Symbolism in Medieval Art

Symbolism in Medieval Art EVE IN MEDIEVAL ART Symbolism in the Medieval period had both theological and social meanings, and the figure of Eve demonstrates how these two kinds of meanings coexisted in a single symbolic form. Medieval symbolism almost always occurred in art that was commissioned by or for the churches. In religious terms, the art of the Middle Ages was meant to instruct people of all classes and to be an aid to prayer and the contemplation of religious ideas. But, as art historians have begun to point out, this art was also a system of visual signs that can be viewed in terms of role models, social practices, and an encoded value system of social mores (Alexander 1). In strictly theological terms, the character of Eve, the first woman, was used to symbolize the Fall of the human race. Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and persuaded Adam to eat it as well (Hall 4). This caused the human race to experience sin and evil. But Eve was also used as a symbol of the nature of women, seen as temptresses trying to lead men into sin. On seeing the figure of Eve as she was presented in Romanesque art, the viewer was reminded of the Fall, but, depending on how she was depicted, the viewer could also be reminded that women are weak-willed, deceitful seducers who are not to be trusted. The works that will be investigated to support this thesis, is Eve at the tympanum (c. 1125-1150) The theological and the social meanings of the symbol were not completely separate. The Church also seemed interested in promoting this misogynistic idea of women as a social value. But the meanings were separable, in the sense that, when Eve was used as the basic theological symbol of the Fall, the implications about the behavior of women in general did not have to be part of the symbol. In one sense, Medieval art consisted of a kind of sacred writing in which the identity or uses of certain pictorial elements were widely understood (MÃ ¢le, Medieval 267). MÃ ¢le gives the example of a halo which, when placed behind a persons head, indicates sainthood or holiness. In a more complicated example, a naked woman, with or without a snake or a tree, and holding a piece of fruit, would be known to be Eve. These particular attributes would be given to her when the temptation of Eve by Satan (and/or Eves temptation of Adam if he was present) was the subject being shownbut Eve could be shown in other situations as well. Medieval art is also a symbolic code, and, since the earliest times, Christian art had spoken in figures, showing men one thing and inviting them to see in it the figure of another (MÃ ¢le, Medieval 272). This means that, once the viewer identified Eves Temptation by her attributes of nakedness, the tree, the snake, and the fruit, then the viewer could move on to the understanding of what Eve, in this situation, symbolized. She symbolized the Fall of the human race, which was, because of her actions, condemned to suffering, pain, death, and sin. The human race could not be redeemed until Jesus suffered and died for all humanity and provided the means of obtaining, through the Church, eternal salvation. Thus, in its plain theological use, the figure of Eve was connected to the mission of the Church because her actions were responsible for making the Church necessary. For this reason, Medieval artists (or the people who planned the art of the churches) saw the Temptation as a foreshad owing of the Annunciation in which the Virgin Mary, as the New Eve, redeemed the sin of the old Eve (Hall 5). Petzold provides an example of this symbolic pairing of Eve and the Virgin Mary in Romanesque art. This is the sculpture on the tympanum (c. 1125-1150) over the doorway at the church of Neuilly-en-Donjon in France, where three interrelated scenes from the Bible show the three main archetypes of women: Eve, Mary Magdalen (a reformed adulteress), and the Virgin Mary (Petzold 123). The three women are all shown in relation to a man. In the bottom section of the sculpture (the lintel), Eve turns from the tree to tempt Adam with the fruit, and Mary Magdalen kneels in front of Jesus and anoints his feet and wipes them with her hair (Petzold 123). Above them, the main sculpture shows the Magi worshipping Jesus, who sits on Marys lap. Around Mary and Jesus, angels blow horns celebrating Marys triumph over sin. MÃ ¢le, commenting on this same sculpture, says that symbolically the work meant that woman, through whom sin came into the world [Eve] and by whom it was perpetuated [Mary Magdalen], is at last and forever rehabilitated by the Virgin (Religious 431). The same connection is made in another French church at Anzy-le-Duc, where the main tympanum sculpture shows the worship of the Magi on one side and Eve tempting Adam on the other. In the lower, lintel portion of the sculpture, heaven is shown beneath the Virgins side, and hell is shown beneath Eve (MÃ ¢le, Religious 432). These examples make clear Eves purely theological importance as a symbol clear. But, as MÃ ¢les explanation indicated, the Eve-Mary Magdalen-Virgin Mary symbolism had a message about women in general. Women as a group were believed to be prone to sin and to causing sin, especially sexual sin because they tempted men. St. Bernard (1091-1153), who was one of the most influential and eloquent orators and writers of his age, emphasized that Eves sin was the sin of all women. He said in a sermon that Eve was the original cause of all evil, whose disgrace has come down to all other women (quoted by Kraus 42). But St. Bernard was also a great promoter of the cult of the Virgin Mary, which was becoming