1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910359560203321

Autore

Freitag Barbara

Titolo

Sheela-na-gigs : unravelling an enigma / / Barbara Freitag

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London ; ; New York, : Routledge, 2004

ISBN

1-134-28248-6

0-203-33820-0

9786610174973

1-134-28249-4

1-280-17497-8

0-203-56706-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (228 p.)

Disciplina

730.941

731.8709410902

731.8''7''0941''0902

Soggetti

Sheela-na-gigs - Ireland

Sheela-na-gigs - Great Britain

Civilization, Celtic

Electronic books.

Ireland Antiquities, Celtic

Great Britain Antiquities, Celtic

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-200) and index.

Nota di contenuto

""BOOK COVER""; ""HALF-TITLE""; ""TITLE""; ""COPYRIGHT""; ""CONTENTS""; ""ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS""; ""ABBREVIATIONS""; ""INTRODUCTION""; ""1 THE SHEELA-NA-GIG PHENOMENON""; ""Special identifying features, distinctive gestures, objects and classification""; ""The problem of dating""; ""2 SHEELAS AND ACADEMIC RESEARCH""; ""Scholarly discovery and early speculations during the nineteenth century""; ""Ireland""; ""England, Scotland and Wales""; ""Twentieth-century theories""; ""A Norse fertility goddess""; ""A divine patron of women""; ""A pagan symbol of fertility""; ""A Celtic goddess""

""A Christian warning of sin""""A Mater Ecclesia""; ""3 THE PROBLEM OF THE NAME""; ""Sheela-na-gig: the sculpture""; ""Sheela na gigg: the



dance""; ""Sheelanagig: the ship""; ""A new look at the name""; ""�Sheelagh (i.e. Ireland)�""; ""Sheila: Saint Patrick�s stormy wife""; ""Gig: a woman�s privities""; ""4 SHEELAS, BIRTH, DEATH AND MEDIEVAL RURAL TRADITIONS""; ""The hazards of medieval motherhood""; ""Women�s helpers during labour""; ""Stones""; ""Girdles""; ""Charms""; ""Midwives""; ""Sheelas and folk religion""; ""Folk deities assisting at birth""

""The continuous cycle of life and death""""The Christian Church and folk religion""; ""Sheela precursers and similar figures""; ""CONCLUSION""; ""SHEELA-NA-GIG CATALOGUE""; ""Ireland""; ""Extant figures""; ""Record only""; ""England""; ""Extant figures""; ""Record only""; ""Scotland""; ""Wales""; ""Sheela-na-gigs in Ireland and England arranged by counties""; ""Ireland""; ""England""; ""NOTES""; ""BIBLIOGRAPHY""; ""SHEELA-RELATED ARTICLES AND BOOKS""; ""THE CELTIC CONNECTION""; ""THE NORDIC CONNECTION""; ""THE SOCIO-CULTURAL BACKGROUND""; ""ART AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES""

""MEDIEVAL CHILDBEARING""""INDEX""

Sommario/riassunto

Here Barbara Freitag examines all the literature on the subject since their discovery 160 years ago, highlighting the inconsistencies of the various interpretations in regard to origin, function and name. By considering the Sheela-na-gigs in their medieval social context, she suggests that they were folk deities with particular responsibility for assistance in childbirth. This fascinating survey sheds new light on a controversial phenomenon, and also contains a complete catalogue of all known Sheela-na-gigs, including hitherto unrecorded or unpublished figures.