The Templars in France: Between History, Heritage, and Memory
Philippe JOSERAND
Published in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Peninsula Cultural History
Keywords: France, Historiography, Memory, Myth, Templar Order, XIIth-XXIth Centuries.
A comprehensive scholarly study of the Templars in France has not been published yet. Yet their order, from the outset, was closely linked to the French present space: most brethren were born there, and the langue d’oïl rapidly stood as the official tongue of the institution. For two centuries, the Templars used the Capetian kingdom as the main operations base to act in the Latin East and to sustain their singular vocation merging prayer and warfare into the same religious move. After the trial which opened in 1307 on King Philip the Fair’s initiative, the Templar order, although suppressed, did not entirely disappear from the French landscape: some buildings remained and, even more, a myth took shape, from which an historiography gradually emerged. This scientific movement strengthened from the end of the twentieth century and it now allows to shed new light on the French Templar presence, and to question the generally accepted ideas in order to better understand a medieval reality, which is still fascinating, but often strangely evoked.
The Unicorns – Virtue and Treason – An enigmatic iconographic proposal by Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)
Patricia GRAU-DIECKMANN
Original title: Los Unicornios – Virtud y Traición – enigmática propuesta iconográfica de Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)
Published in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Peninsula Cultural History
Keywords: Alchemical Hermetic Androgyne, Bestiary, Hunting of the unicornio, Salvador Dalí, Unicorn.
“Whether or not a real unicorn existed, it may not itself be as exciting or as important as the things that men dreamed, thought and wrote about it” (Shepard). Of all the stories woven around the mythical figure of the unicorn, one that is repeated over and over again is that only a true virgin can be used as a decoy. Her aroma leaves the unicorn defenseless in front of the hunter who would kill it for its valuable horn. An unexpected iconography is the one proposed by Salvador Dalí in his small statue of The Unicorn.
The Vece of Novgorod after the revolution of 1136
Aldo C. Marturano
Original title: La Vece novgorodese dopo la "rivoluzione" del 1136 d. C.
Published in The chivalry and the art of war in the Ancient and Medieval World
Keywords: Boyars, Lord Novgorod the Great, Posadnik.
The Virgin of the Annunciation: A Paradigm of Humility in Medieval Doctrine and Imagery
José María SALVADOR GONZÁLEZ
Original title: La Virgen de la Anunciación, un paradigma de humildad en la doctrina y la imagen de la Edad Media
Published in Emotions in the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean World
Keywords: Annunciation, Humility, Iconography, Medieval Art, Patrology.
In recounting the event of the Annunciation, the Gospel of Luke describes the sublime lesson of humility given by the Virgin Mary by proclaiming herself the Lord’s slave while she received the announcement of her election as Mother of God. Such a moral stance soon became an outstanding example of modesty and obedience for all Christians, as it was showed by many Church Fathers, theologians and religious thinkers throughout the centuries. Our paper aims to highlight that this significant lesson of humility and submission by the Virgin, reported by the Gospel and frequently interpreted in patristics and theological sources, often reflected also in art works, as we try to put evident through the analysis of twelve medieval paintings.
The Woman and the Androgyne in Leonardo da Vinci’s (1452-1519) pictorical work
María del Carmen BREA REINA
Original title: La Mujer y lo andrógino en la obra pictórica de Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Published in Music in Antiquity, Middle Ages & Renaissance
Keywords: Androgyne, Cinquecento, Leonardo da Vinci, Madonna, Quattrocento, Renaissance, Virgin.
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the main exponents of Italian Renaissance painting. In his work the female characters or Madonnas stand out, in many cases with a leading role of great symbolism. Leonardo makes this concept evolve into the figure of the androgynous person, mixing feminine and masculine features to bring a new perspective to his production.
The abolition of the right of ecclesiastical foreigners in Mallorca: attitudes and linguistic uses
Rosa CALAFAT VILA
Original title: L’abolició del dret d’estrangeria eclesiàstica a Mallorca: actituds i usos lingüístics
Published in
Keywords: Abolition with civil alienation, Abolition with ecclesiastic alienation, Charles III, Councillors of Palma, Majorca.