very popular in the twelfth century. And, on the connection between Eve and Mary, he said, Rejoice, Eve, rejoice in such a daughter . . . Opprobrium has been wiped out; never again can woman be accused (quoted by MÃ ¢le, Religious 431). But, in actual practice, though they praised Mary, this did not much change the Churchs view of ordinary women as being sinful like Eve: In the glorification of the Virgin, it was the Woman-Without-Sin, the non-woman Woman, the anti-Eve that was revered (Kraus 46). The extent to which Mary was not like a real woman was considered worthy of praise. Petzold notes that, since this misogynistic view of women was often part of the Churchs message, the symbolism of Eve was expanded so that images of her in art frequently stress her role as a sexual temptress (124). In this role, Eve becomes a symbol of the sinful nature of all women. Her role in theologically important events does not require this interpretation at all (although her feminine weakness was always implied by the Bible story). But, in the Middle Ages, this interpretation of Eve was quite popular. Petzold points out the representation of Eve in this character in another Romanesque church in France, the Autun Cathedral. In a fragment of sculpture by Gislebertus from around 1130, Eve is shown naked and nearly lying down, supported only by her knees and one elbow. The position may refer to the story that God punished her by making her crawl on the ground like the snake who tempted her. But what is most striking about the Autun Eve is that, at a time when nudity was rare in art, the sinuous figure of Eve, with her rounded breasts, is one of the most erotically charged images in Romanesque art, and she is portrayed not so much as [a] sinner but as [a] temptress who invite[s] Adam, and by implication men in general, to commit sin (Petzold 125). At this time, the Church was trying to enforce strict celibacy on priests and monks, and stressing the sinfulness of sexual relations and of women in general probably was part of that effort (Petzold 125). But, as Kraus shows, the figure of Eve was the model for the various sculptures of the vice of Unchastity, or Lust, which one finds on so many church facades of the twelfth century and is invariably a woman, while the typically male vice, on the other hand, is either Pride or Avarice (42). The overall impression of women was of their complete inability to resist their sexual urges and their deep desire to draw men into sin. But, while all this did aid the Church in its attempt to induce celibacy in priests, it was hardly the kind of teaching calculated to spread affection for the wives and mothers in the audience (Kraus 44). This is what is meant by the social meanings of Medieval symbolism. As Alexander explains it, these images functioned to provide role models to sections of the Christian community, and the Church used various artistic means to intervene in the society in a variety of contexts (1). One of the methods that was used was repetition. MÃ ¢le pointed out how repetition of images ensured that every member of the potential audience would be sufficiently familiar with the various figures and their attributes to recognize an Eve with her apple or a saint with her halo (Medieval 267). But, in addition to familiarity with the elements of the stories, the visual messages were hammered home by their iconographical similarity until they were taken for granted and thus became an unquestioned part of everyday experience (Alexander 1). One of the most shocking images of Eve is found in a series of relief sculptures showing the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Paradise (from the twelfth century, at the French church of Notre-Dame-du-Port, at Clermont-Ferrand). In these sculptures, Adam hurls wailing Eve to the ground, kicks her, and drags her by the hair in a series of realistic gestures that may Maghave been inspired by a religious play, Le Jeu dAdam et Eve, that was performed both inside and outside of many churches (Kraus 44). The connection between such representations of Eve-Woman as deserving of this kind of treatment and an official sanctioning of such behavior by men toward their wives is not difficult to make. Some lines of the Adam and Eve play read, Oh, evil woman full of treason / Forever contrary to reason, / Bringing no man good in any season: / Our childrens children to the end of time / Will feel the cruel whiplash of your crime (quoted by Kraus 44). St. Bernards sermons, a popular play, and repeated artistic representations of Eve as the source of evil all combine to show how this symbol had a clear social meaning as well as a theological meaning. Though the Church was not the only source of such misogyny, it was an active promoter of the feeling, and the effects of the social meaning of the Eve symbol are, in part, still present today. Works Cited Alexander, Jonathan J. G. Iconography and Ideology: Uncovering Social Meanings in Western Medieval Christian Art. Studies in Iconography 15 (1993): 1-44. Hall, James. Subjects and Symbols in Art. 2nd ed. New York: Icon-Harper and Row, 1979. Kraus, Henry. The Living Theatre of Medieval Art. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1967. MÃ ¢le, Emile. Medieval Iconography. Ancient Egypt through the Middle Ages. Vol. 1 of Readings in Art History. New York: Scribners Sons, 1969. 265-91. The Twelfth Century: A Study in the Origins of Medieval Iconography. Vol. 1 of Religious Art in France. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1978. Petzold, Andreas. Romanesque Art. New York: Perspectives-Abrams, 1995. Â © K C Research Assistance, Inc., 1997

