Description
Book SynopsisThe idea of the body as a mirror of the soul has fascinated mankind throughout history. Being able to see through an individual, and drawing conclusions on their character solely based on a selection of external features, is the subject of physiognomy, and has a long tradition running well into recent times. However, the pre-modern, especially medieval background of this discipline has remained underexplored. The selected case studies in this volume each contribute to a better understanding of the history of physiognomy from antiquity to the Renaissance, and offer discussions on unedited treatises and on the application, development, and reception of this field of knowledge, as well as on visual sources inspired by physiognomic theory. Contributors: Eniko Bekes (Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Joel Biard (University of Tours), Lisa Devriese (KU Leuven), Maria Fernanda Ferrini (University of Macerata), Christophe Grellard (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes), Luis Campos Ribeiro (University of Lisbon), Maria Michela Sassi (University of Pisa), Oleg Voskoboynikov (Higher School of Economics Moscow), Steven J. Williams (New Mexico Highlands University), Joseph Ziegler (University of Haifa), Gabriella Zuccolin (University of Pavia)
Trade ReviewThis careful and deeply researched volume absolutely highlights the richness of early physiognomic thought while offering methodological interventions around how to navigate limited sources. It is a robust chronological framing that combines historical, textual, and literary analysis, visual culture, anthropology, and translation studies to anchor medieval and Renaissance physiognomy both in antiquity and modern discourse. The book emerged from a conference; such an approach is often organized more around topic than theme and argument. The editor does an excellent job framing the texts in a way that is both coherent and cross-cutting, while at the same time allowing the chapters to stand alone as scholarly and pedagogical interventions, offering methodological and historical insights. Clear and cogent, this volume is accessible while remaining robust and rich; scholars will be taking up its provocations for many years to come.
Sharrona Pearl, Isis, Volume 114, Number 1, March 2023 https://doi.org/10.1086/723688
Assurément, le lecteur reste fasciné par les très nombreux aspects des cultures antique, médiévale et moderne que le sujet permet d’aborder : les contributions, tout en étant d’un niveau scientifique très élevé, restent tout à fait abordables. La force de ce recueil est d’offrir une approche chronologique qui facilite une compréhension globale des questionnements sur la physiognomonie. En effet, les AA. parviennent bien à mettre en avant tout ce que son étude peut offrir et réussissent conjointement à livrer une excellente introduction interdisciplinaire et transpériodique. Ninon Dubourg, Revue d'Histoire ecclésiastique, vol. 117/3-4, 2022
Table of ContentsIllustrations Acknowledgements
Lisa Devriese Physiognomy from Antiquity to the Renaissance : an Introduction
Maria Michela Sassi The Beginnings of Physiognomy in Ancient Greece
Maria Fernanda Ferrini Oἰνωποί/Aἰγωποί: Manuscript Tradition and Conjecture
Enikő Békés The Physiognomy of Apostle Paul: Between Texts and Images
Steven J. Williams Some Observations on the Scholarly Reception of Physiognomy in the Thirteenth and Early Fourteenth Century: Success, and the Limits of Success
Lisa Devriese First Medieval Attestations of the Physiognomonica
Oleg Voskoboynikov Michael Scotus’ Physiognomy: Notes on Text and Context
Joël Biard and Christophe Grellard La place des Questiones circa librum de physionomia dans le système philosophique de Jean Buridan
Gabriella Zuccolin Towards a Critical Edition of Michele Savonarola’s Speculum Physionomie
Joseph Ziegler and Luís Campos Ribeiro Astral Physiognomy in the Fifteenth Century : the Case of the Illuminated Opening Folio of Rolandus Scriptoris’ Reductorium Phisonomie
Notes on Contributors Index codicum manu scriptorum Index nominum
