Representing and Performing Stigmata in Medieval and Renaissance Italy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Arts Languages and Cultures
Abstract
Tattooing and scarification have had a long history in diverse cultures. Marks on the body/skin have been used as signs of slavery or of initiation. My focus in this project is on stigmata (marks mirroring the wounds received by Christ on the cross) in the context of Christian religious belief in late Medieval and Renaissance Italy. I will critically explore the relationship of gender to stigmata and the ways in which stigmata were experienced, promoted and represented.
Saint Francis is the stigmatic most depicted in Italy between the thirteenth and the sixteenth centuries. The stigmata were received by Francis in 1224 and made known to the Franciscan Order by Brother Elias of Cortona after Francis's death in 1226. For a long time the Franciscans defended Saint Francis as the only saint to have received the stigmata. However, between Francis' death and the end of the nineteenth century over three hundred stigmatics had been recorded.
My project concentrates on:
(a.) a group of closely linked late 15th-/early 16th-century stigmatics: Osanna Andreasi (d. 1505), Stefania Quinzani (d. 1530), Lucia da Narni (1476-1544), & Caterina da Racconigi (1486-1547).
(b.) Dominican promotion of stigmatics belonging to their order, including: Saints Margaret of Hungary (d. 1270) and Catherine of Siena (d. 1380)
With the exception of Catherine of Siena, there has been no previous sustained research into the stigmata of these holy women. In particular, I will investigate ways in which stigmata were experienced, promoted and represented in comparison with those of Saint Francis. The research will therefore focus on related areas:
(a.) types of stigmata and the ways in which these stigmata were manifested visually
(b.) the ways in which stigmata were promoted through visual representations
(c.) the ways in which the experience of stigmatization was expressed through peformative means and how this was recorded
(d.) gender differences in the promotion of stigmata / stigmatization
Saint Francis is the stigmatic most depicted in Italy between the thirteenth and the sixteenth centuries. The stigmata were received by Francis in 1224 and made known to the Franciscan Order by Brother Elias of Cortona after Francis's death in 1226. For a long time the Franciscans defended Saint Francis as the only saint to have received the stigmata. However, between Francis' death and the end of the nineteenth century over three hundred stigmatics had been recorded.
My project concentrates on:
(a.) a group of closely linked late 15th-/early 16th-century stigmatics: Osanna Andreasi (d. 1505), Stefania Quinzani (d. 1530), Lucia da Narni (1476-1544), & Caterina da Racconigi (1486-1547).
(b.) Dominican promotion of stigmatics belonging to their order, including: Saints Margaret of Hungary (d. 1270) and Catherine of Siena (d. 1380)
With the exception of Catherine of Siena, there has been no previous sustained research into the stigmata of these holy women. In particular, I will investigate ways in which stigmata were experienced, promoted and represented in comparison with those of Saint Francis. The research will therefore focus on related areas:
(a.) types of stigmata and the ways in which these stigmata were manifested visually
(b.) the ways in which stigmata were promoted through visual representations
(c.) the ways in which the experience of stigmatization was expressed through peformative means and how this was recorded
(d.) gender differences in the promotion of stigmata / stigmatization
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Cordelia Warr (Principal Investigator) |