Between Psalter and “Mirrors for Princes”: On the Moral and Didactic Messages in BL Cotton MS Domitian A XVII
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Orly Amit
Abstract
In this study of a fifteenth-century illuminated text, I discuss the blurred boundaries of medieval book genres through a case study of a richly illuminated Psalter (BL, Cotton MS Domitian A XVII), produced in Paris in the early fifteenth century, which was originally intended for the dauphin Louis, Duke of Guyenne (1397-1415). Study of the text/image relationship within Louis’s personal Psalter reveals the intertextuality within the scenes in regard to the relationship between the reader/viewer and God and that between the owner and his destined role as a monarch. I argue that, among other concerns, the Psalter was designed to serve as a “Mirror of Princes,” to teach the moral values expected of an ideal prince and king. Hence, the book provided not only spiritual but also secular guidance, which was meant to shape the young prince’s identity and behavior patterns.
Abstract
In this study of a fifteenth-century illuminated text, I discuss the blurred boundaries of medieval book genres through a case study of a richly illuminated Psalter (BL, Cotton MS Domitian A XVII), produced in Paris in the early fifteenth century, which was originally intended for the dauphin Louis, Duke of Guyenne (1397-1415). Study of the text/image relationship within Louis’s personal Psalter reveals the intertextuality within the scenes in regard to the relationship between the reader/viewer and God and that between the owner and his destined role as a monarch. I argue that, among other concerns, the Psalter was designed to serve as a “Mirror of Princes,” to teach the moral values expected of an ideal prince and king. Hence, the book provided not only spiritual but also secular guidance, which was meant to shape the young prince’s identity and behavior patterns.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Table of Contents VII
- Blurred Boundaries in Pre-Modern Texts and Images: Aspects of Audiences and Readers-Viewers Responses 1
- The Sacred and the Profane in German Courtly Romances and Late Medieval Verse Narratives: With an Emphasis on Ulrich Bonerius and Heinrich Kaufringer 15
- The Poetic and Ideological Blurring of Boundaries in the Jewish Book of Ethics Orḥot Ṣaddiqim 41
- Laughing at Death: Blurred Boundaries in Giotto’s Last Judgment 57
- The Popular in Service of the Sacred: The Sculpted Musicians of Santiago de Compostela 79
- Image and Legend of Saint Margaret as an Aid in Childbirth Rituals 101
- Violent Women and the Blurring of Gender in some Medieval Narratives 125
- On the Heavenly and the Earthly, the Secular as Sacred – A New Reading of Medieval Hebrew Fables 145
- The Secular and the Sacred in a Bifolio from Louis of Laval’s Book of Hours and Its Spiritual Use 165
- Between Psalter and “Mirrors for Princes”: On the Moral and Didactic Messages in BL Cotton MS Domitian A XVII 185
- Visual and Textual Authority: Reading Chevalier in Manuscripts of La Vie des pères 205
- Aspects of Italian and Flemish Identity in Relation to Book Illumination: Reception of Devotional and Antiquarian Ideas through Depictions of Jewelry 229
- List of Illustrations 249
- Notes on Contributors 253
- Index 255
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Table of Contents VII
- Blurred Boundaries in Pre-Modern Texts and Images: Aspects of Audiences and Readers-Viewers Responses 1
- The Sacred and the Profane in German Courtly Romances and Late Medieval Verse Narratives: With an Emphasis on Ulrich Bonerius and Heinrich Kaufringer 15
- The Poetic and Ideological Blurring of Boundaries in the Jewish Book of Ethics Orḥot Ṣaddiqim 41
- Laughing at Death: Blurred Boundaries in Giotto’s Last Judgment 57
- The Popular in Service of the Sacred: The Sculpted Musicians of Santiago de Compostela 79
- Image and Legend of Saint Margaret as an Aid in Childbirth Rituals 101
- Violent Women and the Blurring of Gender in some Medieval Narratives 125
- On the Heavenly and the Earthly, the Secular as Sacred – A New Reading of Medieval Hebrew Fables 145
- The Secular and the Sacred in a Bifolio from Louis of Laval’s Book of Hours and Its Spiritual Use 165
- Between Psalter and “Mirrors for Princes”: On the Moral and Didactic Messages in BL Cotton MS Domitian A XVII 185
- Visual and Textual Authority: Reading Chevalier in Manuscripts of La Vie des pères 205
- Aspects of Italian and Flemish Identity in Relation to Book Illumination: Reception of Devotional and Antiquarian Ideas through Depictions of Jewelry 229
- List of Illustrations 249
- Notes on Contributors 253
- Index 255
