What is a butt tuba and why is it in medieval art? - Michelle Brown

Reviewer: Athira Rizka

A rabbit attempts to play a church organ,

Seekor kelinci memainkan organ gereja,

while a knight fights a giant snail

sementara seorang kesatria melawan seekor siput raksasa

and a naked man blows a trumpet with his rear end.

dan seorang pria bugil meniup terompet dengan bokongnya.

Painted with squirrel-hair brushes on vellum or parchment

Dilukis dengan kuas bulu tupai di kertas kulit atau perkamen

by monks, nuns, and urban craftspeople,

oleh para biarawan, biarawati, dan pengrajin kota,

these bizarre images populate the margins of the most prized books

gambar-gambar aneh ini memenuhi pinggir halaman buku-buku paling berharga

from the Middle Ages.

di Abad Pertengahan.

Their illustrations often tell a second story as rich as the text itself.

Ilustrasi mereka seolah-olah menuturkan kisah sekaya teks buku itu sendiri.

Some images appear in many different illuminated manuscripts,

Beberapa gambar muncul di banyak naskah beriluminasi yang berbeda,

and often reinforce the religious content of the books they decorated.

dan sering memperkuat konten agama buku yang dihiasinya.

For example, a porcupine picking up fruit on its spines

Contohnya, seekor landak yang mengambil buah dari duri-durinya

could represent the devil stealing the fruits of faith--

bisa menggambarkan iblis mencuri buah keyakinan --

or Christ taking up the sins of mankind.

atau Kristus menanggung dosa manusia.

Medieval lore stated that a hunter could only capture a unicorn

Legenda abad pertengahan menuturkan pemburu hanya bisa menangkap unicorn

when it lay its horn in the lap of a virgin,

ketika ia membaringkan tanduknya di pangkuan seorang perawan,

so a unicorn could symbolize either sexual temptation

jadi unicorn bisa melambangkan godaan seksual

or Christ being captured by his enemies.

atau Kristus yang ditangkap oleh musuh-musuhnya.

Rabbits, meanwhile, could represent human’s lustful natures—

Sementara itu, kelinci melambangkan hawa nafsu manusia—

and could redeem themselves through attempts to make sacred music

yang bisa menebus dosa-dosanya dengan menggubah musik kudus

despite their failings.

walau dengan segala celanya.

All of these references would have been familiar to medieval Europeans

Semua simbol-simbol ini tak asing bagi bangsa Eropa abad pertengahan

from other art forms and oral tradition,

dari bentuk seni lainnya dan tradisi lisan,

though some have grown more mysterious over the centuries.

meski beberapa menjadi lebih misterius seiring abad berlalu.

Today,

Saat ini,

no one can say for sure what the common motif of a knight fighting a snail means—

Tidak ada yang tahu pasti apa arti motif kesatria yang melawan seekor siput—

or why the knight so often appears to be losing.

atau mengapa si kesatria sering kali tampak kalah.

The snail might be a symbol of the inevitability of death,

Siput itu bisa jadi simbol kematian yang tak terelakkan,

which defeats even the strongest knights.

yang mengalahkan kesatria terkuat sekalipun.

Or it could represent humility, and a knight’s need to vanquish his own pride.

Bisa juga menyimbolkan khidmat, kerendahan diri sang kesatria.

Many illuminated manuscripts were copies of religious or classical texts,

Banyak naskah beriluminasi merupakan salinan teks agama atau klasik,

and the bookmakers incorporated their own ideas and opinions in illustrations.

dan para pembuat buku menyertakan ide dan opini mereka dalam ilustrasinya.

The butt tuba, for example,

Si bokong tuba, misalnya,

was likely shorthand to express disapproval with--

kemungkinan merupakan jalan pintas untuk menggambarkan celaan--

or add an ironic spin to-- the action in the text.

atau menambahkan ironi pada tindakan yang terjadi di dalam teks.

Illuminations could also be used to make subversive political commentary.

Iluminasi juga bisa digunakan untuk membuat komentar politik subversif.

