Gripla - 20.12.2013, Blaðsíða 17

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were ekphrasis and titulus. the two types are closely related, as noted by
both Clunies Ross70 and fuglesang71 – being respectively a full description
of the scenes depicted in a work of visual art and a capsule commentary
(almost a caption) on a monument. of these the latter at least is obvi-
ously intended for public consumption. theodulf (750/60–821), bishop
of orleans, is a notable early exponent of both types. Incorporated into
the mosaic of the Ark of the Covenant that he designed for his oratory at
Germigny-des-Prés is the following titulus:
oraclum scm et cerubin hic aspice spectans
et testamenti en micat arca dei
Haec cernens precibusque studens pulsare
tonantem theodulfum votis iungito quaeso tuis.
‘Gaze upon the holy propitiatorium and cherubim, beholder,
And lo! the Ark of God’s covenant glitters.
Perceiving these things, and prepared to beset the thunderer with
prayers,
Add, I beg you, theodulf’s name to your invocations.’72
theodulf devoted full-scale ekphrases to two pictures that apparently
adorned his villa, showing respectively the seven Liberal Arts and the
Mappa Mundi,73 two topics that nicely pay tribute to Charlemagne’s reno-
vatio of learning. two less formal ekphrases, sections within a satirical and
admonitory poem on the duties of missi, describe a vase and a rug brought
by suppliants who hope to bribe a judge.74 the ekphrases are put in the
mouth of the would-be presenters. the images on the vase depict episodes
from the myth of Hercules:
70 Clunies Ross, ‘stylistic and Generic definers’, 182.
71 fuglesang, ‘ekphrasis and surviving Imagery’, 194, 217.
72 text and translation (the latter modified) from Ann freeman and Paul Meyvaert, ‘the
Meaning of theodulf’s Apse Mosaic at Germigny-des-Prés’, Gesta 40.2 (2001): 125; cf.
dutton, Carolingian Civilization, 99–100.
73 Poetae Latini Aevi Carolini, 1:544–8; freeman and Meyvaert, ‘the Meaning of theodulf’s
Apse Mosaic’, 135.
74 Poetae Latini Aevi Carolini, 1:498–9, lines 179–220. Cf. Godman, Poetry, 162–3; dutton,
Carolingian Civilization, 100–2.
sCHoLARs And skALds