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Ave Eva—Views of Women: Social and Gendered Instruction in Medieval and Early Modern European Preaching

Institute for Art History, University of Bonn

Who read the Christian cult images in the Middle Ages, and in what ways? With the relationship between devotional images in churches and instruction through sermons as its point of departure, this article demonstrates that sermons were imparted in a differentiated manner, implying differentiation in views of the 'world'. These perceptions, which shaped responses to Christian images, prompt us to take a fresh look at the accepted model of bipolar readings of Christian art, between literate and illiterate persons. Social diversity was further articulated in gendered terms. The paradoxical formula Ave Eva, used as a mnemonic tool in sermons of the Italian Renaissance, demonstrates the extent to which women's readings of the 'world' as well as of Christian cult images were shaped by the gendered contents of sermons.

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