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1. MS Bodley 264 and Alexander and Dindimus The Data

Bodley 264 is remarkable for its topical breadth, varied rhetoric,

diverse episodes, and pictorial content. In Bodley 264s text and
images, Alexander is a fearless warrior, clever strategist, generous
lord, wise judge, quick-witted orator, courtly gentleman, and bold
explorer. The manuscript offers an immediate experience of this
exceptional life. (Cruse 5)
As Cruse remarks, particularly in terms of illumination MS Bodley 264 is one of the
richest manuscripts preserved today. It portrays Alexander the Great as an
extraordinary warrior, conqueror and hero. Throughout the manuscript, stories of
Alexander conquering different countries are told in a very heroic manner.
The texts in Bodley 264 were produced between the 1180s and the 1330s, and
the manuscript as such was created in Tournai, present-day Belgium. According to
colophons, the texts were completed in 1338, and the illuminations in 1348 (cf.
interview with Cruse, page 2,
http://www.boydellandbrewer.com/content/docs/QA_Illuminating_the_Roman_d%27
Alexandre.pdf). The illumination of the Roman dAlexandre was produced by the
Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1344 (cf. Bunt 28).
Bodley 264s core text is a product of the twelfth-century adaptation of Latin
literature and belongs to a tradition that generally celebrates Alexander as a conqueror,
explorer, and wise ruler (ibid. 4) and was completed in the 1180s in northern France.
The manuscript contains the most textually complete version of the expanded Roman
dAlexandre; it preserves the most copiously illustrated copy of this text; it has the
largest folios of any manuscript of this text; it contains nine full-page miniatures (of an
original thirteen), the most in any French romance manuscript (ibid. 2). This makes
clear that the manuscript is one of the most important in terms of the illumination.
All the more peculiar is the fact that there is a fragment that does not seem to
fit quite well, especially in terms of rhetoric and illumination: the so-called Alexander
Fragment B, a Middle English alliterative poem about Alexanders encounter with
king Dindimus and the Brahmans. The fragment mainly consists of a correspondence
between Alexander and Dindimus, in which they maintain a philosophical dialogue.
There exists only one copy of this fragment which is imperfect both at the beginning
and the end (Skeat vii). Skeat notes that Alexander Fragment B is part of the wellknown copy of [the manuscript of] the French Romans dAlixandre, to which is

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appended a copy, in another hand, of Marco Polos travels (Skeat viii). Marco Polos
Voyages follow after two blank pages, in French (cf. Bunt 28).
Fragment B is based on a Latin text, the Collatio Alexandri Magni cum
Dindimo rege Bragmanorum de philosophia per litteras facta, which most probably
goes back to a Greek version (cf. Ross 31 f.). Ross says that it has eight miniatures
illustrating the Collatio which are based directly on the English text on fols. 209v,
210, 211, 212, 213, 213v, 214 and 215 (ibid. 32). However, there are actually nine
miniatures in total. On fol. 215v the last one can be found. The miniatures constitute
the only type of illumination, next to decorated initials. There is no border decoration.
According to Cruse, this manuscript is a form of ideological justification for
the nobilitys social position (interview with Cruse, page 3). First and foremost, this
would implicate that the manuscript does not draw a critical picture of Alexander, but
rather presents him as a largely positive figure who represented generosity, wise rule,
military skill, charisma, eloquence, craftiness, and courage, among many other
virtues (interview with Cruse, page 2). However, Fragment B reveals other facets of
Alexander, insofar as that through Dindimus Alexanders erroneous ways are
commented on.
Cruse notes that Alexander was known by later generations not through
neutral biographies, but through histories and legends that transformed him into a
hero, a villain, an ambiguous moral example (Cruse 3). Particularly, the latter is of
importance for Fragment B, as Dindimus criticizes Alexander and gives him advice in
terms of moral behavior. Furthermore, this means that the fragment does not stand
within the tradition of the rest of the manuscript which rather praises Alexander and
tells of his numerous voyages.
Moreover, the images differ very much from the ones that we have in the rest
of the manuscript. They were most certainly designed by a different workshop. Cruse
poses the question why was Bodley 264 produced, and why in such a lavish
manner? (2). This paper will not try to answer this question, rather will I try to
respond to the matter as to why the illuminations of Fragment B differ from the rest of
the manuscript.
A very curious phenomenon is the fact that the fragment is written in Middle
English instead of French like the rest of the Roman dAlexandre. A question that I
will try to approach is why this Middle English fragment was inserted in this particular
part of the MS.

