CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2007
| Author | Potuckova, Kristina |
|---|---|
| Title | Virginity, Sanctity, and Image: The Virgines Capitales in Upper Hungarian Altarpieces of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries |
| Summary | The virgin martyrs St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Margaret of Antioch, St. Barbara and St. Dorothea, referred to with the term virgines capitales, were a frequent subject of visual representation on the altarpieces of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Upper Hungary. Virginity, one of the crucial elements of both their sanctity and the narratives of their vitae, has received much scholarly attention recently as a problematic concept, encompassing issues of the body and its integrity as well as its implications for the spiritual state of a woman. The iconography of the Upper Hungarian altarpieces is examined to analyze the extent and possible appeal of the cult of virgines capitales and the virgin martyrs’ position among other types of female sanctity, with a focus on female audience. The study argues that the virginity of these saints could have represented a set of role models for its female audience and retained the status of one of the ideals of femininity in the urban and village communities of late medieval Upper Hungary. |
| Supervisor | Jaritz, Gerhard; Szakacs, Bela Zsolt |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2007/potuckova_kristina.pdf |
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