The Sibyl Series of the Fifteenth Century

Description

Robin Raybould's 'The Sibyl Series of the Fifteenth Century' examines the startling and sudden change that occurred in the representation of the sibyls throughout Europe during the early Renaissance. Raybould describes how and why during this period the number, names, attributes and prophecies of these archaic prophetesses were selected and stabilized thus providing new witness to the Christian message in sharp contrast to earlier representations where the sibyls had played a minor role in the history of classical and Christian divination and prophecy. The book examines all the fifteenth-century instances of these series, as well as the manuscripts which describe them, identifies the origin of the sibylline prophecies and suggests reasons for the widespread popularity of this new artistic phenomenon. List of Illustrations Introduction Chapter 1. The Sibyls of Greece and Rome Chapter 2. The Early Christian Era The Sibylline Oracles Lactantius St. Augustine The Influence of Virgil Chapter 3. The Middle Ages The Encyclopaedic Texts The Apocalpytic Texts The Pisano Sibyls Chapter 4. The Sibyls at the Beginning of the Fifteenth Century Chapter 5. The Cortina Sibyls Chapter 6. The Orsini Sibyls The Tradition of Wall Painting in the Palaces of Italy The New Canon of Twelve Sibyls The Camera Paramenti Chapter 7. The Manuscripts of the Orsini Series The Early Manuscripts: Zwölf Sibyllen Weissagungen Other Early Manuscripts Chapter 8. The Theme, Order and Attributes of the Fifteenth-Century Sibyl Series Chapter 9. The Sibyl Series Derived from the Orsini Frescos The Ferrara Sibyls Feo Belcari and the Rappresentazioni Baccio Baldini De Barberis Liber Chronicarum or the Nuremberg Chronicle Other Series Chapter 10. The 'Oracula Sibyllina' of St. Gall Chapter 11. The Lactantius Versions of the Fifteenth-Century Sibyl Series The Tempio Malatestiano Ulm Cathedral Siena Cathedral The Oxford Paintings Chapter 12. Conclusion Appendix 1. The Texts and Origin of the Prophecies of the Orsini Sibyls Appendix 2. Pausanias: Description of Greece 10.12 Appendix 3. Clement of Alexandria: Stromata Appendix 4. The Sibyl’s References to Christianity in the Divine Institutes of Lactantius Appendix 5. Table of the Order of the Sibyls Bibliography Index