Prudentius’ Mnemonic Images in a Twelfth CenturyPsychomachiaManuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the mnemonic qualities of the images and subtitles of the forty-six illustrations of the twelfth century Psychomachia in Cotton MS Titus D XVI. This will be accomplished using as a reference the earliest manuscripts. Our hypothesis departs from the idea that: if some visual elements remained after three centuries, it would have been because of their importance and relationship with the text and the learning process. These were not mere aesthetic qualities. By the end of the fifth century, Prudentius wrote the Psychomachia. This allegorical poem depicts the battle between virtues and vices within the Christian’s soul. According to Mary Carruthers, Prudentius wrote a vivid allegory in which he applied mnemonic images’ rules. The ninth-century manuscripts’ miniaturists were very careful to keep all the vigorous features described in the verses. Later copies posse fewer images, but most of them retained the mnemonic qualities described by the poet and illustrated in the oldest codices. The British Library manuscript, Cotton MS Titus D XVI, is an example of this.