Virtue and Vice

The Personifications in the Index of Christian Art
Erscheinungsjahr 2000
ISBN: 978-0-691-05037-9
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 468 Seiten, Format (B × H): 169 mm x 254 mm, Gewicht: 934 g

Reihe: Index of Christian Art Resources

The concept of opposing forces of good and evil expressed in a broad range of moral qualities--virtues and vices--is one of the most dominant themes in the history of Christian art. The complex interrelationship of these moral traits received considerable study in the medieval period, resulting in a vast and elaborate system of imagery that has been largely neglected by modern scholarship. Rich resources for the study of this important subject are made available by this volume, which publishes the complete holdings of the more than 230 personifications of Virtues and Vices in the Index of Christian Art's text files. Ranging from Abstinence to Wisdom and from Ambition to Wrath, and covering depictions of the Tree of Virtues, the Tree of Vices, and the Conflict of Virtues and Vices, this is the largest and most comprehensive collection of such personifications in existence. The catalogue documents the occurrence of these Virtues and Vices in well over 1,000 works of art produced between the fifth and the fifteenth centuries. The entries include objects in twelve different media and give detailed information on their current location, date, and subject.This extract from the Index of Christian Art's files, the first to be published, is accompanied by six essays devoted to the theme of virtue and vice. They investigate topics such as the didactic function of the bestiaries and the Physiologus, female personifications in the Psychomachia of Prudentius, the Virtues in the Floreffe Bible frontispiece, and good and evil in the architectural sculpture of German sacramentary houses. The contributors are Ron Baxter, Anne-Marie Bouché, Jesse M. Gellrich, S. Georgia Nugent, Colum Hourihane, and Achim Timmerman.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hourihane, Colum

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Frühchristliche, byzantinische Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: Völkerwanderung und Mittelalter
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: Renaissance, Manierismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Künstlerische Stoffe, Motive, Themen Künstlerische Stoffe, Motive, Themen: Religiöse Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: Byzantinisch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments ix

Notes on the Contributors xi

List of Illustrations xiii

Abbreviations xviii

Introduction 3

PART 1: ESSAYS

Virtus or Virago? The Female Personifications of Prudentius's Psychomachia S. GEORGIA NUGENT 13

Learning from Nature: Lessons in Virtue and Vice in the Physiologus and Bestiaries RON BAXTER 29

The Spirit in the World: The Virtues of the Floreffe Bible Frontispiece: British Library, Add. Ms. 17738, ff. 3v-4r ANNE-MARIE BOUCH? 42

Good and Evil, Not-So-Good and Not-So-Evil: Marginal Life on Gothic German Sacrament Houses ACHIM TIMMERMANN 66

The Art of the Tongue: Illuminating Speech and Writing in Later Medieval Manuscripts JESSE M. GELLRICH 93

The Virtuous Pelican in Medieval Irish Art COLUM HOURIHANE 120

PART 2: CATALOGUE OF VIRTUES AND VICES IN THE INDEX OF CHRISTIAN ART

Introduction to the Catalogue 151

List of Virtues and Vices in the Catalogue 153

Abbreviations Used in the Catalogue 157

Virtues 159

Unidentified Virtues 309

Tree of Virtues 323

Cardinal Virtues 324

Vices 330

Unidentified Vices 433

Tree of Vices 437

Seven Vices 438

Wheel of Vices 438

Conflict of Virtues and Vices 439

Index of Catalogued Objects 443