Senses of touch : : human dignity and deformity from Michelangelo to Calvin / / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle.

• Superior document: Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions ; Volume 71
• VerfasserIn: Boyle, Marjorie O'Rourke, 1943-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden : : Brill,, [1998]; ©1998
• Year of Publication: 1998
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in medieval and Reformation traditions ; Volume 71.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

Senses of Touch anatomizes the uniquely human hand as a rhetorical figure for dignity and deformity in early modern culture. It concerns a valuational shift from the contemplative ideal, as signified by the sense of sight, to an active reality, as signified by the sense of touch. From posture to piety, from manicure to magic, the book discovers touch in a critical period of its historical development, in anatomy and society. It features new interpretations of two landmarks of western civilization: Michelangelo's fresco of the Creation of Adam and Calvin's doctrine of election. It also accords special attention to the typing of women as sensual creatures by using their hands as a heuristic. Its alternative interpretations explore in theory and in practice the sensuality, the creativity, and the plain utility of hands, thus integrating biology and culture.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Acknowledgments / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Introduction / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Chapter One Adam's Finger / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Chapter Two Eve's Palm / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Chapter Three God's Hand / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Primary Sources / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Index of Names / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Index of Subjects / Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle -- Studies in Medieval and Reformation Thought / Editor: Heiko A. Oberman.