Date of Award
12-1-1991
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Humanities
Abstract
Previous scholarship has suggested that the frescoes of the Spanish Chapel at Santa Maria Novella in Florence were influenced by the celebration of Corpus Domini and by the philosophy of st. Thomas Aquinas. Although scholars have agreed that such influences exist, few have demonstrated,the supposed relationships among frescoed images and Aquinas' words or Corpus Domini's text. This study presents an analysis of the frescoes in the terms of Aquinas' stated ~hilosophy and the text for the mass of Corpus Domini. The frescoes contain images of Aquinas enthroned and Aquinas teaching. The image of Aquinas enthroned above figures representing theological and secular knowledge seems to have been drawn from Aquinas' Summa Theologica. In support of the theory that Summa Theologica inspired the image of Aquinas on the west wall, passages from Summa Theologica are cited. The east wall contains an illustration of Aquinas teaching heretics. Aquinas' Summa Contra Gentiles may mave inspired the image of Aquinas on the east wall. Passages from Summa Contra Gentiles are cited to support that theory. It seems that the Spanish Chapel's founder desired that the chapel should reflect the celebration of Corpus Domini. Although previous scholarship has suggested a relationship between the celebration of Corpus Domini and the frescoes, no specific texts from the celebration had been cited. This thesis, however, examines the founder's will as it .relates to Corpus Domini and relates the texts of the mass and procession of Corpus Domini to appropriate sections of the fresco. iv Based upon comparisons between the chapel's frescoes and the texts mentioned above, the study offers an explanation of the Spanish Chapel frescoes as a combination of elements from Corpus Domini and Aquinas' writings. The celebration of Corpus Domini advocated belief in a transubstantiated Eucharist, a belief which distinguished the faithful from the heretics. Aquinas' Summa Theologica contains guidelines for identifying heretics and for persuading them to return to the catholic faith. Aquinas' Summa Contra Gentiles contains instructions for converting Muslims and Jews to Catholicism. Considering these facts, the study offers a theory that the purpose of the frescoes in the Spanish Chapel seems to have been to instruct the Dominican friars at Santa Maria Novella about how to recognize and combat heresy and unbelief.
Recommended Citation
Hoover, Dale, "The Spanish Chapel of Santa Maria Novella: a Document of Dominican Dogma" (1991). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 562.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/562
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis Commons, East Asian Languages and Societies Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, History of the Pacific Islands Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, Literature in English, Anglophone outside British Isles and North America Commons, Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons, Logic and Foundations of Mathematics Commons, Other French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons, Other Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons