Medieval Iconography: A Research Guide (review)

222 Reviews formidable challenge. In doing so, it also exemplifies its o w n theory of cultural manipulation or appropriation: 'new configurations of preexisting elements', this time with an American accent. Antonina Harbus Department ofEnglish University ofSydney Friedman, John B. and Jessica M. Wegman, Medieval Iconography: A Research Guide (Garland Medieval Bibliographies 20), N e w York and London, Garland, 1998; board; pp.xxiv, 437; R.R.P. US$95.00. This is an intriguing book. It has a number of facets which I ha not expected to find and which make it both more and less practical than one might wish. It is a reference work which provides a bibliography of studies on the intellectual and historical background of medieval artistic and literary imagery, and is specifically designed to meet the needs of medieval scholars starting from advanced undergraduate. The compilers make clear that the scope of the topics covered and the references provided is not exhaustive. The guide is meant simply to be treated as a starting point and it is expected that the interested scholar will treat the references as such, using the bibliographies contained within the listed works for more extended research. The book incorporates references to studies of both popular and learned cultures. In order to appreciate the rich symbolism of medieval art and literature we must try to understand or recover some aspects of the medieval imagination. This is the guiding spirit of the present work. The compilers make no claim to completeness and indeed they make clear in their Introduction that it is an idiosyncratic collection of references which has been the fruit of m a n y years of scholarship. Reviews 223 Following a brief Introduction, the work is divided into two parts. Part One consists of what the compilers call 'tools of investigation', and Part T w o is devoted to 'themes'. Chapter One in Part One covers such broad categories as collection catalogues, theoretical works, and studies of genres which pertain to visual images, while Chapter T w o relates to studies of non-visual works such as encyclopaedias and treatises. Part T w o gathers together writings on the constructions and understandings of people and ideas revealed through the imagery of the art and literature of the middle ages. The chapter headings in this part are 'Learned Imagery', "The Christian Tradition', 'The Natural World', and 'Medieval Daily Life'. This is the only guidance given in the book's Contents and the researcher is left from this point to browse through the book in order to locate the many useful resources. One should not expect to find any references to the iconography one associates with particular saints. Rather, in Chapter Four, 'The Christian Tradition', there is a section under 'Worship and Theology by Concept' for 'Saints' where articles and books on a small number of saints are listed. Mary Magdalen and the Virgin Mary are not covered under 'Saints' but are found in the same chapter under 'New Testament Figures and Images'. There is also a section headed 'Saints with Animal Attributes' to be found in "The Natural World—Animals in General'. These intricacies mean that the book could not be considered a quick reference tool. Rather i t is a work to be accessed with time and patience. The book lists a wonderful array of secondary works which analyse medieval imagery for the purposes of modern scholarship, mostly in English, with some also in German, Italian and French. However, the references are almost exclusively limited to secondary works. Editions of primary texts which might elucidate contemporary understandings of either the symbolism or the 224 Reviews inherent nature of iconographic images are rarely listed. One might expect to find at least one edition of Isidore's Etymologiae in a wor which seeks to increase our understanding of medieval ideas on topics such as 'Daily Life'. The book has one or two shortcomings which become l e s s obstructive with experience of the work. One would need to know where to look for any particular symbol or image as these are embedded within headings which do not immediately suggest their contents. The section on 'Armour and Weapons' is included under...