Getty Museum

Table of Consanguinity

Date

about 1170–1180

Medium

Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink

Culture

French

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

In the section of the *Decretals* on matrimony, an illuminator provided two full-page diagrams across a double-page spread to explain visually the laws of consanguinity and affinity. These laws were important for determining lines of inheritance and the legality of marriages. The first of these diagrams, the Table of Consanguinity, displays the degrees of relationship between a person and his or her blood relatives in order to make clear the prohibitions on marriage within one's own family. The bust-length figure enclosed in the small central medallion indicates the place of hypothetical viewers, allowing them to orient themselves with respect to all other family members. The large haloed figure of Adam/Christ, who represents both the first generation of humankind and the creating spirit of God, holds the diagram. The symmetrical, frontal pose gives this figure monumentality, which is reinforced by his elegant tunic and mantle and the liberal use of gold.

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