Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index



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  • Title: Ladder of Virtue
  • Creator:
  • Description: In this image from the Speculum virginum, nuns climb a ladder towards Christ while a pagan, in the guise of an Ethiopian, menaces them with swords. One nun triumphantly pulls the pagan’s hair and stands on a sword. At the base of the ladder two nuns plunge cross-topped standards into the throat of a dragon who confronts them. Elements in this picture recall earlier stories including the vision of Saint Perpetua and the poem concerning the harrowing of Hell. The Speculum virginum text was cast in the form of a dialog between the teacher Peregrinus and his disciple, the nun Theodora. The author drew on ideas of reform that were current in twelfth century Germany including the question of women’s roles in monastic religious life. The illustrations of the Speculum were integral to the book’s message, and the author directed his readers’ attention to images on particular pages for greater clarity.
  • Source: British Library
  • Rights: Public Domain
  • Subject (See Also): Allegory Demons Devil Ladder of Virtue (Artistic Motif) Monasticism Speculum Virginum, Latin Handbook for Nuns Women in Religion
  • Geographic Area: Germany
  • Century: 12
  • Date: 1140-1145
  • Related Work: See nine other pages from the manuscript on the British Library website: http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=7952&CollID=20&NStart=44
  • Current Location: London, British Library, MS Arundel 44, 93v
  • Original Location: Eberbach, Germany
  • Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Manuscript Illuminations
  • Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Vellum (parchment); Paint
  • Donor:
  • Height/Width/Length(cm): 28 cm/18.5 cm/
  • Inscription:
  • Related Resources: Constant J. Mews, ed. Listen, Daughter: The Speculum Virginum and the Formation of Religious Women in the Middle Ages. Palgrave, 2001.