Journal of Research & Scholarly Output 2006 - Grimsby Institute of ...

‘Not without reason has antiquity allowed
the stories of saints to be painted in holy
places. And we indeed entirely praise thee
for not allowing them to be adored, but we
blame thee for breaking them. For it is one
thing to adore an image, it is quite another
thing to learn from the appearance of a
picture what we must adore. What books are
to those who can read, that is a picture to
the ignorant who look at it; in a picture even
the unlearned may see what example they
should follow; in a picture they who know no
letters may yet read. Hence, for barbarians
especially a picture takes the place of a
book’
The Veneration of Images, Catholic
Encyclopaedia(4)
Medieval tomb sculpture, Jerpoint Abbey,
Ireland, c.1500 (a)
This clearly indicates that religious
iconography (usually without supporting
text) was being produced with the sole
intention of presenting narratives in a
pictorial form as a substitute for written text,
which was firmly in the hands of the learned
within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
Imagery was the key to both educating and
controlling the masses –the people were
given information orally or through the
presentation of graphic (often sequential)
images across Europe up until and beyond
the Reformation, indicating that most
Europeans would have the ability to
understand the messages being presented
to them by employing deconstructive skills
very similar to those used today in the
reading of a sequential art text. Theorists
such as Andrew Greeley believe that the
contemporary Catholic reader of texts is
quite different to a non-Catholic reader in
that their imaginations are based on
analogies, a ‘metaphorical narrative’ as
defined by Greeley in his book ‘The Catholic
Myth – The Behaviour and Beliefs of
American Catholics’ (5) and directly
represented by symbolic representations
during the administration of the Sacraments
and presentation of religious belief within
the Catholic Church. It is reasonable to
assume that this ‘metaphorical narrative’
has been generated, fostered and
maintained through the use of religious
imagery throughout the centuries – and, in
particular, imagery that shows a series of
events in order to reinforce the teachings of
the Church. This may provide some
reinforcement as to why mainland Europe
continues to enjoy sequential art and
embrace it as an art form, and why the
events of the Reformation are so vital in the
shaping of attitudes towards sequential art
which is irrefutably image-based.
Stained Glass window, Collegiate Church of
St. Nicholas, Gallway, 1320 (b)
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