The festive sensory model of John II of Castile (1406-1454)
Martina Magali DIAZ SAMMARONI
Original title: El modelo sensorial festivo de Juan II de Castilla (1406-1454)
Published in Senses and sensibilities in classical and medieval worlds
Keywords: Castile, Festivities, Fifhteen century, John II, Senses.
If we want to know and be able to understand how medieval men and women perceived, felt and thought their world, we have to turn our gaze to their festivities and the role that the senses played in them. Spaces for the exchange and circulation of a wide range of sacred, profane and magical practices, they presented themselves as unique opportunities for the manifestation of power by kings and nobles, especially in the late middle Ages. From the thirteenth century, the records of the different court’ celebrations show a growing artistic spectacularity associated with the intention of transmitting and reinforcing official ideology by evoking images aimed at making an impact and generating a strong sense of identity. In the fifthteen century, this can be clearly seen during the reign of John II (1406-1454) of Castile, signified by conflicts with the nobility, as well as by the war against the Moors of Granada. At this juncture there was a renaissance of the ideals of chivalrous and warrior’s life reflected in the multiplication of the organization of tournaments, jousting, reeds and other games. On this basis, through the contributions of the History of the senses – a transdisciplinary perspective that brings together the contributions of History, as well as Anthropology – we will analyse the Chronicle of the Falconer of John II, by Pedro Carillo de Huete, in order to identify and analyse how vision, taste, hearing, touch and smell intervened in the configuration of a particular festive sensory model.
The figure of St. Joseph in Art
Jesús CANTERA MONTENEGRO
Original title: La figura de San José en el Arte
Published in
Keywords: Art, Devotion, Iconography, St. Joseph.
The figure of St. Joseph has always been a great importance among the Christian believers. However, works of art did not always express, it and during the medieval times it almost seemed to be despised. Everything changed from the sixteenth century, where the figure started to be appreciated, enriching their iconography to show it as a prototype to be imitated by Christians.
The five senses, the body and the spirit
Eric PALAZZO
Original title: Les cinq sens, le corps et l’esprit
Published in The Medieval Aesthetics
Keywords: Body, Five senses, Spirit.
According to the Christian authors of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the general tendency in the appreciation of the symbolic meaning of the five senses rests on the consideration of the fundamental unity in man, between the body and the spirit, allowing to establish the doctrine of the corporal senses and the spiritual senses. From the first centuries of Christianity, theologians and philosophers endeavored to convey the Greek concept of “man” or the balance between body and spirit, or soul, as a superior source, following in this, on the one hand, the philosophical ideas of Plato and, on the other hand, those of Aristotle. The biblical passage that we have considered as the founding text of this conception of the unity of the body and spirit in man, in Christian perspective, is an excerpt from the first epistle to the Corinthians. The third century Christian sees, in the same way, the Christian concept of the five spiritual senses and their correspondences with the five corporal senses. Origins (185?-253?) Has been the initiator of the concept of the spiritual senses leading, mainly, to the reconciliation of the soul and the body by the establishment of correspondences between the bodily senses and the spiritual senses whose place is established by the Incarnation of the Word. Some expressions of human anatomy in the manuscripts of the second half of the Middle Ages, show strong similarities with the ideas of Lactantius regarding the relationship between the outer man and the inner man and as to the place given to the head in both site of the soul and where the main organs of the senses reside. As in most areas of theology, the thought of Augustine of Hippo has had a considerable influence on the Christian understanding of the five senses, which implies a deep reflection on the relationship between body and mind in Christianity. We can also mention Pedro Damiano in whom we find a pronounced interest in the metaphor of the Man-city where the senses are compared with doors and windows that give access to the outside world and their knowledge. A famous drawing contained in a manuscript realized in the German abbey of Heilbronn, in century XII, summarizes, in himself, a long part of the explored elements on the relation between the body and the spirit in the Christian theology of the Middle Ages from the exploration of the five senses. As we will see, the drawing also suggests a deep reflection on the sensory dimension in the journey of man on earth and in the perspective of what he will have to do in the future, guided by the model of Christ and the Christian virtues. On folio 130v, we see a final full page drawing where the role of the five senses in the journey of man on earth and in the hereafter is essential. In some aspects, the iconography of the drawings in folio 130v continues the reflection on the theme of the persecution of the Church or, in a broader way, the struggle between good and evil, which