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As an unknown scribe remarks with a little note on folio 67r, Fragment B is

supposedly missing in the The Romance of Alexander (A collotype facs. of ms. Bodley
264): Here fayle a prossesse of is rommance of alixander, e wheche prossesse at
fayleth e schulle fynde at e ende of is bok y-wrete in engelyche ryme (cf. Skeat
viii). The folio on which this note can be found was originally left blank (ibid.) and
only inserted later. As the handwriting of the note and the handwriting of Alexander
Fragment B are extremely similar and most probably the same, the scribe apparently
refers to Fragment B (fols. 209r 215v).
James has one explanation as to why Fragment B was included in the
manuscript. He states Alexander and Dindimus was apparently inserted merely to
supply incidents omitted by the French romance (2 f.). However, this is quite
arguable, as the style of Fragment B is very different from the style of the romance. It
has a didactic undertone. The Alexander and Dindimus episode ends with a miniature
of the erection of a pillar that illustrates the end of Alexanders conquests. The scribe
that included the fragment in Bodley 264 might have thought that this incident works
very well as the closure of Alexanders adventures.
Skeat says that the writer of this note is clearly wrong by saying that the
English alliterative poem supplies the deficiency (Skeat ix) of the blank page.
However, he discards the idea that the blank space was left for the purpose of
introducing an illumination, because the shape of the slender column is unsuited for
this (ibid.). Skeat comments further on that it is more likely that the scribe of the
French romance imagined there was a defect in the MS. from which he was copying,
and that he left a space in case he should be able to supply it (ibid.). Apparently, the
English fragment and the French romance belong to different versions of the story
(ibid.).
As we can see, Fragment B does not seem to fit in with the rest of the MS at
all. The tone is a very different one, and Alexanders adventures simply go on without
having to take into account the Dindimus episode. It has to considered a separate text,
as formally it is a philosophical dialogue. The Roman dAlexandre, instead, is a
romance that tells about Alexanders adventures.
Cruse remarks that the inclusion of the fragment shows that Bodley 264 was
still read in England in the 15th century. As Fragment B was produced in the 14th
century, it is very probable that the manuscript was still of interest around this time,
but the adaptions were made in English instead of in French so the 14th-century

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readership was able to read it. This way, the relevance of the manuscript was
emphasized. Apparently, other elements were included after the first production phase/
after the completion of Bodley 264. The note on 67r seems to have been written by the
same scribe as Fragment B, just as another additional part of the manuscript, Marco
Polos Voyages, which, unlike the other parts is written in prose. Also, unlike
Fragment B, it was written in French. Cruse states that [t]his hand also seems to have
copied the later rubrics in the Roman dAlexandre (Cruse 194) written in an AngloNorman dialect [that] date to well after Bodley 264 was completed (ibid.).
According to Cruse, the rubrics, texts, and illuminations added to Bodley 264
in England around 1410 would seem to show that years after its production the
manuscript remained a meaningful artifact that people continued to read and adapt
(ibid. 196). Further on, he notes that the prestige of the Roman dAlexandre and its
additions, combined with the close cultural ties between England and France
throughout the late Middle Ages, left little terrain in which these English Alexander
poems could develop. That Bodley 264 continued to be read in fifteenth-century
England is therefore not surprising (ibid. 197). Also, he remarks that the addition of
the Middle English Alexander and Dindimus to Bodley 264 is a testament to the
expanded use of English in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century (ibid. 203).
This is one possible explanation as to why Fragment B was written in English instead
of French. As Marco Polos Voyages was written in French, it is obvious that French
was still vital among the early-fifteenth-century English nobility, [however,] the
insertion of the [sic] Alexander and Dindimus is also a harbinger of Frenchs waning
and fossilization in England (ibid.). When even the English nobility could no longer
understand Old French, Bodley 264 ceased to be a meaningful manuscript.
The intention with which the text was written is still unclear. Some scholars
suggest it might have been used to criticize Alexander. Skeat proposes several ideas:
This correspondence has really nothing to do with the story of Alexanders
adventures, but is a mere excrescence. It is easy to see that it originated with an
ecclesiastic, and was introduced with a moral purpose. There are two leading ideas in
it, both of them theological . The former is, the common and favourite contrast
between the Active Life and the Contemplative Life, which so often meets us in
medival literature; and the latter, the contrast between the Christian life and that of
the heathen worshippers of idols. () The life of Dindimus, in as far as it is
assimilated to that of a Christian, is preferable to that of Alexander. The life of

