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Title: Pre-Raphaelite women: Courtly Love & Medieval Romance View count: 2527 Rating: 5.0 (17 ratings) Description: Before Lord of the Rings, there was the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood & Wagner. Myths and legends of pre-history were transported to the middle-ages, coloured and romanced by medieval poets and became a source of inspiration - especially for the Victorians, who, in the midst of social upheaval, hungered after a pre-industrial innocence where chivalry, courtly love and eternal allegiance to King Arthur reigned supreme. It's impossible not to be seduced by magic, Avalon and the Ring Cycle - and where ethereal women are the cause of such high passion for Knights and artists alike. The photographs are of 'Fanny' - a prostitute, Julia Prinsep Jackson and the stunningly beautiful Jane Morris - Pre-Raphaelite models and lovers. Music: Wagner - 'magic fire music'. "And then that maiden, so slight, so small, That flawless and most gracious girl, Arose in garb majestical, Fresh as flower-de-luce, Came swiftly stepping down the deam, Gleaming white was her garb of lawn, The falling sleeves, of ample flare, Were adorned with double pearly gems; In matching mode, her skirt was fare, With precious pearls set in its hems. Set in the crown on the head of that girl Was margarite only, no other stone; No other circlet was on her hair, Which hung all around her, loosely thrown. As duke's, or earl's, grave was her air, And her skin was whiter than whalebone. Like sheer cut gold her tresses shone, And lay on her shoulders, light and unbound. Her marvellous whiteness matched that upon The pearly embroidery set around. Before man's mind could find its measure, His power of thought would be much oppressed. No tongue to its beauty could well attest, Or figure it forth in fitting phrase, Such perfect purity is possessed, That perfect pearl so set in its place." From the 14th century poem Pearl. Tags: pre-raphaelite, raphaelite, brotherhood, paintings, medieval, courtly, love, romance, victorian, art, beauty, rossetti, holman-hunt, burne-jones, millais, waterhouse, cowper, morris, ophelia, beatrix, pandora, shallot, proserpine, godiver, lancelot, wagner, Author: rosebudgarden |
