In the same operation
Shield-shaped psaltery
Here is the "mysterious" representation mentioned in the foreword, which raised many questions. Its shape, with no known parallel, had until now left researchers doubtful that it could be anything other than a mistaken sculpture or the depiction of a symbolic instrument. However, thanks to digital databases that did not exist in the 1990s and to new technologies, this study has brought new answers concerning the nature of this representation.
The study
Of the 8 instrumental representations in the Musicians' Hall, 7 are perfectly identifiable, but that of the psaltery raises many questions because of its unusual shape, which suggests that it may be symbolic or the result of a misinterpretation or a mistake by the sculptor.
To answer these questions, and in continuity with the reconstruction work carried out in the 1990s by the instrument maker Jean-Claude Condy, an in-depth study will be devoted to this enigmatic instrument. This study will use new technologies and today's means to identify in the digital inventory other similar representations that could confirm the possible existence of comparable instruments in medieval iconography. It will be completed by archaeological experiments and reconstructions aimed at testing whether the instrument could be made in a craft setting with the means and techniques of the 13th century, and whether it works in a musical setting.
As with most PRIAE missions, a reconstruction of the instruments and a virtual exhibition will be set up in 2023/2024.
Hypothesis 1: a mistaken representation
It is true that medieval iconography abounds in errors of representation. The constraints imposed by the medium (paper, stone, glass, etc.) and by the techniques used (painting, sculpture, etc.) can lead artists and craftsmen to make certain changes and adaptations, resulting in differences of proportion, perspective and sometimes colour compared with their subject. It should also be stressed that these representations were made from memory or from descriptions, which can lead to errors. The artists and craftsmen who made them were not necessarily musicians or instrument makers, and may therefore have left out or changed details that seemed unimportant to them. Moreover, some motifs were certainly passed on from master to apprentice, producing copies of copies whose accuracy may be altered or obscured by motifs serving an ornamental design more than an objective reflection of the thing they evoke (deliberately or not).
Looking at this representation in context, as part of a sculptural ensemble, and at the other representations, we observe that, with the exception of the psaltery corbel, every sculpture is perfectly recognisable and shows proportions and details fairly faithful to reality. So, strange as its shape is, it would seem odd for the psaltery corbel to be any different. We also explored the possibility of a sculpture workshop different from that of the other seven, but the evidence indicates that the whole sculptural ensemble was made by a workshop from Mirepoix. The workmanship itself and the closeness of style across the eight corbels suggest that they were made by the same hand.
Hypothesis 2: a symbolic representation
It is true that symbolism is an important part of medieval iconography, since it conveys deep messages and meanings indirectly, through images and symbols. However, it is important to stress that symbolism always rests on a reality, which may be modified, altered or enriched in the direction intended by the author. No symbol is entirely original: it is its intrinsic link to reality that makes it a symbol, a kind of referential metaphor of a reality that speaks to everyone and in which everyone can recognise themselves (this, of course, varies from one period to another).
In conclusion, symbolism plays an important role in medieval iconography, but it cannot be fully and authentically understood without taking into account the reality to which it is attached. A purely original and free symbolism, meaningful only to its author or with no meaning at all, cannot fulfil its true function.
The "symbolic" answer therefore seems satisfactory only if we can identify both its meaning and the reality from which it draws. Analysed on its own or in the context of the whole, no symbolic message seems to emerge clearly, and its shape does not seem to refer to any known reality (to date).
Hypothesis 3: the representation of a real but unknown instrument
Medieval iconography is abundant, much remains to be discovered, and of what is known, very little was recorded in searchable digital registers in the 1990s, when the first team studied this representation. At the time, it was not possible to gather the data and carry out an in-depth comparative study of medieval iconography to find other representations similar to that of Puivert, which was then the only one of its kind known. This led to the earlier conclusions that it was either a symbolic representation or a mistaken one.
However, several elements seemed to contradict these two hypotheses. As explained in the arguments for hypotheses 1 and 2, a mistaken representation does not seem plausible given the rest of the ensemble, which is perfectly executed. And the symbolic hypothesis rests on no concrete element and no reality, a reality (symbolic or not) that cannot be absent and must therefore lie elsewhere. This is why we decided to pursue and deepen our research, convinced that we would find something new.
Thanks to digital databases that did not exist in the 1990s, we were able to find two other similar representations (see opposite). Several thousand kilometres apart and contemporary with the Puivert psaltery corbel, these representations leave nothing to chance and confirm hypothesis 3, that this was a real but hitherto unknown instrument. A mention in a text adds to this evidence, with the support of Gisèle Clément, lecturer and researcher at Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier III. In the Treatise on the Song of the Heart by Jean Gerson (15th century, edited by Isabelle Fabre, Droz, 2005), we read:
"The psaltery and the cithara are alike because they cover the chest and have the shape of a heart, like a shield; [...] And in the same way, I ask you, do we not learn in all instrumental songs to lift up our hearts to the Lord?"
This remark by Gerson was probably inspired by Isidore of Seville, Etymologies, III, 22, 2, and by Pseudo-Jerome, Epistola ad Dardanum (Patrologia Latina, vol. 30, 213-215), which also mentions a psalterium shaped like a buckler or a shield.