Nature, Reason, and Light in Vision—Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen

Author(s):  
Jennifer Bain

Historical understandings of Hildegard (1098–1179) occupy a central position in the recent revival of the Middle Ages. Viewed as a protofeminist and the first documented female composer, Hildegard is often used as a role model in contemporary times. Through an examination of Margarethe von Trotta’s film Vision, this essay uncovers another image of Hildegard, as an enlightened thinker, deeply invested in the acquisition of knowledge, and as a scientific medical practitioner who abhors the idea of the mortification of the flesh. Using iconic sounds and musical references, the sound design for von Trotta’s film strongly supports this image. In acoustic, as well as in visual and narrative terms, the film epitomizes the contrast between the grotesque and the romantic that is so important to our reception of the Middle Ages.

2014 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-389
Author(s):  
Thorsten Lemm

Zusammenfassung: Seit langem nehmen in Norwegen und Schweden Ortschaften und Höfe mit dem Namen Huseby o. ä. zentrale Punkte in der Frühgeschichtsforschung ein. Sie werden dort als seit jeher bedeutende Orte interpretiert, die in der späten Wikingerzeit oder am Übergang zum Mittelalter zu königlichen Höfen aufstiegen und in diesem Zuge mit der standardisierten Bezeichnung *húsabýr versehen wurden. Die dadurch ersetzten ursprünglichen Ortsnamen sind nur selten überliefert. Die Huseby-Orte Alt-Dänemarks fanden in der Forschung hingegen nur wenig Beachtung. Die vorläufigen Ergebnisse der in den letzten Jahren durchgeführten Kontextanalysen und archäologischen Prospektionen erlauben es nun, das einst in dänischem Reichsgebiet gelegene Husby in Angeln in eine Reihe mit den bedeutenden Huseby-Orten Schwedens und Norwegens zu stellen. Archäologische Funde, allen voran die Entdeckung eines Siedlungslatzes mit zahlreichen Metallobjekten, die verkehrsgeografische Lage, Flurnamen in der Umgebung und eine romanische Kirche mit wahrscheinlich hölzernem Vorgängerbau zeichnen für Husby das Bild eines in der jüngeren Germanischen Eisenzeit, in der Wikingerzeit und im Mittelalter (über-)regional bedeutenden Ortes. Résumé: En Norvège et en Suède les localités ou habitats portant le nom d’H useby ont depuis longtemps occupé une place de choix en recherche protohistorique. Là, on les a toujours considérés comme des localités importantes, et ces endroits s’élevèrent au rang de cours royales au courant de l’époque viking tardive ou au début du Moyen Age ; de ce fait ils ont acquis la dénomination standard de*húsabýr. Les toponymes d’origine que ces nouvelles dénominations ont remplacés ne survivent que fort rarement. Cependant très peu d’enquêtes ont porté sur les toponymes Huseby que l’on rencontre dans l’ancien Danemark. Les résultats préliminaires d’études contextuelles et de prospections de terrain effectués au cours des dernières années nous permettent de ranger le site d’Husby en Anglie (Angeln), qui faisait anciennement partie du royaume danois, dans la série des sites importants portant le nom d’Huseby en Suède et en Norvège. Les données archéologiques, en particulier la découverte d’un habitat contenant de nombreux objets en métal, sa situation géographique, les noms des parcelles aux alentours et la présence d’une église romane avec probablement un précurseur en bois indiquent qu’Husby jouait un rôle (supra)régional significatif pendant l’âge du Fer germanique tardif, l’époque viking et le Moyen Age. Abstract: Settlements or farmsteads bearing the name Huseby or similar have occupied a central position in protohistoric research in Norway and Sweden for a long time. There they have always been interpreted as significant places, which rose to being royal courts in the Late Viking period or at the beginning of the Middle Ages and in the process were given the standard denomination of *húsabýr. The original place-names that these new denominations replaced rarely survive. Research has however paid little attention to the Huseby place-names of ancient Denmark. Preliminary results from contextual studies and archaeological surveys conducted over the last few years allow us to now align the site of Husby in Anglia, which once lay in the Danish realm, with the important Huseby sites of Sweden and Norway. Archaeological finds, especially the discovery of a settlement containing numerous metal objects, its geographical location, field names in its surroundings, and a Romanesque church with a probable timber precursor indicate that Husby was a significant (supra-) regional place in the later Germanic Iron Age, the Viking period and the Middle Ages.


