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U UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date: I, , hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in It is entitled: Student Signature: This work and its defense approved by: Committee Chair: Approval of the electronic document: I have reviewed the Thesis/Dissertation in its final electronic format and certify that it is an accurate copy of the document reviewed and approved by the committee. Committee Chair signature: Sex, Chastity, and Political Power in Medieval and Early Renaissance Representations of the Ermine A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Art History of the School of Art of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning by Morgan B. Cobb B.A., Centre College, Danville, KY, 2007 Committee Chair: Dr. Diane Mankin Abstract Since the early Roman Empire, the weasel, a small carnivorous mammal indigenous to Europe, has been an element of Western oral, literary and visual tradition. Classical writers were fascinated with the weasel, and recorded its behaviors in a way that lent the animal supernatural qualities, which were acknowledged throughout the Middle Ages and through the early Renaissance. As a result, the image of one weasel in particular, the ermine, was associated with two specific virtues: female chastity and male honor. This iconography was adopted by rulers who illustrated it in illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, paintings and sculpture. This thesis will examine how these rulers used ermine iconography as part of their fabricated identity to construct a political reality that would appeal to the morality of their subjects, who would then submit the monarchy’s absolute control. - ii - Acknowledgements I have been blessed to have around me nurturing and supportive family and friends, who have been encouraging throughout this entire endeavor. My deepest appreciation goes to my wonderful parents to whom I forever owe my love. They have blessed me with the opportunity to further my education and grow as a young, but eager, scholar. Fortunately, I have been surrounded by distinguished intellectuals who have been as fabulous instructors and mentors to me. My dearest thanks to my undergraduate advisor and role model, Dr. William R. Levin from Centre College, for providing me with a solid foundation in the history of art, and to my graduate advisor, mentor, and friend, Dr. Diane Mankin, for all of her help and energy. I would also like to thank Dr.Teresa Pac and Dr. Kristi Nelson for the constructive criticism they offered while serving on my committee. Finally, I owe thanks to the best roommate I have ever had, my pet ferret Maximus, for providing countless hours of entertainment and companionship during this writing process, which he ultimately inspired. - iii - Table of Contents List of Illustrations Introduction 4 Chapter One: An Image Rooted in Legend and Lore 7 Chapter Two: Chastity, Nationalism, and the Ermine in Brittany 17 Chapter Three: Petrarch’s Laura and the Ermine Banner 28 Chapter Four: The Italian Wars and the Transmission of an Image 37 Chapter Five: The Duplicity of Ermine Imagery in Italy 46 Conclusion 63 Illustrations 65 Appendix 85 Bibliography 88 Index of Illustrations Figure 1a: Gaston Phoebus, Livre de la Chasse MS M.1044 fol. 82r, 1387-1392, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. Figure 1b: Gaston Phoebus, Livre de la Chasse MS. 616 fol. 92, 1387-1392, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Figure 2: Cat and Weasel Fight Snakes, Choir Stall detail from the Poitiers Cathedral, 1235-1257, Poitier, France. Figure 3: Parisian, Philistine Plague of Mice, Old Testament Miniatures, MS M.638 fol. 21v, 1250, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. Figure 4: Conception and Birth of the Weasel, Queen Mary Psalter, Royal MS 2 B. vii, fol. 112v., 1310-1320, British Royal Library, London. Figure 5: Jean Bourdichon (1457-1521), “Anne of Brittany with St. Anne, St. Ursula and St. Helen,” miniature, Grande Heures of Anne of Brittany, c. 1503-1508. Ms lat 9474 f. 3v. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France. Figure 6: English, “St. Ursula,” miniature, Heller Hours, 1440-1460, MS UCB 150 f. 258v. Bancroft Library, Berkeley, CA. Figure 7: Master of Guillebert de Metz, “Martyrdom of St. Ursula,” Book of Hours, Flanders, 1425-1450, MS Lewis EM 005:19, p. 456, no. V.19, 20. Free Library of Philidelphia, Philidelphia, PA. Figure 8: Signet seal of John IV with banderole “A ma vie,” 1385-1387, wax, 14mm, Bibliotheques Municipales, Nantes, MS. 1686 no. 1, May 30 1381. Figure 9: Shield of Anne of Brittany, sometime before 1491. Figure 10a: Jean Perreal (c. 1450-1460-c. 1530), “Coat of Arms of Anne of Brittany,” Figure 10b: Opening Folio of Pierre Choque’s Account of Anne of Brittany’s Funeral, with Dedication to Louise de Savoie. MS. 5094, fol. 1∨. