The Thief, the Cross, and the Wheel: Pain and the Spectacle of Punishment in Medieval and Renaissance Europe - Hardcover

Merback, Mitchell B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226520153 ISBN 13: 9780226520155

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1999

Synopsis

This text reconstructs the religious, legal and historical context of the Crucifixion and of other images of public torture. The result is an account of a time when criminal justice and religion were entirely interrelated and punishment was a visual spectacle devoured by a popular audience. Mitchell Merback compares the images of Christ's Crucifixion with those of the two thieves who met their fate beside Jesus. In paintings by well-known Northern European masters and provincial painters alike, Merback finds the two thieves subjected to incredible cruelty, cruelty that artists could not depict in their scenes of Christ's Crucifixion because of theological requirements. He explores the ways audiences in early modern Europe understood images of physical suffering and execution. The frequently shocking works also provide a perspective from which Merback examines the live spectacle of public torture and execution and how audiences were encouraged by the Church and the State to react to the experience.

About this title

Review:

'This is a rich and learned book - whose lively contemplations make well-known images of the past pulsate vibrantly, as they must have done for some who viewed them half a millennium ago.' - TLS 'This powerful and well-illustrated work probes the relationship between images of the Crucifixion and the understanding of pain, suffering and justice - fascinating.' - History Today 'Merback's analysis is intelligent, stylishly written, and - theoretically informed - this imaginative study contain[s] chunks of extremely insightful analysis, which in combination with its sheer readability, makes it the best account of medieval penalty to come out in a very long time.' - Art History 'a well produced volume with excellent use of images, both black and white and colour, to embellish the text, but a reader will need a strong stomach to attempt to digest the material it contains. This is a horrific book, as it is intended to be.' - Art Newspaper 'This is a shocking and absorbing book, strikingly illustrated - Not for the squeamish.' - Good Book Guide 'Merback's scholarship ranges widely, and with ease.' - Church Times

From the Publisher:

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This book has been shortlisted for the Longman-History Today Book of the Year 2000

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0226520153
• ISBN 13: 9780226520155
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 280