Insular Iconographies: Essays in Honour of Jane Hawkes ed. by Meg Boulton and Michael D. J. Bintley
Greg Waite
Reviewed by: Insular Iconographies: Essays in Honour of Jane Hawkes ed. by Meg Boulton and Michael D. J. Bintley Greg Waite Boulton, Meg, Bintley, eds, Hawkes, Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 2019; hardback; pp. xvi, 254; 12 colour plates, 31 b/w illustrations; R.R.P. £60.00; ISBN 9781783274116. Professor will be a figure familiar, person or print, to most Anglo-Saxon scholars. In career not yet over, despite the appearance volume her honour, has made an immense contribution study stone sculpture, art more broadly, with cosmopolitan interdisciplinary approach. One crowning achievements appeared recently: Volume XIII: Derbyshire Staffordshire, produced conjunction Philip Sidebottom, British Academy series Corpus Stone Sculpture (2018). Iconographies consists twelve papers honouree’s own research students examinees, many now early-career scholars academic posts. These emerged from symposium held at York, UK, 2015. Giving voice young this way is indeed fitting enterprise for acknowledging scholar who guided fostered postgraduate so well throughout career. Several focus on individual Christian monuments explicate them varying ways. Most take broad view, encompassing comparanda corpus other media, placing objects socio-cultural context, exploring depths religious scriptural reference that underpin sculptural programs. Carolyn Twomey examines baptismal font Wilne, repurposed section cross column; Colleen M. Thomas explicates vine scroll panel South Cross Kells; Elizabeth Alexander discusses Old Testament scenes (relatively rare sculpture) Newent Cross, particular scene Abraham Isaac. explores interplay fragmentary Rothbury focusing appears book cover—a host angels looking down hellish depicted foot same side cross. one outstanding book, appropriately named Heidi Stoner surveys tradition sculpture Isle Man, problematic history scholarship pertaining it. She raises important theoretical questions about traditional methodologies periodization, localization, classification relation broadly within Isles, as Man itself. Another impressively broad-ranging paper Tom Pickles’s ‘Conversion, Ritual, Landscape: Streoneshalh (Whitby), Osingadun, Cemetery Street House, North Yorkshire’. His main point departure high-status female bed-burial, which, he argues, signals kin group’s response new role females, particularly aristocratic ones, dedicated God 640s 650s, rather than being required conform patterns their society. [End Page 181] The remaining deal textual art-historical topics. neatly combines consideration stones society accounts marble messengers poem Andreas. Brennan considers Alcuin’s possible authorship Propositiones, only confirm pseudo-Alcuinian status text. He nevertheless provides illuminating discussion mathematical Carolingian court, involvement Harry Stirrup unusual Hell Mouth Initial twelfth-century Laud Bible; Mags Mannion survey Irish glass beads, production decorative motifs; Melissa Herman iconography human face pre-Christian art. two might have benefited little pruning compression, but collectively contributions offered here offer much interesting, essential reading those field. editors been meticulous work, I noted couple small errors references. University Otago Copyright © 2020 Waite...
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