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Visual poetics of the Cluny hemicycle capital inscriptions

2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 20; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/02666286.2004.10444012

1943-2178

Kirk Ambrose,

Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books

Abstract The celebrated hemicycle capitals from the abbey church of Cluny III feature twelve leonine hexameters, albeit sometimes imperfect in meter, that in no case identify their accompanying carved figures. These inscriptions are found on three of the eight four-sided capitals to survive from the choir. Each verse juxtaposes a human figure, either in a surrounding mandorla or in a horizontal band that bisects the capital basket, thereby establishing a quaternity. On two of the capitals verses describe the eight modes of Gregorian chant and on the other inscriptions refer to spring, summer, and two aspects of Prudence. While the theme of sacred music has widely been regarded as complementary to the secular musicians that adorn the first two capitals, the inscriptions on the ‘Prudence’ capital have generally been rejected because they do not seem to correspond to the identities of the accompanying female figures. Discoordinations between text and image have been universally accepted by scholars in two instances, but construed as problematic in the third.