The Musical Devil Revisited: Vercelli Homily X and Satan’s Fiddle
This article argues that modern examples of the Devil as a player of plucked and bowed stringed instruments extend early medieval representations of the Devil’s music as a powerfully persuasive force that can be used to draw souls toward Satan and, conversely, to defend against his musical machinati...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2023
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| In: |
Religion and the arts
Year: 2023, Volume: 27, Issue: 5, Pages: 573-596 |
| Further subjects: | B
Medieval
B violin B Vercelli Homily X B Harp B Boethius B Devil B Old English B Music B fiddle B Dunstan (saint) B Satan B guitar |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article argues that modern examples of the Devil as a player of plucked and bowed stringed instruments extend early medieval representations of the Devil’s music as a powerfully persuasive force that can be used to draw souls toward Satan and, conversely, to defend against his musical machinations. By examining Homily X of the Vercelli Book (c. tenth century) in relation to early medieval music theory, the legend of St. Dunstan, and modern examples of the fiddle-playing Devil, this article demonstrates that the musical Devil and his opponents show every sign of sustaining the motif’s power into the future. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5292 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion and the arts
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02705007 |
