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IMC 2008: Sessions

Session 218: Manuscripts: Productions, Illuminations, Influences

Monday 7 July 2008, 14.15-15.45

Moderator/Chair:Anne J. Duggan, Department of History, King's College London
Paper 218-aThe Natural World of Hugh of Fouilloy's Aviarium
(Language: English)
Maria Adelaide Miranda, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais & Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Index terms: Art History - General, Art History - Decorative Arts, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Technology
Paper 218-bSeascapes from Central France: Hypothesizing the Influence of Navigation on 15th-Century Manuscript Production
(Language: English)
Margaret E. Hadley, Yale University
Index terms: Art History - Painting, Economics - Trade, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 218-cHenry Suso and Eternal Wisdom: Love and Marriage in Paris, BN, ms. fr. 22922
(Language: English)
Carolyn D. Muir, Department of Fine Arts, University of Hong Kong
Index terms: Art History - Painting, Gender Studies, Hagiography, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract

Paper -a:
The natural world is the focus of an interdisciplinary study that brings together the description and representation of the birds from Aviarium by Hugh of Fouilloy (Art History) with the natural colours used in the illuminations, namely the pigments, minerals, and dyes from parasite insects (Natural Sciences). This work is based on three manuscripts that belonged to the Medieval Portuguese monasteries of Alcobaça, Lorvão and Santa Cruz of Coimbra. Although all of them are included on the Heilingenkreuz branch stemma, they present some distinctive properties that are characteristic of Portuguese romanesque miniature.
Paper -b:
A lavish manuscript from Jean Fouquet's circle contains numerous depictions of rivers and seascapes. Beyond exemplifying the rediscovery of the natural world, text/image analysis demonstrates that more images of navigation were utilized than necessary to illustrate this liturgical text. These somewhat gratuitous miniatures of seascapes and watercraft allude to the importance medieval rivers may have had for the circulation of artists and exemplars. In this case study, a Tours resident collaborated with other artists from central French cities on rivers. A new hypothesis that considers the role of aquatic commerce will be offered to help explain provincial manuscript production.
Paper -c:
The 14th-century mystic Henry Suso's Horologium sapientiae was one of the most widely read books of its time in Latin and the vernacular. The French translation was unusual in its numerous illustrated copies. Most manuscripts contain only a few pictures, with the Brussels BR, MS. IV.111 codex hitherto thought to contain the only extensive picture cycle. However, another richly illuminated manuscript exists that has received little attention: Paris, BN, ms. fr. 22922. One striking feature of this work is the unusual depiction of the loving relationship between the monk protagonist and Eternal Wisdom as Christ's alter ego. This paper will examine this group of miniatures.