Ars: časopis Ústavu Dejín Umenia Slovenskej Akadémie Vied (44.2011)

Louis of Toulouse. Previous literatuře misunderstood
both, ignoring the bed in the background. This motif
makes it clear, for example, that St. Louis is not Mess-
ing crusaders but rather rising from his sickbed so he
can humbly present himself before the cross [Fig. 1] A
The bed generally symbolizes the sleeping cham-
ber, but its Function was not at all a place of rest but
quite the contrary: the mothers of Dominie and
Alexis lie on the hoor while their beds remain empty
in the background [Fig. 2].'" In other cases, the bed
was the location of asceticism: Thomas Becket kept
his half-hnished hair shirt hidden under his bed [Fig.
3],'" while Dominie wMpped Mmself three times a
night.' Although the (AAMdoes not describe
the location of Dominic's self-mortihcation, it was
naturally the bedroom, a room suitable for the saint
to carry out Ms ascetic prachces in secret from others
— or for miracles meant only for him to occur. The
dream was a natural agent of tMs, although the visions
depicted in the legendary did not come expressly in
the form of a dream. When an angel informs Giles
of his coming death, the painter naturally chooses
the bedroom as the setting, although the legend of-
fers no information about the circumstancesA St.
Gregory the Great also visits his miserly successor in
his bedroom, and on several occasions the bedroom
is the setting for scenes of temptationA The motif
of the bed thus sigmfies a location that is typically
associated with certain situations.
Now we can ask from what visual tools were the
image types constructed? One group of tools was
used to dehne the characters through the use of
personal attributes such as a shell for St. [acnes and
the Stigmata for St. Francis or through more general
means such as dress (the papal miter or chasuble, the

" Vat. Lat. 8541, fol. 95v; LEVÁRDY, F. (ed.):
L^MAtivw. Budapest 1973, Ag. 156 and fol. 92r, Ag. 151.
" Vat. Lat. 8541, fol. 90v; LEVÁRDY 1973 (see m note 14),
Ag. 144 and fol. 96r, Ag. 157.
Obviously, the bedroom is where he sewed when he had
Ame, and thus the Virgin Mary also Anishes shtching it for
him there. - Vat. Lat. 8541, fol. 71v; LEVÁRDY 1973 (see
in note 14), Ag. 114.
^ Morgan Library, M.360.26; LEVÁRDY 1973 (see m note 14),
Ag. 145.


7. M. Lwnň tße BiFřp y*Mniši.
Rysr<?.' LLLMRDY /A77 přř A? /4g

royal crown and robe, or the soldier's helmet, armor
or sliield^°), furMshings associated with rank (thrones
of judges or rulers and the associated curtain) and
implements (the book frequently found in the hands
of clerics). These objects reveal the status of the
characters. Another group of visual éléments con-
sists of further details of the surroundings (prison,
church, baptismal font, a set table, and so on). These
^ Vat. Lat. 8541, fol. 95v; LEVÁRDY 1973 (see in note 14),
Ag. 156.
Morgan Library, M.360.25; LEVÁRDY 1973 (see in note 14),
Ag.117.
But only very rarely weapons of attack; apparently, this is
not an important attribute of soldiers. We generally only see
swords when they are in use, most often during execution
scenes, since soldiers played the rôle of execuAoners.

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