Soaring across Culture: Eagles in Medieval Art, Literature, Coins, and Seals

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Susan Solway

Organizer Affiliation

DePaul Univ.

Presider Name

Susan Solway

Paper Title 1

The Hyperbolic Eagle: Medieval Literature's Debt

Presenter 1 Name

Lesley Kordecki

Presenter 1 Affiliation

DePaul Univ.

Paper Title 2

Eagle Capitals in the Dome of the Rock

Presenter 2 Name

Lawrence Nees

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Delaware

Paper Title 3

Latin Eagle, Vernacular Poetics: Tradition and Innovation in The House of Fame

Presenter 3 Name

Anson Andrews

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe

Start Date

13-5-2016 10:00 AM

Session Location

Schneider 1335

Description

For centuries eagles have reigned as cultural icons and have been the subject of representation in art, literature, and material culture, especially coins and seals. If the lion is the king of beasts, surely the eagle is the king of birds, one associated with the belief in rebirth and renewal, victory and imperial grandeur, immortality and ascension, but also with darker passions.

Associated with the Gods since antiquity, the Roman eagle (Aquila) was the bird and very symbol of Jupiter. It became closely associated with the Roman Empire and served as an insignia of emperors. Imperial eagle iconography continued throughout the Middle Ages and frequently found expression in Christian iconography, as well as in numismatic and sigillographic art.

This session investigates some of the many ways that eagles have been visualized in medieval art, including on the miniature art forms of coins and seals, and written about in medieval literature.

Intentionally broad in its focus and designed to transcend national and cultural boundaries, this session seeks papers from late antiquity through the 15th century that consider any aspect of this topic and/or shift the interpretive emphasis of what is conventionally thought of as medieval art, from aesthetic or formalist toward function, agency, presentation and reception. Papers extending disciplinary boundaries and utilizing interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies are particularly welcome.

Susan Solway

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May 13th, 10:00 AM

Soaring across Culture: Eagles in Medieval Art, Literature, Coins, and Seals

Schneider 1335

For centuries eagles have reigned as cultural icons and have been the subject of representation in art, literature, and material culture, especially coins and seals. If the lion is the king of beasts, surely the eagle is the king of birds, one associated with the belief in rebirth and renewal, victory and imperial grandeur, immortality and ascension, but also with darker passions.

Associated with the Gods since antiquity, the Roman eagle (Aquila) was the bird and very symbol of Jupiter. It became closely associated with the Roman Empire and served as an insignia of emperors. Imperial eagle iconography continued throughout the Middle Ages and frequently found expression in Christian iconography, as well as in numismatic and sigillographic art.

This session investigates some of the many ways that eagles have been visualized in medieval art, including on the miniature art forms of coins and seals, and written about in medieval literature.

Intentionally broad in its focus and designed to transcend national and cultural boundaries, this session seeks papers from late antiquity through the 15th century that consider any aspect of this topic and/or shift the interpretive emphasis of what is conventionally thought of as medieval art, from aesthetic or formalist toward function, agency, presentation and reception. Papers extending disciplinary boundaries and utilizing interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies are particularly welcome.

Susan Solway