Sacred sheep: ovine imagery in the art of William Shakespeare, Thomas Middleton, and Jan van Eyck
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Date
2021
Authors
Akhanamoya, Lulu
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Abstract
This thesis studies the image of sheep in Late Medieval and Renaissance culture. It analyzes sheep through three conceptual lenses: faith, fabric, and flesh. Through faith it studies sheep’s Christian connotations. Through fabric it studies how the English Wool trade turned sheep into a symbol of greed; and through flesh it studies the rise of the mutton market and how it further debased sheep into a symbol of materialism. It takes as its core texts three early-modern plays: King Lear and The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare and A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Thomas Middleton, which contain complex depictions of the ovine. These plays are contrasted with the balanced view of sheep in the late Medieval painting The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Hubert and Jan van Eyck where the economic and religious connotations of the ovine are harmonized.
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Keywords
Ovine, Early Modern, Shakespeare, Enclosure, Sheep, Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, Northern Renaissance, Mutton, Meat Market, King Lear, Thomas Middleton, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, City Comedy