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.
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.