Description
Book SynopsisThis study analyzes late medieval paintings of personified death in Bohemia, arguing that Bohemian iconography was distinct from the body of macabre painting found in other Central European regions during the same period. The author focuses on a variety of images from late medieval Bohemia, examining how they express the imagination, devotion, and anxieties surrounding death in the Middle Ages.
Trade ReviewThis richly illustrated study provides comprehensive information about the cultural history of death, examining theological discourse and popular piety surrounding artistic visualizations such as the "personified death" in the Danse macabre. Daniela Rywiková's intriguing study introduces the reader to this central theme of humanity by drawing our attention to mural paintings and book illuminations of the Czech lands. Exciting to read and profoundly argued, Speculum Mortis: The Image of Death in Late Medieval Bohemian Painting offers important insight into the spirituality of medieval Bohemia. -- Maria Theisen, Austrian Academy of Sciences
This study offers fascinating new material for Danse Macabre scholars as well as interesting discussions and insights into medieval views on morality, death, and the macabre across Europe with numerous references to theology and the Bible. The book is richly illustrated and lucidly argued. The author has researched her topic widely. An impressive achievement. -- Sophie Oosterwijk, University of St Andrews
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Four Last Things: Dying and Death in the Middle Ages
Chapter 1: Imago mortis: Image of Death in Early and High Medieval Art
Chapter 2: Death of the Apocalypse
Chapter 3: Mors triumfans: Triumph of Death in the Broumov Charnel House in the Context of Period Funeral Liturgy and Theology
Chapter 4: Memento mori: The Legend of the Three Living and the Three Dead as a Polysemantic Presentation of Death in Late Medieval Bohemian Mural Painting
Chapter 5: Ars moriendi and Symmetry of Sin: The Krumlov Miscellanea as a Vademecum of Virtuous Life, Perfect Penance, and the Good Death
Chapter 6: Danse macabre: Two Prague Dances of Death as a Critique of the Sinful World
