Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 2575
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Kaske , R. E.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: Amnon and Thamar on a Misericord in a Hereford Cathedral [Although the majority of misericords appear to depict secular scenes, one misericord in the Hereford Cathedral may in fact depict a Biblical scene: the episode of Amnon and Thamar (here, Amnon makes advances toward his half-sister Thamar just before he rapes her). Rather than being too unsuitable or obscure for an appearance on a misericord, this episode of rape and incest was well known and often moralized by medieval commentators. Title note supplied by Feminae.].
  • Source: Traditio 45, ( 1990): Pages 1 - 10.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Journal Article
  • Subject (See Also): Architecture- Religious Architecture- Secular Art History- Sculpture Cathedrals Commentaries Hereford, Herefordshire, England- Cathedral Iconography Incest Misericords Rape in Art Thamar (Biblical Figure) in Art Women in Art
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: British Isles
  • Century: 14
  • Primary Evidence: Misericord ; Fourteenth century, Hereford Cathedral. A clothed woman and a barefooted man are seated, the man's right hand touching the woman's right hand.
  • Illustrations: Four Figures. Figure One Misericord, fourteenth century, Hereford Cathedral. A clothed woman and a barefooted man are seated, the man's right hand touching the woman's right hand. Figure Two Misericord, fourteenth century, Cologne Cathedral. A man and woman sit facing one ~~another, both fully clothed and shod. The man's right hand rests on the woman's left knee, and the woman's right hand touches the man's right shoulder. Figure Three "Amnon and Thamar," from an illustrated moralized Bible, thirteenth century. Manuscript Illumination depicts Amnon locking the door to a room and accosting Thamar. Figure Four "Amnon and Thamar," ~~from Queen Mary's Psalter, fourteenth century (British Library, MS Royal 2.B.VII, fol. 58r). Manuscript Illumination depicts Amnon lying in bed with his right arm around Thamar's neck as she kneels toward in to offer him food.
  • Table:
  • Abstract:
  • Related Resources:
  • Author's Affiliation: Cornell University
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 1990.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 03621529