Emblem 93

Emblem 93

A priest joining the hands of a blindfolded, bound bridegroom and a brideAI-generated

Femme ne prendz pour beaulté ny richesse.

Emblem 93. Take not a wife for beauty nor for wealth.AI-generated

Description of the woodcutAI-generated

A woodcut in a rectangular frame showing three standing figures before a panelled wall. At left a man wearing a cloth band tied over his eyes (blindfolded) stands with his hands held out and bound; a chain or cord runs from his wrists to the centre. In the middle a clergyman in a long robe faces forward, holding the joined hands of the man and of a woman at the right. The woman, in a long gown and headdress, extends her hand toward the centre; her long skirt trails on the ground. A horizontal chain links the hands of the couple across the priest's body.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page of emblem 93 — Facsimile of the page (Herzog August Bibliothek); click to enlarge.

TranscriptionAI-generated

BEnde doibt estre homme qui se marie:Car q prēd féme au souhaict de ses yeulx,Pour la beauté de son sens, trop varie,Dont à la fin est melancolieux:Les poings liez doibt auoir pour le mieulx:Car ne la doibt prendre pour son douaire.L'homme est bien fol, & plus que temeraire,Qui par les mains, ou les yeulx prēdra femme,Prendre on la doibt par l'oreille à bien faire,C'est par bon bruyt, par bon renom & fame.

TranslationAI-generated

Blindfolded ought a man to be who marries: for he who takes a wife according to the desire of his eyes, for her beauty, wavers too much in his judgement, so that in the end he becomes melancholy. He ought, for the best, to have his hands bound, for he should not take her for her dowry. The man is very foolish, and more than rash, who will take a wife by the hands or by the eyes; one ought rather, to do well, to take her by the ear, that is, by good report, by good renown and fame.

Iconclass

86(FEMME NE PRENDZ POUR BEAULTÉ NY RICHESSE) proverbs, sayings, etc. (FEMME NE PRENDZ POUR BEAULTÉ NY RICHESSE)

31D14 adult man

47D8(CHAIN) tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: chain

44G3129 (person) in fetters, not imprisoned

31A3191 blindfold

31D15 adult woman

11Q73262 couple before the priest ~ marriage

33C33 the (difficult) choice ~ courting

33C332 blindfolded choice (of partner)

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

Additional codes proposed for this emblem, not (yet) part of the indexing.

42D3 marriage, married couple, 'matrimonium'high

The scene shows a man and woman being joined in 'matrimonium' with their hands linked, matching 'marriage, married couple'.

42D betrothal and marriagemedium

The joining of hands by an officiant fits the general category 'betrothal and marriage'.

42D2 (civil) marriage ceremoniesmedium

The depicted act of an officiant joining the couple's hands is a marriage ceremony as covered by 'marriage ceremonies'.

11Q7326 marriage in church ~ the sixth of the seven sacramentsmedium

A clergyman in a long robe joining the couple's hands corresponds to marriage performed as a religious rite/sacrament.

44G312 prisoner; in fetterslow

The blindfolded groom with bound wrists and a chain resembles the imagery of a 'prisoner; in fetters', here used metaphorically for marriage.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

Suggested relationships between this emblem and adages in Erasmus’ Adagia.

III iv 69 Mulieris oculus – thematic inventiomedium

The emblem's central warning is against the man who 'prend femme au souhaict de ses yeulx, pour la beauté', hence the blindfold; this matches the adage's point that a woman's beauty seen by the eye is an arrow that wounds and misleads young men ('ex aspectu nascitur amor').

II vii 67 Canis in vincula – thematic inventiolow

The bound hands and chain of the bridegroom visualize a man who, lured by the bait of beauty or dowry, hands himself over to bondage — the sense of the adage about dogs that offer themselves to be chained when tempted by food.

II viii 72 Vulcanium vinculum – thematic inventiolow

The chain linking the couple's joined hands across the priest echoes the proverbial inextricable marriage-bond of Vulcan, in which the more one struggles the tighter one is held — fitting the subscriptio's melancholy outcome for the badly-chosen marriage.