The Symbolic Strategies of Amédée VIII: A Utopian Vision Examined through Alignments and Artistic Representations

2024-02-25T13:51:09+00:00

This article explores the intricacies of the Duchy of Savoy during the 15th century, exploring its complex connections with Africa, the Crusades, and the Holy Empire. Focused on the reign of Amadeus VIII, who later became Pope Felix V, the study investigates the unique devotion to Saint Maurice d'Agaune and Saint Anthony the Great within the Duchy. The research unveils new evidence through architectural alignments, religious symbolism, and artistic representations, notably analyzing Konrad Witz's "La Pêche miraculeuse." It discovers significant alignments from Chambéry to Ripaille, Basel, and Magdeburg, indicating political and symbolic strategies. The article introduces the concept of an "inclined cross," aligning Savoy with Magdeburg, Cyprus, Rhodes, and Turin. The symbolic reading of the Savoy Knot, associated with the motto Foedere et Religione Tenemur (F.E.R.T), suggests a mnemonic tool possibly derived from maritime practices, providing insights into the Duchy's unique strategies and perspectives. This Savoyard motto, a relic of the Middle Ages and some of its medals or coins, happily cultivated its reputation for mystery or obscure meaning. The methodology involves expanding references, exploring heraldry, and examining religious and spiritual connections. The article proposes a potential link between Savoy's alignments and Egyptian or Ethiopian influences, supported by pilgrimages from these regions. It suggests the existence of a coherent utopia imagined by Amadeus VIII, fostering a new perspective on the artistic achievements of the time. The erasure of symbolic constructions, orchestrated by subsequent figures like Enea Silvio Piccolomini, is discussed, leaving enigmatic traces of the Duchy's engagement with Africa.

Prisoners of Conscience: Music, Trauma, and Memory in Fẹ́mi Ọ̀ṣọ́fisan’s ‘Women of Òwu’

2024-08-16T08:27:09+00:00

Studies have shown that music is an effective therapy in the treatment of traumatised moods and emotions of an individual or a group of people. This becomes very evident in how music artists and others in the performing arts such as theatre practitioners engage music in narrating traumatic experiences in their works. Consequently, this study engages Women of Òwu, a dramatic work by Fẹ́mi Ọ̀ṣọ́fisan, in which music is deployed to express the female gender’s experience of psychological trauma in violent situations, especially war. It interrogates the psychological trauma experienced during such violent situations and the extent to which the affected women experience social justice after such traumatic experiences. Primary data was collected through content analysis of purposively selected compositions in the dramatic work. Secondary data was generated through the existing body of published and unpublished literature. To situate his audience in the emotion of the female characters, Ọ̀ṣọ́fisan employed the medium of music to express their anger, vulnerability, sorrow, pain, hopelessness, reflection and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The play features dirges used to mourn the dead; victory songs used by Erelú, to celebrate perceived justice for the promiscuity of Iyùnloyè, bridal serenade sung to express hope for a good marital experience in the hands of the oppressor that would marry the vulnerable women and songs with which they reflect and express their post-traumatic stress disorder. The study offers fresh perspectives on the global management of trauma.

Journal of Visual and Performing Arts

The Symbolic Strategies of Amédée VIII: A Utopian Vision Examined through Alignments and Artistic Representations

Prisoners of Conscience: Music, Trauma, and Memory in Fẹ́mi Ọ̀ṣọ́fisan’s ‘Women of Òwu’