A Matter of Life and Death: Forms, Functions and Audiences for ‘The Three Living and the Three Dead’ in Late Medieval Manuscripts

279 Pages·2013·2.211 MB·English

by  Christine M. Kralik

A Matter of Life and Death: Forms, Functions and
Audiences for ‘The Three Living and the Three Dead’ in
Late Medieval Manuscripts
by
Christine M. Kralik
A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Art
University of Toronto
© Copyright by Christine M. Kralik, 2013
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“A Matter of Life of Death:
Forms, Functions and Audiences for ‘The Three Living and the Three Dead’
in Late Medieval Manuscripts”

Christine M. Kralik

Doctor of Philosophy

Department of Art

University of Toronto

2013

Abstract

This dissertation examines approaches to illustrating the Three Living and the
Three Dead, a moralizing tale known across Europe in the late Middle Ages. Illustrated
versions of the texts survive in a number of different manuscript contexts. While the
earliest depictions show an apparently benign conversation occurring between living
and dead, by the late fifteenth century other ways of illustrating the tale had emerged.
The most striking of these was the aggressive chase after the living by the dead, which
most often accompanied the prayers of the Office of the Dead in Books of Hours.
While previous art historical investigations have concentrated on localization,
chronology, as well as stylistic and formal analyses, my project engages with the larger
questions of function, audience, and the relationship between text and image.
The thesis begins by situating the Three Living and the Three Dead in the
scholarship on the art of death of the late Middle Ages. The art of that period has long
been perceived as a reflection of a time of decline. This perspective was established
mainly through consideration of large-scale monuments, mostly French and primarily
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displayed in public, funerary contexts. I expand the discussion to include small scale,
private devotional images of death, and demonstrate that such images could serve
practical and positive functions for their users.
The wide range of possibilities for illustrating the story in its early history is
established in chapter 2. This overview is followed by a series of chapters that offer
close examinations of individual manuscripts and establish the functions that the Three
Living and the Three Dead served for their original users.
In sum, my project sheds light on the importance of the imagery of death and
more specifically of the Three Living and the Three Dead in late medieval culture. It
contributes to our understanding of a story that became popular across Europe in a
variety of forms in response to the context in which it appeared, the function it was
intended to serve and the audience for which it was intended.
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Acknowledgements
As a first year graduate student at the University of Toronto, one of the courses
I elected to take was a graduate seminar on medieval manuscript illumination, through
which I first encountered the Three Living and the Three Dead in the Psalter of Bonne
of Luxembourg (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art—The Cloisters, 69.86). I
was spellbound. I found myself wondering: what was this fascinating story involving
living and dead, and what was it doing in a Psalter? What meaning would it have had
for the viewer? And was the story always depicted in this way? My interest in the story
grew over subsequent years, and I decided to make it the focus of my doctoral
dissertation.
There are many to whom I owe thanks, for a variety of reasons. I was fortunate
to receive funding from several agencies, including the Ontario Graduate Scholarship
program, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC),
the Deutsche Akademische Austausch Dienst (DAAD) and the American Academy in
Rome. A dissertation completion grant from the Joint Initiative of German and
European Studies (JIGES) at the University of Toronto assisted with some of the costs
associated with final enrolment and defense.
I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Jill Caskey, committee members
Profs. Adam Cohen and Matt Kavaler, reader Prof. Jordan Bear and external appraiser
Prof. Erik Inglis, for critical readings of my dissertation. Prof. Caskey coaxed me again
and again to push myself beyond what I thought were my limits, and the dissertation is
richer and more sophisticated as a result. Prof. Inglis’ thoughtful and thorough report
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elicited deeper insights. Thanks as well to Prof. Alison Syme, Director of Graduate
Studies, whose support and encouragement was instrumental during the final stretch.
I would like to thank Nicole Eichenberger, Nicole Fallon, Elina Gertsman,
Eileen Jacxsens, Guita Lamsechi, Henrike Manuwald and John McQuillen, who read
and offered comments on parts of chapters at various stages. Thanks as well to Alixe
Bovey, Aden Kumler, Jess Paehlke and Markus Stock who in the course of
conversations offered provocative thoughts and insights that enriched my project. Uli
Wunderlich, Sophie Oosterwijk, Suzanne Conklin Akbari and Jill Ross showed interest
in my work and offered me opportunities to publish in edited volumes.
During research trips abroad, I was fortunate to meet scholars who took me
under their metaphorical wings. Dagmar Eichberger was a mentor during my time in
Germany and spoke with me fruitfully about my work. At the American Academy in
Rome, participation in Christopher Celenza’s seminar on Palaeography and its
historiography was an incomparably rewarding experience. I forged friendships with
brilliant seminar participants Eileen Jacxsens, Jenny Knust and Sonia Sabnis and
learned a great deal from all of them. Eberhard König and Klaus Krüger welcomed me
to participate in their Kolloquien at the Freie Universität in Berlin, which afforded
rewarding opportunities to present research in seminar contexts. Research trips were
rendered more feasible and affordable due to the generosity of friends; Aleks Koutny in
Cambridge, Shana Worthen in London, Betsy Purvis in Florence and Kelly de Luca in
New York City generously provided me with places to stay.
The examination of manuscripts in person allowed me to form insights and
observations on the material not otherwise possible. I would like to thank Julien
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Chapuis, who during his tenure at The Cloisters graciously permitted me to examine the
exquisite Psalter of Bonne of Luxembourg. Alixe Bovey, during her time at the British
Library, invited me to examine the Smithfield Decretals with her in Conservation when
the manuscript was otherwise inaccessible. For their assistance, I also wish to thank
Roger Wieck and Sylvie Merian at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York; Andreas
Heese at the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin; Dieter Kudorfer and Brigitte Gullath at the
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich; and Isabella Ceccopieri at the Biblioteca
Casanatense in Rome.
Many thanks to Michael Koortbojian, whose undergraduate survey was so
thrilling that I was inspired to pursue the study of Art History in the first place. He was
a mentor through my undergraduate and graduate studies. Jens Wollesen and Elizabeth
Leesti nurtured my interest in the study of Medieval art as an undergraduate, and
continued to show interest in my work and achievements during my time as a graduate
student. Dear friends at U of T who were sources of strength and support include
Margo Beggs, Rebekah Carson, Betsy Moss, Magda Hayton, Rose Logie, Carolina
Mangone and Martina Meyer. Whitney Binns, Paula Deane, Carly Klassen and Marija
Popovic too were wonderful and supportive friends, who got me through some of those
inevitable lonely and doubt-ridden moments. Thanks to my partner, David Strutt, for
his love, support and encouragement.
I was plagued by debilitating back pain and stress-related chronic fatigue for
several years as I worked on my PhD, but chiropractor Shalini Bhat and Pilates
instructor Leslie Parker assisted me in my efforts to keep a mentem sanam in corpore
sano.
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Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Sue and Erich Kralik, for instilling in
me a love and appreciation for art, music and cultural history. I also thank them for
their patience and love over the course of what was a very long process. My mother’s
unwavering support sustained me in more ways than one during the final push to the
finish line. I dedicate this dissertation to her.

