Andrea-Biank

521 Pages·2016·19.52 MB·Italian

10.14754/CEU.2016.06

Doctoral Dissertation

Between Mary and Christ: Depicting Cross-Dressed Saints in the
Middle Ages (c. 1200-1600)

By: Andrea-Bianka Znorovszky

Supervisor(s):

Gerhard Jaritz
Marianne Sághy

Submitted to the Medieval Studies Department, and
the Doctoral School of History (HUNG doctoral degree)
Central European University, Budapest
of

in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Medieval Studies,
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Budapest, Hungary
2016
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I, the undersigned, Andrea-Bianka Znorovszky, candidate for the PhD degree in
Medieval Studies, declare herewith that the present dissertation is exclusively my own
work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in
notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of
the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person’s or institution’s
copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any
other institution of higher education for an academic degree.
Budapest, 07 June 2016.

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Signature

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In the dawn, after a long, perilous journey, when, finally, the pilgrim got out from
the maze and reached the Holy Land, s(he) is still wondering on the miraculous surviving
from beasts, dragons, and other creatures of the desert who tried to stop its travel.
Looking back, I realize that during this entire journey I was not alone, but others
decided to join me and, thus, their wisdom enriched my foolishness. I am thankful for the
advice and help of my supervisor, Professor Gerhard Jaritz, who convinced me to get up,
follow the road, and fight, when I, worthless pilgrim, felt down on the dry land. This
dissertation is the result of his permanent surveillance on the countless drafts that I have
submitted him. While under Professor Marianne Sághy’s care, I learned how to teach and
realized the amount of responsibility that goes with this process.
A journey in the maze is not as simple as it seems, it has its ups and downs and
dead ends. My gratitude goes to the individuals who contributed with their suggestions
during my research trips: to Father Rocco Ronzani who accepted to supervise me in
Rome, to Professor Ingrid Matschinegg who coordinated me in Vienna, and to Lajos
Sághy who welcomed me in Paris.
Information is crucial during a journey and when on crossroads everything
matters. I greet Professor Zaza Shirkladze, Professor Kirk Ambrose, Professor Barbara
Ferrari, Diarmuid O’Riain, and Jean-Michel Roudier, Director of Auguste Grasset
Museum, France, for sending articles and materials that were essential for the successful
completion of this work. I am also obliged to Professor Katie Keene’s support that
enabled me to consult registers from the French National Archives and to Vincent
n Haegele, Director of the Library of Compiègne, who facilitated my access both to the
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holiness.
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accompanied me on this long journey.
But what is a journey without the crawling creatures of the night? I salute all the
superficial gossipers and all those people who withdrew in silence choosing not to help,
when I was in need, for I grew much stronger understanding that the show must go on.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT .................................................................. ix
ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... xix
VITAE ............................................................................................................................... xx
PROLOGUE ................................................................................................................... xxi
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 22
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1.3 The Cult of the Virgin Mary ................................................................................... 26
1.4. Ambivalent Women in Ambivalent Contexts ........................................................ 28
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1.5. Brief view on methodology, sources, and terminology ......................................... 30
1.5.1. Scholarship on holy women in disguise.......................................................... 30
1.5.2. Research questions, sources, and, methodology ............................................. 32
1.5.3. Admiranda/Imitanda vs. canon law ................................................................ 36
1.5.4. Terminology and research areas ..................................................................... 36
Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................... 38
In Disguise for Christ’s Sake ........................................................................................ 38
1.1. Previous interpretations ......................................................................................... 38
1.2. Clothes ................................................................................................................... 40
1.3. Tonsure .................................................................................................................. 56
Chapter 2 ......................................................................................................................... 67
on Brides for Christ’s Sake ................................................................................................. 67
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2.1.1 Saint Euphrosyne of Alexandria ...................................................................... 68
2.1.2. Saint Margareta dicta Pelagius ........................................................................ 73
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2.1.3. Saint Eugenia of Rome ................................................................................... 76
2.1.4. Saint Marina the Monk ................................................................................... 79
2.2.1 Reflecting the image of the Virgin................................................................... 83
2.2.2 Reconfiguring the image of female mystics .................................................... 92
Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................... 103
Dying for Christ’s Sake ................................................................................................ 103
3.1. Iconography ......................................................................................................... 103
3.1.1. Saint Marina the Monk ................................................................................. 103
3.1.2. Saint Margareta dicta Pelagius ...................................................................... 105
3.1.3. Saint Euphrosyne .......................................................................................... 105
3.1.4. Saint Eugenia of Rome ................................................................................. 109
on 3.2. Analysis................................................................................................................ 112
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3.2.2. Meeting the Groom in articulo mortis .......................................................... 113
3.2.3 Fasting, illness, and pain as imitatio Christi .................................................. 118
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3.2.3.1. Saint Eugenia of Rome: Torture for the Kingdom of Heaven ................... 120
3.2.3.2 Illness and fasting: Saint Euphrosyne’s penitence for sanctity ................... 125
3.2.3.3 Saint Marina: imitating the Madonna with child? ...................................... 133
3.2.3.4. Penitents in their cells: Margareta Pelagius and Euphrosyne of Alexandria
................................................................................................................................. 141
With Christ ‘till My Remaining Days .......................................................................... 150
Conclusions 1 ............................................................................................................... 150
Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................... 153
Following the “Foot Print of the Mother of God” ...................................................... 153
4.1. Previous research on Marina the Monk’s iconography ....................................... 153
4.2. Marina the Monk’s cult in the East ...................................................................... 155
4.3. Ave Mari(n)a!- Saint Marina the Monk in Italy .................................................. 158
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4.3.1.3. Saint Marina the Monk- the later phase ..................................................... 168
4.3.2. The confusion elsewhere ................................................................................... 179
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4.3.2.1. Southern Italy-Polistena, Calabria ............................................................. 179
4.3.2.2. Marina the Monk in Ardea ......................................................................... 181
4.3.2.3. Marina the Monk in Camposanto .............................................................. 188
4.3.2.4. Novafeltria ................................................................................................. 192
4.4. Saint Marina the Monk in Spain and France ....................................................... 193
4.4.1. Spain ............................................................................................................. 193
4.4.2. France –Saint Marina a saint without a face ................................................. 198
Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................... 203
Close to the Mother of God: The Innocence and Martyrdom of Saint Eugenia of
Rome .............................................................................................................................. 203
5.1 Eugenia: Martyr of Rome in the Church of the Apostles ................................... 203
5.1.1 The early phase - outside Rome ..................................................................... 203
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5.3 Saint Eugenia in France: polymorphous images ................................................... 234
In Disguise for Heaven ................................................................................................ 245
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Conclusions 2 ............................................................................................................... 245
Epilogue ......................................................................................................................... 252
Bibliography................................................................................................................... 253
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 285
Maps ............................................................................................................................... 292
Image Catalog............................................................................................................... 304

