Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 8154
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Gill , Miriam.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: Female Piety and Impiety: Selected Images of Women in Wall Paintings in England After 1300 [The author examines paintings on three themes: Saint Anne teaching the Virgin to read, the warning to gossips, and the seven corporal works of mercy; the three mural subjects all comment on desirable female behavior].
  • Source: Gender and Holiness: Men, Women, and Saints in Late Medieval Europe.  Edited by Samantha J. E. Riches and Sarah Salih.  Routledge, 2002.  Pages 101 - 120.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Essay
  • Subject (See Also): Art History- Painting Charity Iconography Mary, Virgin, Saint in Art Saint Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read (Artistic Motif) Seven Corporal Works of Mercy (Artistic Motif) Wall Paintings Warning to Gossips (Artistic Motif) Women in Art
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: British Isles
  • Century: 14- 15
  • Primary Evidence:
  • Illustrations:
  • Table: Six figures. Figure One "Saint Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read," circa 1340, painting in tomb recess above effigy of Sir Thomas de la Mare (Northmoor, Oxfordshire). The painting is now severely abraded. The illustrations are not photographs of the wall painting, but a watercolor by E. T. Long and a drawing by the author. Figure Two "Saint Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read," (Corby Glen, Lincolnshire, north wall of north aisle). This painting was probably financed by Margery de Crioll (d. 1319). The author also includes a drawing. Figure Three "The Warning to Gossips," with demons farting or defecating, mid-fourteenth century (Eaton, Norfolk, north wall of nave above north door). Also included is a drawing by the author. Figure Four Watercolor of "The Warning to Gossips," with additional figure of solitary 'good woman,' circa 1340-1360 (Stokesby, Norfolk, north wall of nave, west of north door). The painting is no longer visible. Figure Five Detail of Visiting the prisoner from "The Seven Works of Mercy," mid-fourteenth century (Potter Heigham, Norfolk, south wall of south nave aisle). Figure Six Engraving of "The Seven Works of Mercy," circa 1390-1410 (Ruabon, Clwyd, south wall of south nave aisle).
  • Abstract:
  • Related Resources: Gill, in her article "Female Piety and Impiety: Selected Images of Women in Wall Paintings in England after 1300," looks at images of women in three motifs commonly found in parish wall paintings. They are: teaching the virgin to read, warning to gossips,
  • Author's Affiliation: University of Leicester
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 2002.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 0415258219