Diagramming Devotion: Berthold of Nuremberg's Transformation of Hrabanus Maurus's Poems in Praise of the Cross

Diagrams were crucial for cosmological and theological debates in the European Middle Ages, generating knowledge and bringing modern and medieval visual culture into dialogue. Diagramming Devotion examines two monumental works: Hrabanus Maurus' picture poems and Berthold of Nuremberg's commentary, which transformed the poems into almost one hundred diagrams.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 21 September 2020
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

During the European Middle Ages, diagrams played a crucial role in analyzing cosmological and theological debates. These visual representations not only facilitated the exploration of relationships between various fields of human knowledge and experience but also actively generated new knowledge. In his book, Diagramming Devotion, Jeffrey F. Hamburger delves into two monumental works that are fundamentally diagrammatic: a renowned set of picture poems by the Carolingian monk Hrabanus Maurus, dedicated to the praise of the cross, and a nearly forgotten commentary on Hrabanus's work written by the Dominican friar Berthold of Nuremberg nearly five hundred years later. Berthold's extensive and richly illustrated elaboration of Hrabanus's poems transformed them into a series of nearly one hundred diagrams. By examining Berthold of Nuremberg's interpretation of a Carolingian classic, Hamburger engages in a dialogue between modern and medieval visual cultures, uncovers significant shifts in medieval visual culture, and presents fresh perspectives on diagrams as an enduring visual and conceptual model.

During the European Middle Ages, diagrams emerged as a vital tool of analysis in cosmological and theological debates. These visual representations not only facilitated the exploration of relationships between various fields of human knowledge and experience but also actively generated new knowledge. In his book, Diagramming Devotion, Jeffrey F. Hamburger delves into two monumental works that are fundamentally diagrammatic: a renowned set of picture poems by the Carolingian monk Hrabanus Maurus, dedicated to the praise of the cross, and a nearly forgotten commentary on Hrabanus's work written by the Dominican friar Berthold of Nuremberg nearly five hundred years later. Berthold's extensive and richly illustrated elaboration of Hrabanus's poems transformed them into a series of nearly one hundred diagrams. By examining Berthold of Nuremberg's interpretation of a Carolingian classic, Hamburger engages in a dialogue between modern and medieval visual cultures, uncovers significant shifts in medieval visual culture, and presents fresh perspectives on diagrams as an enduring visual and conceptual model.

Weight: 2002g
Dimension: 283 x 290 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226642819