Artistic Expressions of Political Hierarchies in Aragon–Catalonia at the Turn of the Thirteenth Century: Painting, Poetry, Power

CMRS Roundtable

Please note: this Roundtable has been rescheduled from the originally scheduled date of October 29, 2018.

In this talk, CMRS Affiliate Dr. Shannon Wearing explores the artistic and literary patronage of Alfonso II, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona (r. 1162–96), with particular emphasis on the Liber Feudorum Maior, a cartulary documenting the king’s territorial holdings and the hierarchical power relationships between the lords of Catalonia. The Liber is one of very few examples of its genre to be illuminated, and as such offers a rare glimpse of medieval courtly ceremonies. This manuscript is considered in relation to King Alfonso’s enthusiastic patronage and authorship of troubadour poetry, the lyrical imagery of which yields surprising parallels to the visual motifs found in the king’s cartulary—particularly the theme of feudal vassalage. Dr. Wearing looks at the ideological utility of these artistic expressions of power, and whether they might point to a cultural zeitgeist at the turn of the thirteenth century. No fee. Limited seating.