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Alexander, in its Active aspect, enlists our sympathies rather than that of Dindimus.
The author () strove rather for oratical effect than sought to inculcate a lesson
(Skeat xviii).
Alexander the Great is presented as a pagan conqueror who fights for moral
and political, not religious, reasons (Cruse 145), the Dindimus episode can be seen as
a didactic lesson that tells the reader about the importance of Christianity. Dindimus
can be seen as something like a moral authority here, as he incorporates Christian
values. Alexanders position is ridiculed and his authority is challenged, as the
Brahmans (Gller here calls them Gymnosophists) unmask him: Alexander
verkrpert den Herrscher, der sich selbst vergttlicht, aber zugeben mu (sic), da
(sic) er sterblich ist. Er wird von den Gymnosophisten entlarvt (Gller 112).
The status of Alexander the Great is underlined by the fact that he can be found
among the Nine Worthies. The hero Alexander is among the three ancient Worthies,
along with Hector and Julius Caesar (Cruse 87) and embodies two principle virtues:
his curiosity and the success in his conquests and adventures (cf. Cruse 136).
Nevertheless, Alexanders desire to know and experience the world, like many other
aspects of his legend, received both negative and positive commentary in Antiquity
and the Middle Ages. For the Stoics, moralists and theologians, Alexanders hunger
for adventure and knowledge was of a piece with his avidity for conquest. ()
Alexander represents a thoroughly negative form of curiositas that grasps after useless
earthly knowledge and power, and forgets care of the soul and moral limits (ibid.).
This is the impression one has when taking a look at the Dindimus episode. Dindimus
criticizes Alexander in terms of his moral conceptions. Thus, the text seems to go
along in the tradition with the negative form of curiosity, reflecting some of the
negative response that Alexander had during the Middle Ages. Precisely this point also
makes Fragment B significant, as it differs from the tone of the Roman dAlexandre.
Gller describes that in terms of curiositas, Dindimus praises Alexander for his
thirst for knowledge. Furthermore, curiositas is seen as a signal for turning away from
God. The curiosity of a ruler can supposedly only be legitimized through wisdom.
However, Dindimus is not coherent in his argumentation, as he stresses that among the
Brahmans there are no differences in rank (cf. Gller 111). Therefore, it is quite
arguable if Dindimus actually praises Alexander or rather criticizes him.
Cruse underlines that the manuscript Bodley 264 is to be seen as a complete
signifying system whose text and images are in continuous dialogue (Cruse 2). This

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statement makes clear that the importance of the manuscript is the text and the images
that are thoroughly intertwined with each other.
Just as Cruse, Skeat stresses that this Fragment B is remarkable for the
number and beauty of the illuminations contained in it (ibid.). Precisely the
illuminations are the focus of this work. In this paper I will discuss the issue of nudity
in Middle English MS, focusing on Alexander Fragment B and the naked Brahmans.
Furthermore, I will describe how the interrelation of text and images functions.

2. Functions of Illuminated Middle English MS

Medieval images have several functions that play an important role for the analysis of
Middle English manuscripts. Firstly, they have often been viewed as a help for the
illiterate whose education was to take place through these. However, Hilmo argues that
this is a too narrow perspective and that medieval illustrations have come to be
viewed as lacking in profundity (Hilmo 13). In addition to that, many are still under the
impression that the text was always considered more important than the image and that
medieval people themselves viewed illustration only as a didactic tool for the illiterate or
for decorative purposes (ibid.).
Furthermore, Hilmo states that a subject who is pictured as visually present allows for
an intense emotional engagement by the viewer who can develop and sustain an intimate
relationship through contemplation and prayer (ibid. 16). In Fragment B, we find nine
colored miniature illuminations, six of which have Alexander as a subject. This underlines
the fact that, above all, the text is about Alexander who is the center of attention. King
Dindimus is presented almost as frequently as Alexander (five times), however, he is not
present in the last image on which Alexander erects a pillar. This pillar marks the end of
the conversation between Alexander and Dindimus and determines the end of Alexanders
conquests. Alexander authority is reconfirmed, as he is the only human subject on the last
miniature. Apart from that, he also has the last word: Hidur haue ich, alixandre wi myn
help fare (Skeat 42, l. 1137).
Also according to Cruse, [t]he illustrations in Bodley 264 are a continual reminder to
the viewer of Alexanders presence they are a cue that the protagonist is on stage and
in the thick of action (Cruse 122). This is the case for the whole manuscript, Alexander is
ever-present, he is always in the spotlight. The same is true for the Dindimus episode.
Alexander can be found on the majority of the images. Notwithstanding, as the images

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were produced by a different workshop, there is of course a harsh difference in the

illuminations.
For the medieval eye, everything in the illuminations has a spiritual meaning.
According to Hilmo, the highest purpose of medieval images is to evoke the living
presence of the divine, serving the viewer as a link to spiritual reality and as a
manifestation of the inner vision achieved by the contemplative (Hilmo xiv). The latter
thought would match Skeats thought about the distinction of the active and the
contemplative.
The illuminations frequently guide the reading process (Hilmo xv). This is true for
Fragment B, as I will show in chapter 3.