is at the center of the image of the mentioned folio. It expresses the theme of the path of life of the good and the bad or the two paths of human life. In the lower right part of the composition, the bust of the personification of nature brings out a naked man who begins to climb a staircase whose first five steps are assimilated to the five senses by their inscriptions. In the middle part of the image, the staircase separates into two paths offered to man to continue his course on earth and beyond. At the crossing of roads, man can choose between good and evil. The character who chose the path of evil is mounted by an imp that pushes down with the help of a fork in which is inscribed, in Latin, the maxim: “depraved behavior.” It will not escape the attentive observer that the character who chose the “depraved behavior” dresses as a prince and continues the “ascent” of his ladder resting on the bars identified by imprudence, intemperance, inconstancy and injustice. In the lower part of the image, the “evil man” is expected in hell by the demons and the devil himself who has in his left hand some types of phylacteries that allude to the “seven demons” that are the negative counterpart of Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit represented, too, in the form of phylacteries in the hands of Christ enthroned in majesty in the upper register of composition. The iconography of the folio 130v of the Heilbronn manuscript is, in many aspects, a unique case in Christian images of the Middle Ages. Certainly, the commentator of the thirteenth-century liturgy does not associate the five senses with the degrees on which he lectures. In spite of this, one has the right to suppose that, in the image of the German manuscript, the five senses are considered, also, virtues, in the same way as the other steps, the four cardinal virtues of the “positive” staircase presented by Man on the condition that he manifests the desire to reach the vision of God with a good intention and thanks to his will.
The friendship, a political problem. Manueline construction of aristocratic bond
Federico J. ASISS-GONZÁLEZ
Original title: La amistad, un problema político. Construcción manuelina del vínculo aristocrático
Published in Senses and sensibilities in classical and medieval worlds
Keywords: Don Juan Manuel, Friendship, Nobility, Politics.
Friendship is presented before our eyes as a kind of universal bond, as the ideal way to bond with the rest of human beings. Its deployment over time, the loyalty or fidelity with which it solidifies friendly relations seem a topic more proper to ethics than to politics, although decades ago Jacques Derrida revealed it to us as a political issue. However, this work of unveiling that requires us to fully understand the nature of this bond was not such for don Juan Manuel. In his works, friendship occupies a specific function within the discourse on nobility. In fact, the friendship resulted from a pact, as requested by the Fuero de Castiella, between noblemen in order to pacify their relations and to proceed with their political struggles. In this article we propose to analyze the characteristics of this link in the Manueline texts or, in other words, to understand what is friendship for Don Juan Manuel and how it is articulated within the representation of his sector.
The funeral weddings of the Eurypid princesses Cassandra and Polyxena. Comparison between the tragedies The Trojan Women and Hecuba of Euripides (c. 480-406 a. C.)
Anastasia TERZOPOULOU
Original title: Las bodas fúnebres de las princesas euripídeas Casandra y Políxena. Comparación entre las tragedias Las troyanas y Hécuba de Eurípides (c. 480-406 a. C.)
Published in The World of Tradition
Keywords: Death, Funeral Weddings, Pride, Punishment, Revenge, Trojan War.
The aim of this article is to compare the “funeral weddings” of the Trojan princesses Cassandra and Polyxena through the tragedies The Trojan Women and Hecuba by the Athenian playwright Euripides. More specifically, this work indicates the terrible consequences that people suffer due to the cruelty of war.
The genesis of royal power in Mediterranean Europe: lulian reflections in his pedagogical and apologetic work, the Book of Contemplation in God (1271-1274)
Gabriel Tebaldi MEIRA; Ricardo da COSTA
Original title: A gênese do poder régio na Europa Mediterrânea: reflexões lulianas em sua obra pedagógica e apologética, o Livro da Contemplação em Deus (1271-1274)
Published in Intercultural Mediterranean
Keywords: Medieval Europe, Political Theology, Ramon Llull, Royal Power, The Book of Contemplation in God.
Language:
This article explores the conception of divine and earthly power in Ramon Llull’s Philosophy (1232-1316), with a focus on the relationship between political and divine authority as presented in the Book of the Contemplation in God (1271-1274). Llull, situated in the medieval context of Mediterranean Europe, argues that all power – including that of kings – is a concession from God and must therefore be subordinated to His will. Based on this premise, the author proposes that rulers must exercise their authority with virtue and justice, always in harmony with divine purposes. This line of thought reflects not only the political and religious tensions of the time. Llull’s analysis reveals a pedagogical and apologetic perspective, in which political power is seen to achieve the salvation of the soul, emphasizing the need for governance oriented toward the spiritual good of society.
