In Byz iconography, she is usually shown in a very ornate Byzantine robe and crowned, much bejeweled, holding a cross (the Orthodox symbol of martyrdom). The wheel/sword is not often shown in classic icons. Her hair is usually "properly" <G> covered (you'll see very very little hair on Byz female saints), though she often wears it in a crispine-type net instead of under a veil.
Liadain THL Liadain ni Mhordha OFO "You get a wonderful view from the point of no return..." wildernesse, the Outlands http://practical-blackwork.blogspot.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/liadains_fancies -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robin Netherton Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2008 2:35 PM To: Historical Costume Subject: Re: [h-cost] Odd outfit Joan Mielke wrote: > Robin wrote "...visually to evoke the recognizable and distinctive lines of > the sideless surcote, which was tightly associated with Catherine's > iconographic representation at that time. ...the image has the visual cues > that signal "Catherine." > > What are the associated images/icons for Catherine for this time period? I > was thinking Byzantine Catherine. Is this the same St. Catherine, or is > this a different saint? Catherine of Alexandria, probably the third most popular female saint of the Middle Ages (after the Virgin and Mary Magdalene). I do not know about Byzantine iconography, which tends to differ from Western Christian, but in Western art she is typically shown with a crown and/or a wheel and/or a sword. The wheel was the instrument with which she was tortured, and the sword her means of martyrdom. As a martyr, she might carry a palm frond. As a virgin martyr and princess, she typically has her hair down and is dressed richly, as a queen. She might also be trampling a certain pagan king underfoot. Some later artists conflated her image with that of Catherine of Siena, and thus show Catherine of Alexandria in the "mystic marriage" that is part of Catherine of Siena's legend. --Robin collector of Catherines _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