3. The Interrelation of Text and Image in Alexander Fragment B

More than ever before or since in the history of the West, words and images are
indissolubly connected in medieval cultural artifacts. (Hilmo 28)

As in medieval manuscripts the illumination always makes reference to the

text, the interrelation of text and image is a crucial issue that needs to be considered.
Hilmo notes that the surviving artifacts of this period can be seen as evidence of the
visual as well as the verbal literacy of their designers and makers, not to mention of
their audiences (54). Taking into account that the visual-verbal-interaction (ibid.
55) is of particular importance, as it tells us a lot about the reading of the text, in this
chapter I will describe how the interplay between text and image functions,
mentioning the folios that contain a miniature. In general, the illuminations are
arranged insofar as they support the information given in the text.

Fol. 209r:
On the first folio we find the initial W which is positioned right at the
beginning of the text on the left-hand column, following the peritext that is placed
a little apart from the image.
In the first lines the text already talks about the Gymnosophists who [o]f
bodi wente ei bar wi-oute any wede (Skeat 1, l. 6). The text is about
Alexander who comes to Oxydracae and meets the Gymnosophists who go naked

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and live in caves. Later on, the text only speaks about the Brahmans: We were in
bragmanie bred (Skeat 8, l. 175). However, the fact that these people go naked is
found in the illuminations of the rest of the fragment.
Fol. 209v:
The first colored miniature can be found on folio 209v. It follows the
peritext which is positioned on the bottom of the left-hand column. The image,
then, is the first element that begins the right-hand column, followed by the initial
A. The image shows Alexander in front of his tent, one Brahman in a boat and
two other Brahmans on the other side of a stream. The peritext says How
alixandre remewid to a flod at is called phison. The illustration directly refers to
this text element, as it shows the river, separating Alexander on the left-hand side
and the Brahmans on the right-hand side. Alexander points towards the strangers
on the other side of the stream, where there are also two dragons. The dragons are
mentioned in the text as well: Dredful dragonus (Skeat 7, l. 156), even if the
number is not specified. Another indication that the illuminator translates the text
closely into image is the fact that there is a reference to Alexanders tents close to
the stream: And bi e banke of e strem he biggede his tentus (Skeat 7, l. 144).
The Brahmans are presented as naked with plant ornaments on their
bodies. As already indicated, the fact that the Brahmans walk about naked is
already mentioned at the very beginning of the text. As one can see, most of the
text that belongs to the image is found below the image, and the scene shown in
the image is basically described below the image as well. The image is directly
followed by the green initial A that begins a new passage. Thus, the image
introduces the new chapter. As a consequence, the interrelation of text and image
works very well with this first image. The illuminator included much of what the
text communicates.
Fol. 210r:
On folio 210r, the image is placed on the very bottom of the right-hand
column, following the peritext. The initial which begins the next chapter can be
found on folio 210v in the very left-hand upper corner.

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Image no. 2 is found on the bottom of the right-hand column. On the right,
Alexander is seated on a chair in front of his tent, holding a letter in one of his
hands and gesticulating with the other. On the left, we see the Brahman messenger
in a very dense suit of leaves, kneeling in front of Alexander.
The scene is a bit ambiguous, as it could either be the Brahman messenger who
hands a letter to Alexander or it could be Alexander who hands a letter to the
seems more logical that in this image, Alexander has just received Dindimuss
letter, which is announced by the rubric that says How king dindimus sente
lettrus to king alixandre.
In the case that the picture shows how Alexander gives the letter to Dindimuss
messenger, it would function as a summary of the anteceding chapter which tells
us about the content of Alexanders letter. Much more likely, however, is the
other solution, as the peritext, which is directly followed by the image, also talks
about Dindimuss letter.
Fol. 211r:
Image no. 3 shows Dindimus (on the left-hand side) with another
Brahman (right hand), both naked with plant ornamentation on their bodies.
Dindimus sits at the entrance of a cave and writes a letter, the other Brahman, at
the entrance of another cave just opposite, but a on a lower level, seems to be
lying in the cave and listening or contemplating, with one hand leaning on his
head.
This time the image is very much implemented in the text. The peritext
says that Dindimus tells Alexander about the Brahmans way of life which,
however, takes place in the anteceding chapter as well as in the following chapter.
The image, here, could function as a distraction from the text; the decoration
loosens up Dindimuss monotonous talk in the letter.
Fol. 212r:
Image no. 4 is positioned on the right-hand column, after 12 verses of
text. It depicts Alexander standing in front of his tent (on the left-hand side) with
four naked Brahmans on the right-hand side. The Brahmans, again, have plant
ornaments on their bodies. Alexander holds a letter in one hand and has one finger

