DOI issue:
Nr. 4
DOI article:Recenzje
DOI article:Sarnecka, Zuzanna: "Madonnas and Miracles": Mounting a Late Medieval and Early Modern Exhibition at the University of Cambridge
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71009#0830
814
Zuzanna Sarnecka
9. View of the section focused on the monogram of Christ. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
© The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
preached that the trigram 'IHS', which stood for le-
sus Hominum Salvator, was the most powerful pro-
tection against evil.12 The numerous surviving jars,
chests and other containers inscribed with these let-
ters point to the widespread belief in this kind of pro-
tection for the household (il. 9).
Thus, prayer encompassed a wide range of prac-
tices - touching a rosary or a relic, reading religious
texts, meditating upon an image, calling for interces-
sion, the possession of Agnus Dei disc or the so-
called brevi, which were scraps of paper with pious
texts. All these practices made use of material ob-
jects, while the next room in the exhibition ad-
dressed the significance of holy pilgrimages to the
most important local shrines in order to create a ma-
terial trace of one's devotion or to bring back a pious
souvenir, such as a pilgrim badge or a medallion with
the Virgin of Loreto. The former practice established
a very important type of religious artefact, namely a
votive tablet. Towards the end of the exhibition
twenty seven votive tablets were displayed in three
groupings. This reflected the three geographical re-
gions from which shrines they were extracted (il.
10): Madonna dei Miracoli in Lonigo (Veneto terra-
12 Piero BARGELLINI, San Bernardino da Siena, Siena,
Cantagalli, 2012, pp. 131-138.
13 Mary LAVEN, "Recording Miracles in Renaissance Ita-
ly", Oxford Journals Past and Present, 230, 2016,
ferma), Basilica of San Nicola in Tolentino
(Marche) and Madonna dell'Arco (Naples). These
votive tablets have never been loaned before and
were certainly one of the highlights of the show.
They provided an invaluable account of the lives of
ordinary people, through their more or less accurate
portrayal of accidents, illnesses and misfortunes.
These cheap wooden panels, painted in tempera,
were expressions of gratitude for the divine inter-
vention and they often depicted a domestic setting,
including family praying in moments of crisis to the
Virgin or Saint Nicola of Tolentino.13
The final section of the exhibition called Reform
and Renewal addressed different ways, in which
Church attempted to regulate domestic religious life,
and to combat illicit practices that were taking place
behind closed doors. At the same time, it nurtured
new modes of devotion that appealed to all the sens-
es and affected the emotions. Ideas about proper re-
ligious practices changed over the course of the Ren-
aissance, and were hotly debated. The Reformation
resulted in vigorous defences of the use of images in
devotion, but also renewed concern about heretic
and immoral behaviour. It was primarily through
pp. 191-292; - Jane GARNETT, Gervase ROSSER, Spec-
tacular Miracles: Transforming Images in Italy from the
Renaissance to the Present, London, Reaktion Books Ltd,
2013.
Zuzanna Sarnecka
9. View of the section focused on the monogram of Christ. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
© The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
preached that the trigram 'IHS', which stood for le-
sus Hominum Salvator, was the most powerful pro-
tection against evil.12 The numerous surviving jars,
chests and other containers inscribed with these let-
ters point to the widespread belief in this kind of pro-
tection for the household (il. 9).
Thus, prayer encompassed a wide range of prac-
tices - touching a rosary or a relic, reading religious
texts, meditating upon an image, calling for interces-
sion, the possession of Agnus Dei disc or the so-
called brevi, which were scraps of paper with pious
texts. All these practices made use of material ob-
jects, while the next room in the exhibition ad-
dressed the significance of holy pilgrimages to the
most important local shrines in order to create a ma-
terial trace of one's devotion or to bring back a pious
souvenir, such as a pilgrim badge or a medallion with
the Virgin of Loreto. The former practice established
a very important type of religious artefact, namely a
votive tablet. Towards the end of the exhibition
twenty seven votive tablets were displayed in three
groupings. This reflected the three geographical re-
gions from which shrines they were extracted (il.
10): Madonna dei Miracoli in Lonigo (Veneto terra-
12 Piero BARGELLINI, San Bernardino da Siena, Siena,
Cantagalli, 2012, pp. 131-138.
13 Mary LAVEN, "Recording Miracles in Renaissance Ita-
ly", Oxford Journals Past and Present, 230, 2016,
ferma), Basilica of San Nicola in Tolentino
(Marche) and Madonna dell'Arco (Naples). These
votive tablets have never been loaned before and
were certainly one of the highlights of the show.
They provided an invaluable account of the lives of
ordinary people, through their more or less accurate
portrayal of accidents, illnesses and misfortunes.
These cheap wooden panels, painted in tempera,
were expressions of gratitude for the divine inter-
vention and they often depicted a domestic setting,
including family praying in moments of crisis to the
Virgin or Saint Nicola of Tolentino.13
The final section of the exhibition called Reform
and Renewal addressed different ways, in which
Church attempted to regulate domestic religious life,
and to combat illicit practices that were taking place
behind closed doors. At the same time, it nurtured
new modes of devotion that appealed to all the sens-
es and affected the emotions. Ideas about proper re-
ligious practices changed over the course of the Ren-
aissance, and were hotly debated. The Reformation
resulted in vigorous defences of the use of images in
devotion, but also renewed concern about heretic
and immoral behaviour. It was primarily through
pp. 191-292; - Jane GARNETT, Gervase ROSSER, Spec-
tacular Miracles: Transforming Images in Italy from the
Renaissance to the Present, London, Reaktion Books Ltd,
2013.