05/28/2024
From Cupid to Cardio: The Medieval Ages
In the Middle Ages, we see the earliest depictions of the heart – much like the familiar symbol we know today. In a 13th-century French manuscript titled "Romance of the Pear", we encounter a man kneeling, offering his heart to a lady fair. "Romance of the Pear" is a quintessential example of courtly love novels popular at the time. However, as the title suggests, the object resembling a heart may not have been one. It's likely the “pear” mentioned in the title, serving as a symbol of love, much like the rose in the famous French allegorical poem of the 13th century, “Roman de la Rose”.
Regardless, a certain rounded object with a tapered end unmistakably becomes the symbol of the heart in medieval manuscript tradition shortly after. We observe this familiar shape appearing in both love novels and alchemical treatises, where it clearly signifies the heart. In novels, a woman's giving of the heart to a man came to symbolize the highest manifestation of love. Meanwhile, in the alchemical treatise “The Aurora Consurgens”, written in 1410, the common iconography found in romantic novels underwent significant reinterpretation.
Created by a licensed anesthesiologist.
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