Medieval European Conceptions of Blood: Truth and Human Integrity

Bildhauer, Bettina

doi:10.1002/9781118656235.ch3

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…At this point, they may have placed their own spiritual meaning and understanding of the significance of life and death in blood form, by altering or modifying the original concept or belief. This in mind, the medieval church and courts of the nobility had influenced the mindset of society by integrating attitudes towards blood (Bildhauer 2003). Parallel similarities can be seen between the Christ figure and that of Dionysus or indeed the god Osiris and their different cultural variations, with comparable symbolism regarding wine, ivy, blood, overcoming death and rebirth, drinking cups, peacock birds, seasonal festivals and so forth (Henrichs 1984).…”

Section: Goat's Blood and Sacred Ivymentioning

confidence: 98%

Goat’s Blood, Tablets and Sacred Ivy

Ali

2020

Preprint

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The ivy plant has clung onto the imagination of creative expression since classical poets wrote plays about ancient rituals and how they altered the mindset of daily communities. Several medieval technical manuscripts describe processes for transforming copper tablets into a golden colour using ivy berry juice and the blood of a goat. These recipes – possibly originating from ancient practices and forgotten cultures – detail working methods using alchemic processes formulated through the art of transmuting metals. The symbolic significance of ivy and the goat outlined in these recipes can be associated with ‘Dionysus’ – the deity of intoxicated ecstasy and natural forces – manifested by the hypnotic trance of ritual dances reenacted by female maenads and pre-dynastic cult practices. Remnants of the recipes are practical factors which may have previously been part of a ritual tradition, rooted inside the craftsman's trade dating back to antiquity.

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Section: Goat's Blood and Sacred Ivymentioning

confidence: 98%

Goat’s Blood, Tablets and Sacred Ivy

Ali

2020

Preprint

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“…That is, the surrounding world bound the body, by which one's socio-cultural or political status were defined --the implications then possessed very real consequences. 42 The female body in a social capacity was simultaneously inferior and profoundly dangerous. Commentator A in De Secretis notes its dangers as follows:…”

Section: Inherited Scientific and Scholarlymentioning

confidence: 99%

Contended Bodies

Chisamore

2019

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“…Hence, this article can be read along a comparative grain with recent studies that also analyse blood's enunciative and truth‐disclosing capacities (e.g. in the context of sexuality declarations among gay blood donors: Strong ; the ‘true’ moral sacrifice of Indian political ascetics who have portraits of martyrs publicly penned in their blood: Copeman ; Copeman & Street ; or the medieval myths that took Christ's bleeding en route to Calvary as ‘proof’ that God was incarnate in Jesus: Bildhauer ). But before discussing how blood ‘speaks’ paternity, it is imperative to first sketch Dominican understandings of the reproductive process.…”

Section: On Paternal Naming and Bloodmentioning

confidence: 99%

When ‘blood speaks’: naming the father and the mystics of kinship in Dominica, Eastern Caribbean

Heron

2018

Royal Anthropological Inst

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This article explores the mystical implication of fathers in reproduction in Dominica, Eastern Caribbean. It traces naming acts that assign paternity at various points in the filial life course, each attempting to disambiguate paternity. Confronting a recurring anthropological problematic – the problem of paternity (paternity's inherent putativity) – the article argues that Dominicans contest uncertain physical fatherhood through the proverb ‘blood speaks’. The article elaborates how relatedness reveals itself in the subtle bodies of kin at three moments: through a local version of the couvade (‘sympathetic pregnancy’); in elders’ post‐partum ritual scrutiny of children's bodies for familial resemblances; and during serendipitous encounters in later life. The article highlights how physical fatherhood is disclosed in fathers’ and children's symptoms, appearances, and sensations, revealing their kinship in transpersonal terms. Therefore, blood ‘speaks’ to counter broad‐brushed narratives of Caribbean fatherly absence by revealing the physical and spiritual significance of fatherhood. Herein, the article revives classic anthropological debates on legitimacy, the couvade, and Caribbean kinship, whilst contributing to contemporary theorizations of blood and naming.

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Medieval European Conceptions of Blood: Truth and Human Integrity

Cited by 18 publications

References 6 publications

Goat’s Blood, Tablets and Sacred Ivy

Goat’s Blood, Tablets and Sacred Ivy

Contended Bodies

When ‘blood speaks’: naming the father and the mystics of kinship in Dominica, Eastern Caribbean

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