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

Fig. 1.1: Saint Marina, 1446-1455, Lives of Saints, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek,
Cod. Germ. 6834, image 248.

Fig. 1.2: Saint Marina driving a cart, 1446-1447, Martinus Opifex, Legenda Aurea
Vienna, Austrian National Library, Cod. 326, folio 111r.

Fig. 1.3: Mary of Egypt, 1446-1447, Martinus Opifex, Legenda Aurea, Vienna, Austrian
National Library, Cod. 326, folio 82r.

Fig. 1.4: Saint Theodora of Alexandria, 1446-1447, Martinus Opifex, Legenda Aurea,
Vienna, Austrian National Library, Cod. 326, folio 126v.

Fig. 1.5: Saint Theodora of Alexandria tempted by the devil, 1348, Richard de
Montbaston, Legenda Aurea, Paris, National Library of France, Français 241, folio 158v.

Fig. 1.6: Saint Theodora entering the monastery, 1301-1400, Legenda Aurea, Paris,
National Library of France, Français 20330, folio 155r.

Fig. 1.7: Theodora of Alexandria and the child (background), temptation scene
(foreground), 1480-1490, Jacques de Besançon, Legenda Aurea, Paris, National Library
of France, Français 244, folio 195v.

Fig. 1.8: Pelagia the Penitent, 1446-1447, Master of the Klosterneuburg Missal, Legenda
Aurea, Vienna, Austrian National Library, Cod. 326, folio 213r.
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Fig. 1.11: Euphrosyne entering the monastery, 1463, François et collab., Speculum
historiale, Paris, National Library of France, Français 51, folio 202v.

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