"With Sevene Sinnys Sadde Beset" The Iconography of the Deadly Sins and the Medieval Stage

The study examines the medieval iconographic tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins and places that tradition into the context of French and English drama from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. Following an introductory chapter, the study examines the theological background of the concept of the Deadly Sins from the early Christian period up to the Middle Ages. The development of the pictorial tradition is next examined by outlining significant iconographic traits appropriated from the works of art into the drama. The connection between the Deadly Sins and the demonic realm is then explored as an aspect of presentational depiction both in art and drama. The verbal aspect of sin is subsequently delineated as a component of the expanding concept of the Deadly Sins and as a significant feature in the performance of the sins on the stage. The final chapter of the study brings together the visual, verbal and performative aspects of the Seven Deadly Sins through a semiotic model and examines how the hierarchy and placement of the Sins on the stage influenced the meaning and reception of the figures by the viewer.