Reading Romances: The Production and Reception of French Gothic Ivories in the Context of Late Medieval Literary Practices

"French Gothic secular ivories from the fourteenth century have carved on their external sides scenes from medieval imaginative literature (romances of Arthur etc.), and are one of the few media displaying such pictures to survive from the period. Thus they are crucial to an understanding of medieval secular art. Research on these ivories has focused on workshop origin, artistic style, date, and iconography with little reference to cultural usage and significance. In my dissertation I demonstrate that the visual imagery of these ivories is the unique creation of its makers who through manipulation of carving technique, artistic style, narrative structure, and spatial arrangement of scenes generated a pictorial language unequaled in medieval art. Moreover, I will argue that the caskets's visual cycles, rather than being derived from manuscripts, as previous scholars have claimed, are ""texts"" in their own right with their own meanings. Narratology and semiotics with a grounding in a knowledge of workshop practices will enable me to define this language. Furthermore, I shall situate the works in their original context, and consider the caskets's social function, audience and audience's ability to generate meanings from the works."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art History

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Shoppe, Paula Mae

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hedeman, Anne D.

• Literature, Medieval

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9971192

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87390