Sex, Chastity, and Political Power in Medieval and Early Renaissance Representations of the Ermine

Autor: Cobb, Morgan B.
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2010
Předmět:
Druh dokumentu: Text
Popis: Since the early Roman Empire, the weasel, a small carnivorous mammal indigenous to Europe, has been an element of Western oral, literary and visual tradition. Classical writers were fascinated with the weasel, and recorded its behaviors in a way that lent the animal supernatural qualities, which were acknowledged throughout the Middle Ages and through the early Renaissance. As a result, the image of one weasel in particular, the ermine, was associated with two specific virtues: female chastity and male honor. This iconography was adopted by rulers who illustrated it in illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, paintings and sculpture. This thesis will examine how these rulers used ermine iconography as part of their fabricated identity to construct a political reality that would appeal to the morality of their subjects, who would then submit to the monarchy's absolute control.
Databáze: Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations