 |
Fig. 1 Detail, BNF fr. 25526, fol. 106v
|
Several weeks ago the
image of a Phallus tree from an illuminated manuscript of the Roman
de la Rose (BNF fr. 25526) made rounds through the twittersphere
(Fig. 1). Originally tweeted by Sarah Peverly, it was probably the
closest thing of to a hype a medieval image can get these days, not only
being shared and retweeted throughout social media, but also getting
attention from several blogs and even making it to the Times
Higher Education. I shared the image on Facebook as well and it
got the largest amount of attention compared to anything else ever
posted on my profile. So it seems that sex sells, even if the sex
predates the modern period. The way the image appeals to such a large modern audience intrigued me, so that I had a
look at the background of this kind of imagery
 |
| Fig. 2 Massa Maritima Mural |
Phallic trees have in the
past been ascribed with a number of meaning by scholars. They have
been suggested to be related to ideas of fertility and infertility,
witchcraft and virgins and moral decline.1
Though some of these interpretations collide and debate on these
questions has been ongoing, I don't wish to side with one particular
reading. The appearance of the phallus tree in such different
contexts as the Mural in Massa Maritima (Fig. 2) and the manuscript
of the Roman de la Rose suggests, however, that its meaning is
largely object dependent and should not be generalised.
Instead of siding with
one particular argument regarding these images, I wish to point out
one aspect that is repeatedly left out or only touched upon in
passing: the humour. These images makes us chuckle if not downright
laugh. To the modern audiences these images are first and foremost
entertaining despite their more complex meanings, which leads to our
introductory example to its wide dissemination over the internet.
But is it just that? The perspective of a modern viewer disconnected
from the serious meanings the visual imagery had for its medieval
audience?
I cannot help but think
that the medieval audience, whether they also understood the
underlying meaning or not, might have initially reacted with a
chuckle as well. The joking aspect in these images have been
mentioned both in regards to the Massa Maritima Mural as well as for
the Phallus tree in the Roman de la Rose.2
Similar obscene humour can also be observed elsewhere as for example
in
the exposed buttock of a peasant in the later Très
Riches Heures (Fig.
3) or in the Miller's Tale of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. When
we think about the complex implications of such imagery we thus also
need to consider the humorous aspect. Based on the assumption that
medieval viewers would have reacted with amusement, would not the
artist himself been aware of this? This throws up further questions
as to how visual jokes worked and were used as communicative tool.
After all, serious content and jokes do not exclude one another. We
might just think of contemporary comedians who often address serious
social and political issues, nevertheless humour is their means of
transporting these ideas. Would it be possible to consider humour in
visual material in a similar way, as essential part of transporting
an intended meaning to its audience? A joke quite often
addresses that which is a taboo and deals with what cannot be spoken in
seriousness. Like the fool in Shakespearean plays, the joke can
tell the audience what no one else will say, unless they are willing to face social
sanctions. So it appears to me that this side of humorous imagery
needs to be analysed in more detail, in order to fully understand
what the visual material communicated to the audience, both the funny
and the serious side.
 |
| Fig. 3 Detail, Très
Riches Heures, 9v, Musée Condé. |
Yet, we must not forget
that humour changes. Not everything we might consider funny would
have been received in the same way by a medieval audience. Our own
humour can therefore not be reliable guide to find medieval jokes,
but needs to be evaluated on the background of medieval material.
However, the same is also true the other way around, what the
medieval eye might have discovered with laughter might create
discomfort in the modern viewer. I have come across this problem
recently in my own research when considering how humour might have
also been a tool in negotiating Self-identity in the face of the
Other. Images of violence, of obscenity and even of being the
victim of severe undeserved punishment keep appearing within the
context of the depiction of non-Christian. Their place in a discourse
of the Other is undisputed and they tend to make us uncomfortable as
they are signs of intolerance and of prejudice that we (hopefully)
have overcome. Yet, I started wondering whether our discomfort might
sometimes be a way of recognising that some of these images
might have been considered to be funny by their medieval audience.
After all, these images address important social anxieties in the
face of an experience of alterity. What role did the joke play in
these images and might they sometimes enable the viewer to laugh into
the face of the Other? I have not come to conclusions regarding this
issue so far, but it did make me consider that we might need to
reconsider the importance that humour might have played in many
visual materials.
-Fabian
1 See
among others Ferzoco, George, The
Massa Marittima Mural, (Florence: Regional
Council of Tuscany Central Communication Unit, 2004); Smith, Matthew
Ryan. "Reconsidering the 'Obscene': The Massa Marittima Mural."
Shift 2 (2009), 1-27; Mattelaer, Johan J., "The Phallus
Tree: A Medieval and Renaissance Phenomenon', Journal of Sexual
Medicine 7:2 (2010), 846-51.
2 Smith,
Matthew Ryan. "Reconsidering the 'Obscene': The Massa Marittima
Mural." Shift 2 (2009), 5; Camille,
Michael, Image on the Edge. The Margins of Medieval Art (London:
Reaktion, 1992) 147-149.
Images:
1 http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/Pictures/web/m/n/a/tree_with_phalluse_450.jpg
2 http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/massa_marittima-mural-300x228.png
3 http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqulghUAPD1qggdq1.jpg