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of the other hand pointed toward the Brahmans. The Brahmans are all standing
upright; the first one, who appears to be Dindimus, points his finger toward
Alexander. The others stand with their arms folded or look away. The genitalia of
Dindimus are visible, although only hinted at.
Alexanders and Dindimuss finger almost touch. Dindimus is in a more
elevated position. Thus, the instruction that Dindimus gives Alexander in the
letter on the governance of his people is indicated. Dindimus compares the two
different ways of life. He even insults Alexanders people by calling them folus
(Skeat 24, l. 627) and tells them they worship falce godus (Skeat 25, l. 643).
Here he mentions Cupid who is the subject of the next image.
Fol. 213 r:
The main focus of image no. 5 is a pillar in the center with human-like on
top, which might be Cupid, considering the preceding lines in the text: Cupidus
e corsede at is in care punched, e worchen al worschipe & in is wise tellen
(Skeat 26, ll. 679). Furthermore, below the image the text talks about Cupid who
leccherie louede (ibid. l. 681).
On the left-hand side we find Alexander, on the right-hand side
Dindimus, naked, in his usual leaf dress, standing in front of a cave. Dindimus has
his index finger of his right hand pointed towards the idol in the center and seems
to be instructing Alexander, his head in a diagonal position, which probably
indicates initiative. Alexander has a rather accepting position, holding his hands
towards his body, looking Dindimus in the eye.
The image most probably refers back to the preceding chapter How he
spare not alixandre, to telle him of his gouernance, and more precisely to the
last two lines that deal with Cupid. It is very well integrated into the text, as the
chapter that follows the image continues to speak of Cupid and Alexanders
various idols which Dindimus criticizes.
Fol. 213 v:
Image no. 6 shows how Dindimus receives a letter by Alexanders
messenger in the forest. The messenger, holding his hat in the left hand, is
positioned on the left hand, Dindimus on the right-hand side. As both Dindimus

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and the messenger are (still) holding the letter, it can be inferred that the delivery
is taking place right at that moment. Again, Dindimus is unclothed and stands in
front of two cave holes. He dominates the picture, as he is in an elevated position
and his depiction takes more than half of the image. The messenger has to look up
to him. This reflects Dindimuss function and authority as a king.
The image refers to the chapter that follows. As the peritext indicates,
Alexander sends an answer - How alixandre sente answere to dindimus by
letter. The content of the chapter is precisely this letter. Thus, the image
functions as an introduction to the chapter. The scene on the picture cannot be
found in the text. In the preceding lines, it merely says that Alexander is anied in
his herte, Sone sente he again his sel & his lettrus (Skeat 31, ll. 816).
Fol. 214v:
Image no. 7 illustrates how Alexander receives a letter by a Brahman
messenger. Alexander is placed on the left in front of his tent, the Brahman
kneeling on the right in front of two cave holes. Both Alexander and the Brahman
still close their hands around the letter which forms the center of the picture. A
peculiarity is the fact that Alexanders foot extends to the frame.
Clearly, the scene on the image alludes to the action indicated in the
peritext: How dindimus sendyd an answere to alixandre by letter. The
illuminator presents how the letter actually found his way to Alexander, using the
Brahman as a representative for King Dindimus, even though he is not mentioned
in the text.
Fol. 215r:
Following the peritext - How alixandre sente dindimus anour letter -,
image no. 8 illustrates how Alexanders messenger gives a letter to Dindimus and
four Brahmans. The messenger is placed on the left-hand side, the Brahmans on
the right. A cave hole is hinted at. Except for Dindimus, who sits in an elevated
position in front of the other Brahmans, the Brahmans seem to be huddled in or
just in front of the cave.
Dindimus holds the index finger of his left hand pointed towards the
messenger. Either the illuminator wants to show how Dindimus receives the letter