Author(s):  
Mykhailo Tyshchenko

The purpose of the article is to analyze the image of the Fried Swan from the stage cantata of Carl Orff "Carmina Burana" through the category of grotesque - the worldview principle in the culture of the Middle Ages and one of the leading types of artistic imagery in art nouveau. The paper reviews literary and musicological research on the grotesque as an aesthetic category and its application as a method of revealing the artistic image. What is being analyzed: the aesthetics of vagrant poetry, which is the basis of the libretto of Karl Orff's stage cantata; traditions of interpretation of the image of a swan in mythology, folk culture, folklore of different peoples of Europe, Christianity, literature of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the New Age, in particular in Romanticism, as well as in the fine arts; features of Latin poetry in general and "Swan Song" from the poetry of vagrants in particular; application of alliteration; a variant of translation into Ukrainian is provided, which is intended for a more accurate understanding of the essence of the image, reveals its new facets and is addressed to the performers of the Fried Swan part in the preparatory period of work on the image, as well as listeners. The image of the Fried Swan is the embodiment of "grotesque realism" (A. Gurevich) of the Middle Ages. The methodology is based on the application of a holistic musicological analysis, which includes philosophical-aesthetic, literary-linguistic and musical-theoretical levels. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the application of the grotesque as a philosophical and aesthetic category for studying, in particular, one of the most original images of K. Orff's work and the concept of modern musical theater in general. Therefore, the artistic and aesthetic interpretation of the figurative sphere of the cantata is considered relevant, and this work is the first such attempt in Ukrainian musicology. Conclusions. The image of the Fried Swan embodies the grotesque, in which the high and the low, the believable and the unreal, the tragic and the comic, coexist. It reflects the mentality of the Middle Ages as a unity of antinomies and at the same time possesses the characteristic features of the culture of art nouveau, where the grotesque is a typical tool for perceiving reality. The image of the Fried Swan can be considered as a kind of "key" for understanding two "artistic mentality" at once - of the Middle Ages and of the Art Nouveau.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youval Rotman

In a world where princesses found themselves enslaved, kidnapped boys became army generals, and biblical Joseph was a role model, this book narrates the formation of the Middle Ages from the point of view of slavery, and outlines a new approach to enhance our understanding of modern forms of enslavement. Offering an analysis of recent scholarship and an array of sources, never before studied together, from distinct societies and cultures of the first millennium, it challenges the traditional dichotomy between ancient and medieval slaveries. Revealing the dynamic, versatile, and adaptable character of slavery it presents an innovative definition of slavery as a historical process.


2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 601-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Everett

IF SCHOLARShave a role model, he might be Umberto Eco's Brother William of Baskerville. Certainly our notion of the activity of scholarship–an investigator reading in a great library, alive to the treasures collected there–altered little from the Middle Ages through the twentieth century and still persists at the beginning of the twenty-first; but by the end of this century, the practice of scholarship will have changed utterly, and the scholar will require quite different skills from those that graduate students are being equipped with today.


2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
BJ De Klerk ◽  
FW Leuschner

The worship service occupies a central position in the life of the believer and therefore the atmosphere in the worship service is vital. The variations through history are studied in this article.  The viewpoints of the first four centuries, the Middle Ages, Reformation, post-Reformation and twentieth century came under discussion. Lessons from history are stated. The atmosphere in the worship service should be such that the worshipper meets God with the necessary awe and respect.  The service must also create an atmosphere of love, warmth, friendliness, and joy. All present must be invited and made welcome by the service. The atmosphere must further encourage and create room for everybody to participate and use their specific gifts. It can therefore change from service to service and within a single service. Important instruments in the atmosphere are the liturgical space, symbols, rituals, physical movement, gestures, music, song and the senses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 87-107
Author(s):  
Sandra Pietrini

The vast field of musical iconography during the Middle Ages must necessarily deal with the rich and surprising imagery of western manuscripts, showing a fanciful proliferation of playing creatures and bizarre deformations, sometimes inspired by exotic suggestions. In marginal miniatures of 14th century we can discover an interesting and puzzling topic: the parody of entertainers, with hybrid men playing a vielle with tongs, mermaids or apes playing jawbones and so on. The spreading of this topic in medieval iconography is linked to a satirical purpose aimed at professional entertainers, harshly condemned by Christian writers. Strange instruments made out of everyday objects like grills and distaffs, or ‘exotic’ animals like peacocks, mingle in the grotesque underworld of marginal miniatures, in which the noble art of music is often replaced by the cacophonous noises suggested by the devil.  


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-34
Author(s):  
Anita Ganowicz-Bączyk

Anthropocentrism seems to be a key notion associated with the man-nature relation. Probably it is also the most controversial one in environmental ethics. The anthropocentric attitude is sometimes meant to be the main cause of the ecological crisis. One can distinguish at least several stages of the process, which led to this crisis, namely: stage of Magic and Myth, Ancient Times, Middle Ages, and Modern Times. The aim of this article is to show the process of development of an anthropocentric thought in Medieval European culture. Cultural changes of the Middle Ages, under the influence of Christianity among other things, led to the revaluation of the ancient way of thinking. The next step towards anthropocentric attitude in philosophy was made: the importance of the human individual increased, his needs and development became more vital than society as a whole. On the other hand, an essential aspect of medieval philosophy was rejecting the earthly world and turning to the transcendental one. One can distinguish three currents of medieval thought, which unlikely understood the meaning of the world and man as well as the way of cognition of reality. These are mysticism, rationalism, and empiricism. Mysticism negated both the value of nature and man as accidental entities. Nonetheless, it elevated man above other creatures. Rationalism assigned the man a central position in nature, for only human being among the accidental material entities is endowed with intellect and grace of faith., On the other hand, empiricism enhanced both nature (as the subject of cognition and exploitation) and man (as a rational being, who has some extraordinary abilities to use the environment to satisfy his needs). The process of drawing away from the holistic view on nature, of its desacralization and of tending towards controlling it started just in the Middle Ages. In the following ages antiteleologism developed in philosophy, which contributed to the growth of mechanism and rejecting the inherent value of nature in the Modern Times.


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