'De kruisen van het eiland Man uit de Vikingtijd. Een iconografische studie'
Date(s): 2005
Creator(s): Crouwers, Iris
Scope & Content: Illustrated Masters dissertation submitted for studies in art history and archaeology at the Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen in the Netherlands. In her English summary (volume one, pages 160-164), the author explains that her subject is the 29 sculptured stones with figurative motifs and scenes made during the Viking age of the Isle of Man which she divides into those with (18) and those without (11) Scandinavian characteristics, concentrating on the former. Crouwers sets out the difficulties determining the origin of the separate motifs and how they can be explained: physical damage and incoherence between the different pictorial elements complicate interpretation, as does confusion about secular or religious derivation and whether the point of view is Christian, pagan Scandinavian or pagan Celtic. She asserts that a fundamental problem in studying the iconography is the fact that most of the textual sources are not contemporary with the works of art. 'In Manx Crosses Kermode attempted to link every motif to events or protagonists mentioned in the Icelandic sagas or Eddas, but many of his identifications of heroic and mythological personages and episodes proved to be improbable. He was led too much by the literary sources handed down to us by chance'. Literary sources are not sufficient tools for interpretation and the meaning of artistic depictions of clothing, hairstyle, bearing and gesticulation are not fully understood. Her closing suggestion reads, 'Future research could focus on the relationship between the iconography of the crosses and the commemorative functions many of the monuments had. What do the motifs on the monuments tell us about the conceptions of death and the afterlife that existed on the Isle of Man in a time when two religions met and blended?' Summary in English page 160-164.
Administration / Biographical History: In 2003 the author visited the Island to research her subject matter. The result was a dissertation which received a grade of 9 out of 10 and was awarded the academic study prize for the best 2005 thesis of the Faculty of the Arts of the Radboud Universiteit.
Language: Dutch
Extent: 2 volumes
Physical description: typescript
Item name: dissertation
Collection: Manuscript Archive
Level: ITEM
ID number: MS 12077
Record class: Private
Access conditions: No regulations or restrictions are implemented on this material. Advance notification of a research visit is advisable by emailing library@mnh.gov.im