The Meanings of Blackness: Medieval Commentaries of the Song of Songs
Mon, Sep 12, 2022 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM British Summer Time (UTC+1)
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Professor Miri Rubin – The Meanings of Blackness: Medieval Commentaries of the Song of Songs
About this event
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Be it ‘I am black and beautiful’, as in the Hebrew bible, or ‘I am black but beautiful’ as Jerome translated it the Vulgate, those who treated Song of Songs 1:4 agreed on two principles: that the Song was to be interpreted allegorically, and that the opposition between blackness and beauty required explanation. Given the importance of this verse in modern articulations of resistance to the racialisation of people of African descent, it is interesting to probe the meanings of the verse within earlier interpretations. Hence, this paper offers first fruits from a project that traces the traditions of interpretation, from the very start to the end of the twelfth century.
Miri Rubin is Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at the School of History at Queen Mary University of London. She is interested in the social practices within medieval religious cultures. Here most recent book was published in 2020, ‘Cities of Strangers. Making Lives in Medieval Europe’. She has enjoyed the Ideology, Society and Religion Seminar very much during the pandemic years.
Please note: This event will take place over Zoom. The event link is included in the Eventbrite email confirming your registration. If you have any problems or questions, please contact Emmie (erpg500@york.ac.uk) or Tim (tim.wingard@york.ac.uk)
Image: The Queen of Sheba, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, 2 Cod. Ms. Philos. 63, Cim., fol. 122r.
