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Speech scroll

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Detail fromBernhard Strigel's "Annunciation to Saint Anne".

Inart history,aspeech scroll(also called abanderoleorphylactery)[1]is an illustrative device denoting speech, song, or other types of sound.

Developed independently on two continents, the device was in use by artists withinMesoamericancultures from as early as 650 BC until after theSpanish conquestin the 16th century, and 13th and 14th European painters. While European speech scrolls were drawn as if they were an actual unfurled scroll or strip ofparchment,Mesoamerican speech scrolls are scroll-shaped,looking much like aquestion mark.It is used inheraldryformottosorslogans and war-cries.

Mesoamerica

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ATeotihuacanstick-ball player with a bi-color speech scroll. Note the "tabs" along the outer edge of the speech scroll.

Speech scrolls are found throughout theMesoamericaarea. An early example is aOlmecceramiccylinder sealdated toc. 650 BC,where two lines emit from a bird's mouth followed byglyphsproposed to be "3 Ajaw,"a ruler's name.[2]The murals of theClassic erasite at Teotihuacan are filled with speech scrolls, in particular tableaus in the Tepantitla compound—this mural,for example, has more than 20 speech scrolls.

In Mesoamerica, speech-scrolls are usually oriented upwards along the longest outer edge so that the central element (or "tongue" ) curves downward as it spirals. Some Mesoamerican scrolls are divided lengthwise with each side given a different shade.Glyphsor similar markings rarely appear on the Mesoamerican speech scroll, although "tabs" —small, triangular or square blocks—are sometimes seen along the outer edge. If the speech scroll represents a tongue, then the tabs may represent teeth, but their meaning or message, if any, is not known.[3]

A mural in the ancient Mesoamerican city ofTeotihuacan,Mexico,c. 2nd century)

At times, speech scrolls are decorated with devices that describe the tone of the speech:

  • In an engraving at theMayasite ofChichen Itza,a ruler's speech scroll takes the form of a serpent.[4]
  • A Spaniard's speech scroll in a 16th-centuryAztec codexis decorated with feathers to denote "soft, smooth words".[5]
  • In another 16th-centurycodex,the Selden Codex, twoMixtecrulers (photo above) are shown insulting two ambassadors through the use of "flint knife"icons attached to the speech scrolls.[6]
  • After the Spanish Conquest, the indigenous languages received adaptations of theLatin alphabetand many codices were sponsored to be written in this epoch, such as Codex Quinatzin, that combines speech scrolls with actual writing.

European

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Detail ofRogier van der Weyden'sc. 1452Braque Triptych.[7]

In contrast to the abstract nature of Mesoamerican speech scrolls, Medieval European speech scrolls orbanderolesappear as actual scrolls, floating in apparent three-dimensional space (or in actual space in sculpture). They first become common at the start of theGothic period.Previously, as inByzantine art,spoken words, if they appeared at all, were usually painted alongside a figure; these are calledtituli.However, earlier works using banderoles are theAachen Gospelsof Otto III (c. 975) and the 12th-century EnglishRomanesqueCloisters Cross.[8]The latter work demonstrates the use of banderoles as attributes forOld Testamentprophets,to distinguish them from the book-carryingFour Evangelistsof theNew Testamentand other Christian saints, a convention appearing in Italy in the 13th century. It may be seen in theSanta Trinita MaestàbyCimabue(Uffizi,1280–90),Duccio'sMaestà(1308–11), and other works. The convention had a historical appropriateness, as the Old Testament was originally written onscrolls,whereas nearly all surviving New Testament manuscripts arecodices(like modern books). They may also be used for the words of angels, especiallyGabriel's greeting to Mary inAnnunciationscenes.[9]

Epitaph of Jan of Ujazd,Anonymous,Lesser Poland,c. 1450

During the 14th century, quotations in banderoles increasingly allowed artists to include more complex ideas in their works, though for the moment usually in Latin, thus greatly restricting the audience that could follow them.[10]In this context, medieval donor illustrations are of particular importance, as they recorded the names of the patrons as painted text and thus supplemented the purely pictorial information with readable content for the already literate urban mercantile elite.[11]

European speech scrolls usually contain the spoken words, much like a modern-dayspeech balloon.The majority of these are in religious works and contain Biblical quotations from the figure depicted – Old Testament prophets for example, were often shown with an appropriate quotation from their work. Because the words are usually religious in nature, the speech scroll is often written in Latin even when appearing inwoodcutillustrations for books written in thevernacular.[12]This would also enable the illustration to be used in editions in other languages.

European speech scrolls may at times be seen in secular works as well and may also contain the name of a person to identify them. On carved figures the words would usually be painted on the scroll and have since worn away. In some Late Gothic and Renaissance works, and in architectural decoration, very elaborate empty banderoles seem to be for decorative purposes only. The European speech scroll fell out of favor largely due to an increasing interest inrealismin painting; thehalohad a similar decline.[citation needed]

See also

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Citations

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  1. ^Petersen 2011,p. 19.
  2. ^Pohl, Pope, Nagy 2002, pp. 1984–1987.
  3. ^Holt,Endangered Language Fund.
  4. ^Coggins 1992, p. 104.
  5. ^Wishart, p. 300.
  6. ^Boone 1994, p. 59.
  7. ^Campbell, Lorne.Van der Weyden.London: Chaucer Press, 2004. p. 89.ISBN1-904449-24-7
  8. ^Kantorowicz 1997,p. 67.
  9. ^Ladis & Maginnis 1997, pp. 155–156.
  10. ^Ladis & Maginnis 1997, pp. 156–161.
  11. ^Obermair 2014, pp. 66–68.
  12. ^Hilmo 2004, p. xxiv.

General references

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