The Proverbial Bald-Faced Liar: A Motive Theme in the Beatus of Saint-Sever

Authors

Peter Scott Brown, University of North FloridaFollow

Abstract

The depiction of bald beard-pullers fighting over a woman in the celebrated Beatus of Saint-Sever has generated much debate concerning the development of profane subjects in medieval art and the iconographic theme of beard-pulling. The preceding discussion has missed the metaphoric significance of the image and its inscriptions as expressions of a medieval proverb on “bald-faced” lying. Recognition of the proverb reveals the image’s integral relationship to the text of Beatus’s Commentary on Apocalypse and to the iconographic program of the Saint-Sever manuscript, in which a larger body of profane imagery bearing on concepts of deception forms a through-line in the manuscript’s decoration. The bald-faced liar and other shameless deceivers, including apes, foxes, and wolves, constitute a motive theme in the Beatus of Saint-Sever that reflects an aspect of its purpose and use in relation to sworn speech in legal and judicial contexts that are documented in the manuscript itself.

Recommended Citation

Brown, Peter Scott (2024) "The Proverbial Bald-Faced Liar: A Motive Theme in the Beatus of Saint-Sever," Studies in Iconography: Vol. 45, Article 1.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/studies_in_iconography/vol45/iss1/1