The Virgin Mary and Sainte-Foy: Chant and the Original Design of the West Façade at Conques

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The Virgin Mary and Ste. Foy: Chat and the Original Façade of the west façade at Conques

 

This study combines in an imaginative fashion Romanesque iconography at Conques from the early twelfth century with Marian liturgical chant likely to have been used at that abbey. The more specific proposal is that a tympanum about the Annunciation to Mary currently on the north face, was originally below the tympanum of the last judgement on the west front. Such speculative reconstructions are often difficult to prove beyond hesitation, but the evidence presented here makes it quite possible that there was a deliberate effort to connect imagery about the annuntiation of the Word to Mary, so often described as the porta caeli, the gate to heaven with presentation of the end of time. I would like to have known if there is any architectural parallel for this doubling, that could make this stronger. If there was space for such a brief comment that would be helpful. The analysis of the Marian chants in this study is well managed. I realise that the application of the image porta caeli (gate of heaven) was traditionally given to a place (Gen 28:17), but seems first applied to Mary in liturgical chants from the region of St Martial Limoges. This would substantiate the argument being put forward here. This development deserves to be linked to the importance of Marian devotion at Conques, where the figure of Sainte Foy (sancta Fides) becomes herself a mirror of the Virgin. The article is generally well written, apart from page 5 lin 81 (Chants have really been explored…) Should this be rarely been explored? Two sentences later: “They[chants] stage dialogues that develop the characters of the liturgy”. Perhap this is better phrased as They give voice to the key figures celebrated both in the liturgy and in iconograpy.  These are minor details, however, in a study worth publishing.

Author Response

I am grateful for the thoughtful feedback. Here in brief are my edits:

-in the final submission high-res images included

-reference bibliography created

Reviewer 2 Report

This is a wonderfully rich and exciting approach to a major Romanesque portal! The author argues that the trumeau of the west portal originally displayed a relief of the Annunciation which is currently located in the interior of the church on the north cross-arm. Evidence for this position on the west portal trumeau is presented in the form of liturgical chants, iconography, and overall portal design. The new hypothetical position sheds light on the important role of the local saint in connection with the Virgin. This article will cause scholars to rethink the local interpretation of the sculpture at Ste. Foy at Conques and approaches to Romanesque sculpture and liturgy in general.

I offer here a few questions that came to mind when I read the article. The article stands already, however, so the author need not address my questions for publication.

1. The author describes a spiral on line 63 and then later around line 374. Is this spiral formation a known concept in literature? Could the idea be unpacked a bit more for the reader?  I was not clear about what the spiral meant visually, possibly because I could not see the detail of the tympanum and was not entirely sure about which figure to view for this. (I think the figures could use captions to help the reader.) At any rate, I have been discussing the spiral in connection with church consecrations with Barbara Franze and the author may wish to consult Barbara Franze, "Images et societe a Reichenau" in Zeitsch. f. Kunstgeschichte 2021 in terms of a spiral dynamic in Ottonian art.

2. On line 116 the author explains that the most recent survey of the architecture has insisted on the authenticity of this relief's location and then provides a footnote with 2 sources. Could the author explain a bit more about why the current scholarship insists on the original position of the relief? Are their reasons completely unfounded?

3. The passage beginning on line 133 to line 136 is awkward and needs refining, but the following sentence about the spindle and the temple curtain is interesting! I wonder if more could be made of the rending of the curtain and the threshold of the portal...and new access through Christ as the gate (along with Mary?). I also wonder if this curtain idea connects in any way to the Byzantine silk in the reliquary. This may be a stretch, but the material argument might be good to examine. Also line 139 - "making the angel having to ascends" is awkward.

4. On line 248 the author refers to "eth" music and I'm not sure what that is. If it is a technical music term, perhaps it could be explained for the lay person. Line 250 Angoulême.

5. Page 14 the second image is awkward.

6. The spacing in the footnotes needs examining and the notes need editing, too. For example, note 2 is missing ); note 3 - "La" and "Foy" and West," and first name for Fricke, and University Park:

7. Suggest changing footnotes to regular numbers instead of Roman numerals. Also suggest lower case for directions (west, northern). 

This was a delight to read and after a quick copy edit, I think it is ready for publication.

Author Response

I am grateful for the thoughtful feedback. Here in brief are my edits:

-spiral on line 63 and 374. New image added with color showing the spiral. Supporting bibliography added.

-Bonne earlier stated that it is a centripetal procession, pp. 226-28

-figures now have captions

-read and included B. Franze, Images et societe a Reichenau"

-addressed why current scholarship still insists on eth Annunciation relief as being in the interior, former line 116

-engaged with curtain idea, former lines 133-36, edited the text

 

-corrected typo on line formerly 248, line 250

-fixed second image on formerly p. 14

-notes corrected and formatted to Religions stylesheet

Reviewer 3 Report

The article is correct and interesting from a scientific point of view. Only two aspects are pointed out that should be corrected in order to publish the text:
- Most of the images do not have adequate resolution. Some are even presented with watermarks from the Internet. The author should obtain the images in higher quality.
- There is a lack of a list of final bibliographical references that would allow the scientific contributions cited to be included, as is usual in Religions. Not only do the endnotes serve the same function.

Author Response

I am grateful for the thoughtful feedback. Here in brief are my edits:

-included examples of doubling of doors such as N facade Porta francigena at Santiago de Compostela

-formerly line 81 corrected