Animals as Images in Medieval Mirrors of Sin

Abstract

This article explores the ways in which animals are used as images in Middle Dutch Mirrors of sins. As a corpus I have used all edited discussions of the seven deadly sins, whether they survive as separate treatises or as part of a larger whole. In this material animals are used as images for (aspects of) men, Christ, sins, and the devil. Animals are used as metaphors, as examples and as allegories. It is shown how animals are used in these ways to elucidate aspects of the argument of the text. To place the presented data in context the results are linked to the diverse ways in which the texts try to achieve their catechetical aims.