Japan Students and Education Essay example -- Essays Papers

Japan Students and Education After World War II, Japan was a country left with almost no resources and lacked of man power. However, Japanese had managed to reconstruct the country and make Japan a successful industrialized nation. What had make things change so dramatically? What special magic that Japanese people had used? The answer revealed itself when we look closer at the history of the Japan Education System. According to Okano and Tsuchiya that â€Å"Japan education can be split into pre-war period of nationalist schooling (1868-1945) and the post-war one of democratic education (1945-present)† (13). Education was used as the tool to nurture a sense of â€Å"nationhood† during pre-war period. In order to overcome the problem after World War II, the post-war one education had changed accordingly to the needs of the society. Education was used as a median to the development of human capital for the Japan’s economic growth. The key for the Japan economically success was education. The s uccess of the Japan education system relied greatly on students; students are the most important element who carries all the expectation from the society. This paper will explore the role play by the students in Japan education system for making the mark. Making the Mark: Society The success of the Japan education system after World War II shown that Japan society had lot to expect from their students. Japanese government and society take education seriously and the results and responses from the students out of the commitment are amazing. According to the statistic report from NationMaster.com Japan was ranked thirteen in the school enrollment in primary education with 100.81 percent in year 2000 and was in the first place in the rank of the school enrollment in the secondary education with 101.2 percent in year 2000. On the other hand according to Gail R. Benjamin â€Å"†¦ the national system of education [Japan] in 1872 had reached close to 100 percent enrollment levels (200).† Cleary the number hasn’t change much over the century and the success of the education system is inevitable true. Students in Japan play a major role in the success of the education by just participating in the system. The expectation from the society toward the students changes corresponding from primary school, middle school, high school and university. The primary school students are expectin... ...unity as a whole. Works Cited Benjamin, Gail. Japanese Lessons. New York: New York University Press, 1997 Okano, Kaori, and Tsuchiya, Motonori. Education in contemporary Japan: inequality and diversity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999 Amano, Ikuo. Japanese College Years. 1988. 19 Nov. 2003 Cummings, William K. Postsecondary Education in Japan. 1988. 19 Nov. 2003 Imamura, Anne E. The Japanese Family. 1990. 19 Nov. 2003 White, Merry. High School Students in Japan. 1988. 19 Nov. 2003 â€Å"Parent’s Role.† Japanese Junior High Schools. Ms. Walton, Mrs. Thai, Mr. Munoz 24 Nov. 2003 http://www.motthall.org/cq/prole.html â€Å"Dating.† Japanese Junior High Schools. Ms. Walton, Mrs. Thai, Mr. Munoz 24 Nov. 2003 http://www.motthall.org/cq/prole.html Japan Students and Education Essay example -- Essays Papers Japan Students and Education After World War II, Japan was a country left with almost no resources and lacked of man power. However, Japanese had managed to reconstruct the country and make Japan a successful industrialized nation. What had make things change so dramatically? What special magic that Japanese people had used? The answer revealed itself when we look closer at the history of the Japan Education System. According to Okano and Tsuchiya that â€Å"Japan education can be split into pre-war period of nationalist schooling (1868-1945) and the post-war one of democratic education (1945-present)† (13). Education was used as the tool to nurture a sense of â€Å"nationhood† during pre-war period. In order to overcome the problem after World War II, the post-war one education had changed accordingly to the needs of the society. Education was used as a median to the development of human capital for the Japan’s economic growth. The key for the Japan economically success was education. The s uccess of the Japan education system relied greatly on students; students are the most important element who carries all the expectation from the society. This paper will explore the role play by the students in Japan education system for making the mark. Making the Mark: Society The success of the Japan education system after World War II shown that Japan society had lot to expect from their students. Japanese government and society take education seriously and the results and responses from the students out of the commitment are amazing. According to the statistic report from NationMaster.com Japan was ranked thirteen in the school enrollment in primary education with 100.81 percent in year 2000 and was in the first place in the rank of the school enrollment in the secondary education with 101.2 percent in year 2000. On the other hand according to Gail R. Benjamin â€Å"†¦ the national system of education [Japan] in 1872 had reached close to 100 percent enrollment levels (200).† Cleary the number hasn’t change much over the century and the success of the education system is inevitable true. Students in Japan play a major role in the success of the education by just participating in the system. The expectation from the society toward the students changes corresponding from primary school, middle school, high school and university. The primary school students are expectin... ...unity as a whole. Works Cited Benjamin, Gail. Japanese Lessons. New York: New York University Press, 1997 Okano, Kaori, and Tsuchiya, Motonori. Education in contemporary Japan: inequality and diversity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999 Amano, Ikuo. Japanese College Years. 1988. 19 Nov. 2003 Cummings, William K. Postsecondary Education in Japan. 1988. 19 Nov. 2003 Imamura, Anne E. The Japanese Family. 1990. 19 Nov. 2003 White, Merry. High School Students in Japan. 1988. 19 Nov. 2003 â€Å"Parent’s Role.† Japanese Junior High Schools. Ms. Walton, Mrs. Thai, Mr. Munoz 24 Nov. 2003 http://www.motthall.org/cq/prole.html â€Å"Dating.† Japanese Junior High Schools. Ms. Walton, Mrs. Thai, Mr. Munoz 24 Nov. 2003 http://www.motthall.org/cq/prole.html

