The Mendicant Order and the Art of the Middle Ages in France: The Role of the Dominicans, c.1300-c.1500

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370139
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Fine art history
• Research Institution: Rikkyo University
• Principal Investigator: KUROIWA Mie 立教大学, 異文化コミュニケーション学部, 教授 (80422351)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 写本彩飾 / 図像学 / ドミニコ会 / 聖トマス・アクィナス / キリスト教美術 / 典礼 / 時祷書

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The present research focuses principally on a hitherto unexplored aspect of the role played by the Dominican Order in (trans)forming art of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance through an examination of images and texts venerating Saint Thomas Aquinas found in books of Hours and prayer books produced in France and other parts of Europe.
The earliest of around 50 manuscripts containing either suffrage to Saint Thomas Aquinas or a prayer to the Lord putatively composed by him was made for a member of the Valois dynasty in Paris and dates back to the late fourteenth century. The growing popularity of the saint to other parts of the West and the iconographical variation seen in the manuscripts made until the early sixteenth century suggest that the popularity of the saint derives from the memory of Thomas Aquinas by the lay people as an eminent theologian who elucidated the mystery of the Eucharist and who composed the liturgy of the Corpus Christi.

Free Research Field

西洋美術史