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Table of Contents

Abstract ii
Acknowledgements iv
Table of Contents viii
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction: Foundations and New Directions 1
Chapter 1. A New Vision of Death: Confronting Huizinga’s Legacy for the Study of the
Three Living and the Three Dead 36

Chapter 2. Images, Texts, Contexts: Situating the Three Living and the Three Dead in
Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Manuscripts in Northern Europe 69

Chapter 3. The Three Living and the Three Dead in Books of Hours for Women of the
House of Hapsburg: Berlin, KK-SMPK MS 78 B 12 and London, BL Add. MS
35313 101

Chapter 4. The Three Living and the Three Dead in a Monastic Miscellany:
Munich, BSB cgm 3974 132

Chapter 5. The Three Living and the Three Dead in a Spiritual Miscellany:
Rome, Bibl. Casanatense MS 1404 156

Chapter 6. The Three Living and the Three Dead in a Housebook for a Young Woman
of Strasbourg: Wolfenbüttel, HAB Aug. 16. 17 4o 177

Conclusion 201
Appendices 214
• A: Manuscripts to which I refer in this dissertation
• B: Manuscripts discussed which contain the Three Living and the Three Dead
• C: Transcriptions and Modern English translations of select passages
• D: List of known occurrences of the Three Living and the Three Dead in Books
of Hours
Bibliography 230
Illustrations 264
viii
List of Illustrations

Fig. 1. The Three Living and the Three Dead. The Miscellany of Marie de Brabant, ca.
1285. Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal MS Fr. 3142, fol. 311v.

Fig. 2. Incipit page of Cum Apertam Sepulturam, fourteenth century. Ferrara, Biblioteca
Comunale Ariostea MS Classe II, n 211e, fol. 32r.

Fig. 3. Chihaia’s model for the relationship between the Three Living and the Three
Dead and its source. Chihaia, Immortalité et décomposition, 60.

Fig. 4. Interior view of the grotto church of Santa Margherita, Melfi, ca. 1300.

Fig. 5. The Three Living and the Three Dead. Church of Santa Margherita, Melfi, ca.
1300.

Fig. 6. Map of Italy in the thirteenth century.

Fig. 7. Buffalmacco, The Three Living and the Three Dead. Campo Santo, Pisa, ca.
1335.

Fig. 8. The Three Living and the Three Dead illustrating the lauda “Chi vuol lo mondo
disprezzare,” from a mid-fourteenth century laudario. Florence, Biblioteca
Nazionale Centrale, Banco Rari 18 (olim Magliabechiano Cod. II. 1. 122), fol.
134r.

Fig. 9. Jean le Noir, The Three Living and the Three Dead. The Psalter of Bonne de
Luxembourg, before 1349. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art-The
Cloisters, 69.86, fols. 321v-322r.

Fig. 10. The Three Living and the Three Dead. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
in Atri, ca. 1300.

Fig. 11. A king envisions a soul (likely his own) sitting in a Hellmouth. The Smithfield
Decretals, ca. 1340. London, BL Royal MS 10 E IV, fol. 259v.

Fig. 12. A king envisions souls in Heaven. The Smithfield Decretals, fol. 260r.

Fig. 13. A king experiences a dream vision, in which an angel indicates souls suffering
in Hell. The Smithfield Decretals, fol. 260v.

Fig. 14. The ‘Disputacion betwyx þe body and wormes,’ from a fifteenth-century
Carthusian miscellany. London, BL Add. MS 37049, fol. 32r.

Fig. 15. The Ploughman and Death, in discussion. Johannes von Tepl, Death and the
Ploughman, ca. 1470. Heidelberg, cod. pal. germ 76, fol. 12r.
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