The holiness of the hagiographies Venancius Fortunatus
Ruy de Oliveira ANDRADE FILHO, João Paulo CHARRONE
Original title: A santidade nas hagiografias de Venâncius Fortunatus
Published in Monastic and Scholastic Philosophy in the Middle Ages
Keywords: Christianity, Hagiography, Problem, Sanctity, Venantius Fortunatus.
We chose to do a quick presentation about the authenticity of hagiographies of Venantius Fortunatus. Then began a debate on the concept of holiness and medieval saint. After this discussion, which this author worked with two main models of holiness: the acetic-monastic and episcopal. The first model is present in hagiographies devoted to Patern and Radegund. In these descriptions abound this lifestyle choice: the pursuit of withdrawal from the world, the martyrdom, miracles and temptations related to this kind of choice. However, their hagiographies have, in most cases, the model of episcopal sanctity. In this model, the sanctity appears as a condition for becoming a bishop, and more, the miraculous virtue is clearly a feature of such positions.
The image of women in the Crónica del Halconero de Juan II
María del Pilar RÁBADE OBRADÓ
Original title: La visión de la mujer en la Crónica del Halconero de Juan II
Published in Mulier aut Femina. Idealism or reality of women in the Middle Ages
Keywords: Castile, Chronicles, Juan II, Querelle des femmes, XVth Century.
This work analyzes the image of women in the Crónica del Halconero de Juan II. The chronicle was written during the reign of this king, and his author, Pedro Carrillo de Huete, was a courtier of the Castilian monarch. Through its study we’ll try to verify if the image that it offers of women is or not influenced by the debate concerning women that developed during the reign of Juan II.
The imaginary of the Christian Beyond in a Board Game: a playful tool for Teaching Medieval History
Adriana ZIERER; Solange Pereira OLIVEIRA
Original title: O imaginário do Além Cristão num jogo de tabuleiro: uma ferramenta lúdica para o Ensino de História Medieval
Published in Games from Antiquity to Baroque
Keywords: Beyond Medieval, Board Game, History Teaching, Medieval Imaginary.
This article addresses the theme of the imaginary of the Christian Beyond in an authorial game, in board mode, as a playful tool for teaching-learning in Medieval History. With this teaching resource, which has great potential for teaching, we intend to establish a mobilization of playful knowledge about the possibilities of approaches to Christian religiosity in the medieval historical context. We will share the methodological process of creating and receiving the practice of playing in different learning spaces, because of the experiences of applicability of this game, which aims to help teachers and students who do not have the technique of developing analog games in the medieval period and in others. different historical temporalities.
The impact of the political situation in the Islamic states in al-Andalus on some Andalusian intellectual elites during the fifth AH/ the eleventh century
Meshal ALENEZI
Published in The World of Tradition
Keywords: Al-Ṭawā’if, Christian Kingdoms, Jurists, Poets, Unification.
In the last decades of the eleventh century, the Muslims in the West (al-Gharb) lost Toledo in the middle of the Iberian Peninsula in 477 AH /1085, and the Muslims in the Near East (al-Mashriq) lost Jerusalem (al-Qudis) in 492 AH /1099. This was due to the division of al-Mashriq into several states: besides the ʿAbbāsīd Caliphate (132-655 AH /750-1258), there were other states, such as Saljūk state (428-590 AH/1037-1194) and Fāṭimīd state (296-567 AH / 909-1171). This situation was like the political situation in the Iberian Peninsula (al-Andalus), which divided the region into twenty-two states in the first half of the eleventh century. Consequently, many scholars and historians have concentrated on the reaction of the Islamic political and military authorities to the fall of Toledo and Jerusalem. In addition, they have discussed the efforts of the intellectual elites in improving the above-mentioned political circumstances in the Near East and al-Andalus after the fall of these cities. However, they have not paid attention to the impact of the division of al-Andalus into twenty-two states and its internal consequences as well as their submission to the Iberian Catholic rule on the Andalusian intellectual elites’ activities. Consequently, this research analyses the impact of this event on the activities and status of the Andalusian intellectual elites among the Andalusian rulers. It also compares the status of the Andalusian intellectual elites who were against the acts of Andalusian political authorities and those who supported them. In addition, it illustrates the relations between the elites especially who were against the Muslim rulers in al-Andalus.
