The Forgotten World of Meanings
Painted Depictions of the Wild Man in the Book of Municipal Laws of Głubczyce
Abstract
Abstract
This article aims to present the influence of the rich symbolism of the Wild Man, which may have been deliberately used as a significant and complementary element of the message conveyed in the first half of the 15th century Book of Municipal Laws of Głubczyce (Codex Iuris Lubschicensis). The analyzed source is a collection of municipal laws written in German, compiled partly from Latin copies, which, in addition to its elaborate decorations, contains numerous figural scenes. These were created by Johannes de Zittawia, an illuminator active in Silesia and Wrocław, who completed his work at the end of 1421 or in early 1422. The article reviews the existing literature on the manuscript, which was long considered lost, and demonstrates that previous studies have overlooked the symbolic and meaningful layer of the figural representations, viewing them instead as unrelated drôleries (humorous or whimsical illustrations). Furthermore, the article points to the extensive research on the Wild Man in European culture, which has so far been neglected in studies of the Głubczyce manuscript. In the author’s opinion, the Wild Men are an important element that enhances the overall message of the municipal law collection and fit within the characteristic oppositions of the time when the manuscript was created, such as: village – city, codified law – customary law, Christianity – paganism. The conducted comparative analyses lead to the conclusion that in European culture, Wild Men were often seen as figures guiding people towards moral knowledge. They were perceived as embodiments of the primal good embedded in nature, and by living in harmony with it, they served as moral mirrors for those who had not yet encountered the laws codified in legal regulations. The Wild Man is thus a guardian of natural law, or the spirit of the law, which Johannes de Zittawia, the illuminator of the gemstone document currently housed in the State Archives in Opole, the records of the city of Głubczyce (collection no. 9, signature 122), likely intended to convey.
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