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Figure 11: Gold Reliquary of Anne of Brittany’s Heart, 1514, gold metalwork, Dobree Museum, Nantes, France. Figure 12: Luca Signorelli (1440/50-1523), The Triumph of Chastity: Love Disarmed and Bound, 1509, Fresco on canvas,125.7 x 133.4 cm, National Gallery, London. - 2 - Figure 13: The Trimph of Death over Chastity Flemish, 1507-1510, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Figure 14: Three Fates Triumphing over Chastity Flemish, early 1500s, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Figure 15: Nicolas Leclerc and Jean de Saint Priest, Medals of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, 1499, Bronze, 114.5mm, Coin Archives, LLC, http://coinarchives.com. Accessed 5/9/09. Figure 16a: Vittore Carpaccio, Young Knight in a Landscape, 1510, oil on canvas, 218.5 x 152.2 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Figure 16b: Detail, ermine with cartellino, Vittore Carpaccio, Young Knight in a Landscape, 1510, oil on canvas, 218.5 x 152.2 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Figure 17a: Vittore Carpaccio. Life of St. Jerome: Vision of St. Augustine. 1502-04. Canvas. 141 x 211 cm. Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Venice, Italy. Figure 17b: Detail, dog. Vittore Carpaccio. Life of St. Jerome: Vision of St. Augustine. 1502-04. Canvas. 141 x 211 cm. Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Venice, Italy. Figure 18: Paolo Giovio, Device of Ferdinand I of Naples, Dialogo dell’Imprese, 1555. Figure 19: Guido Mazzoni, Bust of Alfonso II of Naples, 1490s, bronze, Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples. Figure 20: Joos van Wassenhove, Double Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro and hisson, Guidobaldo, 1475, Oil on panel, 134.5 x 75.5 cm, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino. Figure 21a: Gubbio Studiolo, completed in 1476, Ducal Palace of Urbino. Figure 21b: Detail, ermine, Gubbio Studiolo, completed in 1476, Ducal Palace of Urbino. Figure 22a: Leonardo da Vinci, Lady with an Ermine, 1489, Oil on Canvas, Czartoryski Collection, Cracow. Figure 22b: Leonardo da Vinci, The Ermine as a Symbol of Purity, 1494, Diameter 9.1 cm, Pen and ink. Private Collection, London Figure 23: Andrea Alciati, Bonis auspicus incipiendum,1552, Published in Henry Green, Andrea Alciati and his Book of Emblems. (New York: Burt Franklin, 1872), 14. - 3 - INTRODUCTION All members of the Mustelidae family can be referred to as a weasel. Ferrets, stoats, minks, polecats, and ermine are all species of weasels. These small mammals are long, slender burrowing carnivores that were domesticated in the Mediterranean region about 2,500 years ago for hunting and rodent control. There is a long literary and artistic tradition of the close relationship between weasels and humans throughout history. The poet Aesop (620-560 B.C.) cast the weasel as a cunning, artful character in his fables.1 Natural histories written by both Aristotle,2 and later Pliny,3 also affirm that even in ancient times, weasels lived among humans and contributed to their household and lifestyle. They were used to eradicate disease-carrying rodents and venomous snakes and to help hunters trap rabbits; thus, they were considered beneficial creatures. This close connection between weasels and humans has existed since their domestication. However, the nature of the weasel-human relationship has evolved to accommodate the ever-changing societies in which it exists. Weasels are now understood as signals of deceit or betrayal. For example, in the book UnSpun, Kathleen Jamieson describes the function of “weasel words”: “Weasel words suck the meaning out of a phrase or sentence, the way that weasels supposedly suck the contents out of an egg, leaving only a hollow shell.”4 Thus, the true meaning of the message conveyed by ‘weasel words’ is masked by vague language. Likewise, weasels of the recent past have been portrayed in magazines and album artwork as vicious, as in the 1970 Mothers of 1 In Aesop’s fables, “The Mice and the Weasels” and “The Bat and the Weasels,” the weasel is a hunter of vermin and pests. 2 Aristotle, Historia Animalium VI, 37. The weasel is a brave fighter and hunter of snakes. 3 Pliny, Natural History XXIX. The weasel is portrayed as a good means of domestic pest control. 4 Kathleen H. Jamieson, UnSpun (New York: Random House, 2007), 49. - 4 - Invention album cover, “Weasels Ripped My Flesh.” Frank Zappa selected the design based on a men’s magazine published in 1956 that showed a man outnumbered and attacked by violent weasels (see appendix).5 Scholars have neglected to explore how this notion of the weasel came to be. Scholars of Renaissance briefly mention its associations with virtue, but fail to elaborate on how this association developed. To date, no comprehensive study of this particular animal’s imagery has been completed. Thus, an examination of the depictions of weasels and their relationship with humans in historical context sheds light on the changes in this relationship, and gives insight into the human condition, way of life, and the human perception of the self.