Normore

A FEAST FOR THE EYES

Overview

• Title: A Feast for the Eyes: Art, Performance, and the Late Medieval Banquet

• Author: Christina Normore, Assistant Professor of Art History at Northwestern University

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press

• Year: Published in 2015

• ISBNs:

  • 978-0-226-24220-0 (cloth)

  • 978-0-226-24234-7 (e-book)

Contextual Information

• Focus on the cultural practices related to feasts in Late Medieval Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries.

• Explores topics such as:

  • Fasts and feasts in Europe

  • Dining culture in Europe

  • Social customs of courtiers

  • Artistic representations of feasting.

Contents

• Introduction: Setting the Table

• Chapter I: Between the Dishes (21)

• Chapter II: Spectator-Spectacle (44)

• Chapter III: Efficacy and Hypocrisy (74)

• Chapter IV: Dining Well (102)

• Chapter V: Stranger at the Table (121)

• Chapter VI: Wedding Reception (164)

• Notes (195)

• Bibliography (233)

• Index (253)

• Gallery follows page 72

CHAPTER TWO: SPECTATOR-SPECTACLE

Introduction to the Chapter

• Examines the relationships between guests and spectacles at feasts.

• Emphasizes collaboration between artists, spectators, and performers.

Key Themes

• Entremets:

  • Elaborate dishes served during feasts that often involved complex collaborations of various artists.

  • Example: The entremet of the Holy Church at the Feast of the Pheasant.

• Interactivity:

  • Guests had scripted and spontaneous roles which contributed to the feast's meanings.

• Performance Dynamics:

  • Guests shifted roles between passive viewers and active participants.

  • The concept of spectator vs. spectacle is overly simplistic; a more nuanced model is necessary.

Case Study: The Entremet of the Holy Church

• Unique features of the entremet:

  • Initiated in silence, marked by a powerful vision of an armed giant and an elephant.

  • A lady representing the Holy Church: delivered a poignant poem regarding her fallen state.

• Roles of attendees:

  • Nobility were called to swear support for the Holy Church, showcasing a blend of identities and roles.

  • Philip the Good's involvement demonstrated duality in identity: actor and character.

• Spectator vs. Spectacle Concept:

  • Challenges the dichotomy of viewer and performer.

  • Suggests that banquets blurred the lines between these roles and produced both ideological reflection and indoctrination.

The Mimesis and Performance

• Mimetic acting is highlighted as a key form of participation; obscuring the actor's identity was common.

• Olivier de la Marche played the role of the Holy Church.

• Focus on character over actor:

  • Performances aimed to convey character essence over the individuals behind them.

• Example: Performance during a court wedding where high nobility attempted to mask their identities, showcasing complexity in social roles and commentary on identity.

Conclusion of Chapter

• Dynamic Interactions: The performance's effective transformation among roles and perceptions underscores the chapter's main argument: the fluidity of roles and the blending of audience with spectacle necessitate a reevaluation of existing critical frameworks regarding performance and participation in medieval feasts.