Widely read as school texts, the comedies by the Roman dramatist Terence have come down to us in hundreds of medieval copies. Fourteen of the manuscripts produced between 800 and 1200 were given some kind of illustration. In this volume, Beatrice Radden Keefe explores the semiotics of the imagery found in the earliest illustrated Terence manuscripts, and its relationship to the iconography of comedy and theatre from antiquity. She examines six further manuscripts to show how later illustrators abandoned this imagery to varying degrees, finding new emphases and creating new layers of meaning. Illustrators of Terence, it is demonstrated here, brought a range of interests to illustrating the comedies, clarifying their narrative, incorporating social commentary and moralisation, and linking them with Christian allegorical traditions.
Beatrice Radden Keefe, Ph.D. (2008), Courtauld Institute of Art, is a medieval art historian. She teaches at the University of Zurich.
Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Image Credits Abbreviations
âManuscript Repositories
âManuscript Sigla
âEditions
Note to the Reader
Introduction
â1âSpeculum vitae
â2âThe Manuscripts
1 Dramatist on Trial
â1âPortraits
â2âFrames
â3âHic
2 Personae
â1âAedicula
â2âScaenae frons
â3âSwollen Faces
â4âLascivious Women
3 Sosia Libertus, Davus Servus
â1âDoubling
â2âNe quid nimis
â3âMala mens, malus animus
â4âDenial of Blame
4 Whatâs the Getup?
â1âChaerea pro eunucho
â2âHabitu mutato
â3âGnathonists
5 Calliopius Recitator
â1âPhantom
â2âAuctoritate audiebatur
â3âAdversaries
Conclusion Bibliography Index of Manuscripts General Index Illustrations
All interested in the medieval reception and illustration of the Latin classics, and of Terenceâs comedies in particular.