Constitutional and social development between 1860 and 1877 Essay

From the time of Lincoln’s inauguration in 1860 to the final withdrawal of union troops from the South in 1877, the nation of America had been one of great revolutions. There was constant development in this time both socially and constitutionally. For instance, some constitutional developments that irrupted conflict were the secession of the confederate states, the Emancipation Proclamation, the three civil rights bills, and the reconstruction. Some social developments that caused conflict were the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Black Codes, and the Ku Klux Klan. It was a result of these developments that the Revolutions of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Redeemers would take place. The great change these revolutions brought about were vital in the development of this country One of the constitutional developments that caused a revolution during this time frame, had to do with the South Carolina Declaration of Causes of Secession, which is stated in Document A. The southerners felt that it was their constitutional right to own slaves and did not see a time when they should be required to give up that right. However, upon the election of Lincoln as President, the southerners felt threatened, and felt their slave holding rights were being threatened, and in an effort to protect these rights they chose to secede from the union. This action angered the President and many Republicans because they believed that it was unconstitutional for a state to secede. Senator John Sherman on the other hand believed that they gave the states too much power and rights in government that this is the reason the government being overthrown. One of the social developments that caused a revolution was the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Freedmen’s Bureau was supposed to give Homesteads to the freed slaves, but they failed to keep their promise, as stated in Document E. In document I the picture shows that even thought the freedmen were given freedom after the Civil, other groups such as the White League and the KKK still tried to suppress their rights as human citizens. For instance, the KKK would burn black-owned buildings and murder freedman to them from exercising their voting rights. Another development that caused a revolution was the Reconstruction Act.  Looking at Document F you can see that Senator Lot Morrill thinks that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 is revolutionary. But he was furious because there was already a revolution taking place and nobody knew or cared. The speech brought up many questions about what had to be fixed and what kind of revolution would occur. These are the many developments that brought on a revolution that helped or hurt the country. This is one of the revolutions that helped shape this country.

Social Responsibility Successes and Failures - 756 Words

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