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or he alludes to Dindimuss pursuit to instruct and give advice to Alexander and

his people. Just as Dindimus in the preceding chapter Alexander here is
represented by his messenger. Again, the image introduces a new chapter,
showing more than actually indicated in the text.
As a peculiarity, all five of the Brahmans are dressed. Given that this
image is the penultimate and the Dindimus episode is coming to an end, the
illuminator might have had intended to present the Brahmans as a group that
Alexander will soon leave again. For the closure, he may have wanted to show
them in a more official, decent and dignified way. Furthermore, it stands to reason
that he wanted to stress what the Brahmans seem to be people of the forest who
live in harmony with nature. The concept of the wild man emerges (see 4.3).
Fol. 215v:
The last image, image no. 9, shows How alixandre picht a pelyr of
marbyl ere (peritext). Alexander stands upright on the left-hand side, touching a
white pillar in the center that extends from the top part of the frame to the bottom.
As it is the very last element of the fragment (apart from an inscription below the
image), the picture marks the end of the Dindimus episode, and announces
Alexanders victory. Bunt remarks that Alexander erects a pillar to mark the limit
of his conquests (Bunt 28). Apparently, it forms a summary of the last chapter
and the outcome of the whole story. A moderation of Alexander takes place. The
result of the philosophical dialogue is that Alexander realizes that there is no sense
in his conquests any longer and therefore ends them.
Again, we find that one of Alexanders feet extends to the frame. One spike of his
crown does the same. This could mark Alexanders sovereignty that remains in
the end.

4. Nudity in Alexander Fragment B

4.1 The Naked Brahmans and Their Function
Although the beginning of Fragment B talks about the naked Gymnosophists, the
Brahmans are also represented as naked in the illuminations. This means that either
the Gymnosophists and the Brahmans were considered to be one kind of people by the

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illuminator or that he simply confounded the two groups. In many sources, the
Gymnosophists and the Brahmans are believed to be one group of people: the various
Brahman sects later known also as gymnosophists, the wise men who go naked
(Bernheimer 107).
Not only the images but also the text indicates that the Brahmans are people who
[o]f bodi wente ei bar wi-oute any wede (fol. 209r). The nakedness of the
Brahmans is a significant element of Fragment B, which identifies the Brahmans as
the other. This is what, image-wise, differentiates them most from Alexander and
his men and appeals most to the reader. This way the author and the illuminator want
them to appear strange to the reader, even oppositional to Alexanders world. The fact
that the Brahmans are depicted in a very different manner than Alexander and his men
could support Skeats assumption about the Active and the Contemplative Life that are
found to be in opposition to each other.
According to Lindquist, the representation of nudity in the Middle Ages staged
multiple discourses about the nature of sexuality, spirituality, sin, virtue, humanity,
gender, and the other(31). Apparently, the Brahmans are the other for the reader.
They have many qualities and curiosities in their land that the medieval reader is not
familiar with. The depiction of dragons (cf. fol. 209v) and birds that spit deadly fire
(cf. ibid.) are only some of the curious foreign elements; the depiction of nudity,
which is continuously present in the fragment, is another. The Brahmans are depicted
as almost aseptic. This kind of nudity could be a sign of poverty or, rather, shows the
simple and ascetic life of the Brahmans, who are not fond of Alexanders aspiration to
conquer the world. This is part of an anti-greed discourse that was very present in the
Middle Ages. Thus, the reader is given a moral lesson. It seems likely that Dindimus
and the Brahman society are used as an allegory of Christianity that is the moral
authority the author refers to.
The Brahmans are represented as naked, not only in the illumination (more
usual, see Withers 2), but also in the text. The problem of the presentation of
nakedness is only present for the illuminator. He has to make sense of the content of
the story, must think about how to reflect the text in the imagery.
Mostly, according to the Christian tradition, illumination of nakedness is
subjected to gods and holy creatures. The appearance of the naked saint arouses a
voyeuristic desire that is simultaneously met and denied by the vocabulary and
structure of the texts under consideration (ibid. 3).

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In Fragment B, Dindimus and the rest of the Brahmans are presented as a

naked people that have common human features but are covered by green plants that
seem to a certain kind of decoration that matches the clover leaves that surround the
illuminations frames and initials. Skeat describes Dindimus and his men [as]
apparently naked, but () curiously tattooed or marked all over with something that
almost gives them the appearance of wearing coats of mail (Skeat xx).
The decoration on the Brahmans naked bodies looks like green ivy plants. On
most of the images they really only seem to be a faint decoration. On folio 210r and on
the last illuminated folio (215v), however, this decoration is painted as more dense and
looks like a dress of leaves. Only hands and feet are bare.

