual restraint?

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