The Decree of Nova Planta (1707-1715) ends with civil alienation in the Catalan-Aragonese Crown and, by extension, in 1723, with ecclesiastic alienation in Aragon, València and Barcelona; but not in Mallorca, where it is preserved until 1808. Using unpublished documentary contributions based on the declarations of the councillors of the city of Palma in the plenary meeting of January 12, 1808, we analyze the reasons argued by the local authorities to continue with ecclesiastical alienation, as well as the arguments of those who, out of love for the new state, stood against it. The abolition of such right is placed within the framework of what dictates the royal cedula of June 23, 1768. We also review the significance for the extension of Spanish language in the dioceses of Barcelona and Palma, of the presence of two Andalusian bishops whose mandates coincided partially; namely, Gavino de Valladares (Barcelona, 1775-1794) and Juan Díaz de la Guerra (Palma, 1772-1777).
The abortion of useless life: the life between secularization and the sacred
Euler Renato WESTPHAL
Original title: O aborto de vida inútil: a vida entre a secularização e o sagrado
Published in
Keywords: Bioethics, Cultural Heritage, Sustainability, Theology, Universal Human Rights.
This article approached the utilitarian ethic view about the human dignity. According to utilitarianism, the human life does not have dignity and it does not have worth by itself. The infanticide could be a possibility to free the parents of children who have any handicaps. Human life only has value if there is self-consciousness and a life project. From that moment on, the genetic improvement would also be justified by the PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis) so that children would not get serious diseases. Which are the limits between eugenics and therapy, among utility and human dignity? Alberto Giubilini, Francesca Minerva, Peter Singer, Hannah Arendt, Jürgen Habermas, Joachim Jeremias, Oscar Cullmann were partners of discussion in this article. It is remarked that the human dignity, the universal rights of human being are heritages of the Judeo-Christian theology. God unconditionally loves the sinner, the patient, the weak and the excluded. From that moment on, the Christian theology indicates to the solidarity of God to those who are considered, by the liberal eugenic, “not worth living”. The critical dialogue among bioethics and theology has the aim of seeking criteria so that the human life will not be instrumentalized by interests of human designers.
The apocryphal texts in the Christian iconography
Ofelia Manzi and Patricia Grau-Dieckmann
Original title: Los textos apócrifos en la iconografía Cristiana
Published in The educacion and secular culture in the Middle Ages
Keywords: Apocrypha, Art, Canonical, Christianity, Iconography.
The bad life of some, consequences for others: the rogues and their familiar surroundings in the Kingdom of Majorca (16th and 17th centuries)
Victòria BAUÇÀ NICOLAU
Original title: La mala vida d’uns, conseqüències per a les altres: els “vividors” i el seu entorn en el Regne de Mallorca (segles XVI-XVII)
Published in
Keywords: Alcohol, Bad life, Gambling game, Poverty, Violence, Wine, Woman.
The literature, the theatre, and the art of the Baroque period usually showed the archetype of the drunk man who took refuge in the tavern of his life. This figure existed in popular society, where the types were diversified, and vices expanded. If you pay attention to the documentation, there are several cases of men of bad life whose behaviour had serious consequences on the women in their environment, which would be summed up in violence and poverty. To emerge from this situation, these women used different strategies such as seeking support from acquaintances and family members, but also from the institutions of the Kingdom of Majorca.
The chivalrous ideal of Saint Bernard in The Holy Grail Demand
Ademir Luiz da SILVA
Original title: O ideal cavaleiresco de São Bernardo em A Demanda do Santo Graal
Published in Relations between History and Literature in Ancient and Medieval World
Keywords: Bernard of Clairvaux, Knight Templar Order, Medieval Literature, Middle Ages, The Holy Grail Demand.
The Knight Templar Order was established in Palestine, between 1118 and 1119, after the Christian victory on the First Great Crusades, aiming to protect the palmeiros visitors at the Holy Sites. By fits and starts the former warrior monks reached fame and under Bernardo de Claraval intellectual tutorage the Templar was soon spread throughout Europe. The demand, the quest symbol, replaced the crusade sentiment. The literary meaning of these standards, including the joaquimita millenarian strong influence, can be found in Portuguese version of the French feat novel The Holy Grail Demand.