4.2 The Green Man

The color green could be associated with the pagan figure of the Green Man
that has its origin in the fourth or fifth century (cf. Basford 19). The audience of the
14th century might have associated with the green leaves on their bodies something
alien, wild (see Wild Man, subchapter 4.3) and non-Christian, thus, a number of
negative images. Clearly, the non-Christian element would not go along with the
Brahmans, as Dindimus most probably embodies Christianity. However, [t]hough
pagan in origin, the motif evolved within the Church and, during the early Middle
Ages, became part of its symbolic language (ibid.).
Basford mentions that the imagery can be ambivalent. The Green Man can be
at once both beautiful and sinister (ibid.). Furthermore, she addresses the association
between the human and plant elements [that] is often suggested as an uneasy or
actually hostile relationship rather than a balanced symbiosis (ibid.). Following the
text, even if the Brahmans do not seem to be a very hostile people, one can still say
that the leafy ornaments on their bodies signify something other, something strange,
something uncanny. The complete otherness of this people is stressed, both by the text
and the illustrations. While the text rather stresses the Brahmans way of life in all its
aspects, their organization and their inner characteristics; the illumination, according
to the nature of images in general, go into the outer appearance of this extraordinary
people that Alexander encounters.
Moreover, Basford notes that in the Tte de Feuilles, a version of the head of
the Green Man of thirteenth-century France, the human and leafy elements are fused
into one organic whole (Basford 15). The same seems to happen with the Brahmans

Willen 15

in Fragment B. They are naked, but have leaf-like ornaments on their bodies that seem
to be almost tattoos, interwoven with their corpuses. What differentiates the Green
Man from the Brahmans is the fact that this mythological figure derives from the
foliate head or leaf mask (cf. ibid. 9) and is usually represented only in form of the
head. The Brahmans, however, have human heads with none of the green plant
ornaments whatsoever. Only their corpuses are adorned with green leaves.
Image no. 2 and 8 differ a bit from the other representations, as the Brahmans
wear full leaf dresses that show only their bare feet. However, even here the transition
from the leaf dress to the skin is not a harsh one, it rather seems as if human body and
nature have merged. It is not clear why of all the images, the Brahmans are represented
this way here. On image no. 2 we find Dindimuss messenger delivering a letter, on
image 8 in turn it is Alexanders messenger who delivers a letter to Dindimus and the
Brahmans. The text does not exactly go into what can be seen on the illustrations. A
few lines above image no. 2 it merely says about Dindimus: Oir lettrus he let of hur
lif write, & agyn to e gome goodliche he sente (Skeat 10, ll. 245 f.) and above
image no. 8 it says Whan he e sonde hadde seye he sente for newe, at was to
bragmanye brouht & prest for to rede (Skeat 40, ll. 1074 f.).
The Green Man has often been associated with the Wild Man that has a couple
of similar characteristics. Just like the Green Man, the Wild Man comes from the
woods and has its roots in mythology. The former stems from Celtic, the latter from
classical mythology.

4.3 The Wild Man

The Wild Man is an ancient mythological creature; he belongs to the preChristian world (cf. Bernheimer 21).
He is to be seen in contrast to the civilized man. He is considered a child of nature
(Bernheimer 3) whose manner of life was incompatible with civilization and [who
was] relegated therefore to uninhabited places or to positions distant in space and
time (ibid. 85). The Brahmans of Fragment B can be paralleled very well with this
picture, as they live in a faraway country and lead a very different life than Alexander
and the civilized people. In the illumination, this is most notably hinted at with the
depiction of nudity. Of course, the leaves on the Brahmans bodies also represent their
closeness to nature.

Willen 16

Alexander repeatedly calls the Brahmans beasts (cf. Skeat 32 f., ll. 858 and
892), as their way of life does not appear to him very humanlike. He also says that if
all men were alike, anne ferde e worlde as a feld at ful were of bestes (ibid. 5, l.
105). The concept of the beast can be paralleled with the Wild Man. The other in
form of the Brahmans goes together with this concept.
As a consequence, the illumination of the naked Brahmans has a couple of
things in common with the so-called wild man or woodwose. Just like the
woodwose on the right-hand side on Drers (see image a)) "Sylvan Men" they wear
leaf dresses, but have human features.

