In search of lost meaning: Nineteenth-century studies of the Mass of Saint Gregory

Nineteenth-century studies of the Mass of Saint Gregory

Abstract

The Mass of Saint Gregory, a medieval iconographic motif that emerged in the late fourteenth century, depicts the apparition of Christ to Gregory the Great. Following its decline during the Reformation period, it fell into obscurity. It was not until the nineteenth century that several scholars rediscovered it. By that time, however, its original meaning had been lost, giving rise to debates and difficulties regarding its identification. Concurrently, other studies interpreted the image as an adaptation of legends far older than the emergence of the iconography itself. Consequently, it became the subject of various interpretive attempts, with some scholars projecting onto it analyses shaped by the methods and sensibilities of their time.