“Victory of Humility over Pride”
This fierce image by an anonymous artist, titled “Victory of Humility over Pride”, is an ink and tempera on a parchment leaf from an illuminated manuscript from Germany titled Jungfrauenspiegel, or Speculum Virginum in Latin, meaning “Mirror of Virgins”. The manuscript was written sometime in the 12th century, while the illustration was painted several years later, around circa 1200 AD.
“Victory of Humility over Pride” is from the fourth chapter in the manuscript, titled “On Pride”. The knights depicted in combat with Norman shields are allegorical representations of two virtues defeating two vices. This follows a long tradition of depicting virtues and vices in this manner, as battling knights, dating back to the 5th century. This is an unfinished leaf, with this image on the top half of the page while the bottom half is empty. Over the years, all of the miniature illustrations have been removed from the original manuscript.
Interestingly, Jungfrauenspiegel (Speculum Virginum) was written as a religious instruction book for aristocratic girls. The author is believed to be Conrad Porta, who was the spiritual adviser to the sister of Richard, the abbot of Springiersbach. It was written as a dialogue between a spiritual adviser and his mentor, an aristocratic girl. Jungfrauenspiegel was meant to provide guidance for women who wanted to live a cloistered and spiritual life. This book was widely read from its creation in the 12th century up until the Reformation in the early 16th century.
“Victory of Humility over Pride” is currently in the collections of the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, Germany.
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