The text of the "Smithfield Decretals"

Teks "Smithfield Decretals"

details the Church’s laws and punishments for lawbreakers.

merinci hukum Gereja dan hukuman bagi para pelanggar hukum.

But the margins show a fox being hanged by geese,

Namun pinggirannya menunjukkan rubah yang digantung oleh angsa,

a possible allusion to the common people turning on their powerful oppressors.

kiasan bagi rakyat yang menggulingkan penindas mereka yang kuat.

In the "Chronica Majora,"

Dalam "Chronica Majora,"

Matthew Paris summarized a scandal of his day,

Matthew Paris merangkum sebuah skandal dari masanya,

in which the Welsh prince Griffin

ketika pangeran Welsh, Griffin,

plummeted to his death from the tower of London.

tewas karena terjatuh dari Menara London.

Some believed the prince fell, Paris wrote,

Beberapa orang yakin sang pangeran jatuh, tulis Paris,

while others thought he was pushed.

sementara sisanya mengira dia didorong.

He added his own take in the margins,

Dia menambahkan pendapatnya sendiri di margin,

which show the prince falling to his death

yang menunjukkan sang pangeran terjatuh

while trying to escape on a rope made of bed-sheets.

saat berusaha kabur memakai seutas tali dari seprai.

Some margins told stories of a more personal nature.

Beberapa pinggir kertas mengisahkan cerita yang lebih personal.

"The Luttrell Psalter,"

"The Luttrell Psalter,"

a book of psalms and prayers commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell,

buku mazmur dan doa yang dipesan oleh Sir Geoffrey Luttrell,

shows a young woman having her hair done,

menunjukkan seorang gadis yang menata rambutnya,

while a young man catches a bird in a net.

sementara seorang pemuda menangkap seekor burung di jala.

The shaved patch on his head is growing out,

Bagian gundul di kepalanya mulai ditumbuhi rambut,

indicating that he is a clergyman neglecting his duties.

menandakan dia seorang paderi yang mengabaikan tugasnya.

This alludes to a family scandal

Ini mengiaskan sebuah skandal keluarga

where a young cleric ran away with Sir Geoffrey’s daughter Elizabeth.

ketika seorang paderi muda melarikan diri dengan putri Sir Geoffrey, Elizabeth.

The family’s personal spiritual advisor likely painted it into the book

Kemungkinan penasihat spiritual pribadi keluarga itu yang melukisnya di buku

to remind his clients of their failings

sebagai pengingat kliennya atas kegagalan mereka

and encourage their spiritual development.

dan mendorong penguatan spiritual mereka.

Some artists even painted themselves into the manuscripts.

Beberapa artis bahkan melukis diri sendiri di naskah.

The opening image of Christine de Pisan’s collected works

Gambar pembuka kumpulan karya Christine de Pisan

shows de Pisan presenting the book to the Queen of France.

menunjukkan Pisan mempersembahkan buku tersebut kepada Ratu Perancis.

The queen was so impressed by de Pisan's previous work

Ratu sangat terkesan dengan karya Pisan sebelumnya

that she commissioned her own copy.

sehingga dia memesan satu untuknya.

Such royal patronage

Perlindungan kerajaan

enabled her to establish her own publishing house in Paris.

memungkinkannya mendirikan penerbitannya sendiri di Paris.

The tradition of illuminated manuscripts lasted for over a thousand years.

Tradisi naskah beriluminasi bertahan selama ribuan tahun.

Buku-buku itu dibuat oleh perorangan atau kelompok untuk khalayak luas

The books were created by individuals or teams for uses as wide-ranging

as private prayer aids, service books in churches, textbooks,

seperti bantuan doa pribadi, buku pelayanan di gereja, buku teks,

and protective talismans to take into battle.

dan jimat pelindung di medan perang.

Across all this variation,

Di seluruh ragam jenisnya,

those tricky little drawings in the margins

gambar-gambar rumit di margin itu

are a unique window into the minds of medieval artists.

adalah jendela unik ke dalam pikiran para artis abad pertengahan.