Image

a)

(Albrecht

Drer,

"Sylvan

Men"

with

Heraldic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ADurerWoodwoses1499.jpg)

Shields,

1499,

Willen 17

4.4 The Depiction of Cupid and Its Function

One other element in the fragment that is presented as naked is a figure on
image no. 5 which is seated on a pillar or something similar (cf. fol. 213r). According
to Skeat, it is an idol [which] is in a constrained posture, pointing, apparently,
towards its stomach. It probably represents Cupid (Skeat xx). Skeat brings up Cupid,
as he is just before mentioned in the text and the description goes on below the image,
beginning a new chapter: Cupidus e corsede at is in care punched, e worchen al
worschipe & in is wise tellen at, for he leccherie louede in his lif-time (fol.
213r). On the image, Cupid can be seen as Dindimuss instrument to show Alexander
that he is on the wrong path. Like a teacher, Dindimus points towards, and Cupid
points towards his stomach, where supposedly the sin lies, as the idol loves to be
engaged with the leccherie (ibid.).
The text ridicules Alexanders way of life, also mentioning the idols that he
worships. Cupid might be presented as naked, as he is supposed to be an idol for
Alexander. Unlike the pillar that Alexander erects at the end (cf. fol. 215v), the pillar
with Cupid on top is not placed exactly in the center of the image, but rather on
Alexanders side, while Dindimus points with his finger towards Alexander and the
pillar. Dindimus has the function of a moralist who criticizes Alexanders ways and
shows him the right way of living, which is the Brahmans ascetic lifestyle.

5. Conclusion
On folio 67r the accounts of Alexander stop and leave a chapter incomplete. As
one can see by the incipit, a whole chapter is supposed to follow. However, this is not
the case. Rather, half the page is left blank, and the note by the anonymous writer is
found at the top of the second half of the page. The following folio is a full-page
image which introduces another chapter. The question remains as to why the
announced chapter has never been written. It is possible that the content was not
considered appropriate, therefore discarded and the chapter censored. The incipit says
Alexander went with the women, which already indicates that the content might not
be appropriate for the intended readership. Perhaps, the chapter that was to follow
comprehended a scene of seduction, which most probably was not considered proper
for the readership. The only indication in the following full-page image that might
have made reference to the chapter that was supposed to follow is a nude woman in a
well/ fountain. However, as one reads one it is quite obvious that the image refers to

Willen 18

the succeeding chapter. On folio 72 there can be found an image with a naked man in
the fountaine de jeunesse (cf. incipit fol. 72). Thus, the fragment with the nude in
the well might refer to the incident with the fountain of youth that Alexander visits.
The fact that a Middle English scribe tries to insert Fragment B in the middle of the
Roman dAlexandre tells us that he thought of the fragment as a possible replacement
of the missing chapter.
To sum up, Alexanders encounter with Dindimus sets itself apart from the rest
of Bodley 264, especially because of the illuminations that bear a couple of elements
that do not quite seem to fit the whole picture. Most of all, the naked Brahmans with
the plant ornaments on their bodies catch the readers eye, particularly since otherwise
Bodley 264 does not contain a lot of nude scenes nor plant ornaments that could
resemble the Brahmans dress. The depiction of nudity in Fragment B leads to a
number of valid interpretations. There are the Green Man and the Wild Man that the
Brahmans can be associated with, which, first and foremost, shows that the depiction
of the other was imported to the illuminator. As has been shown, Fragment B has a
special position within Bodley 264, and it still needs a great deal of investigation, last
but not least in order to find out more about the purpose of the inclusion in this
manuscript.

Willen 19

Bibliography
Basford, Kathleen. The Green Man. Ipswich: Brewer, 1978.
Bernheimer, Richard. Wild Men in the Middle Ages: A Study in Art, Sentiment, and
Demonology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952.
Bunt, Gerrit H. V. Alexander the Great in the literature of medieval Britain. Groningen:
Egbert Forsten, 1994.
Clark, Kenneth. The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form. Bollingen Series 35.2. New York:
Pantheon Books, 1956.
Cruse, Mark. Illuminating the Roman d'Alexandre, Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 264:
The Manuscript as Monument. Gallica. Cambridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2011.

Gller, Karl Heinz 1989. Alexander und Dindimus: West-stlicher Disput ber Mensch und
Welt. In: Erzgrber, Willi (ed.). Kontinuitt und Transformation der Antike im
Mittelalter. Sigmaringen, 1989.
Hilmo, Maidie. Medieval Images, Icons, and, Illustrated English Literary Texts: from
Ruthwell Cross to the Ellesmere Chaucer. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004.
Lindquist, Sherry C. M. The Meanings of Nudity in Medieval Art. Farnham, Surrey, UK,
England: Ashgate, 2012.
Ross, David J. A. Alexander Historiatus: A Guide to medieval illustrated Alexander
Literature, Frankfurt am Main, Athenum, 1988.
Skeat, Walter W. Alexander and Dindimus: or, the letters of Alexander to Dindimus, king of
the Brahmans with the replies of Dindimus; being a second fragment of the
alliterative romance of Alisaunder/ transl. from the Latin about 1340 - 50. Re-ed.
from the unique ms. in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, by Walter W. Skeat.
Withers, Wilcox. Naked Before God: Uncovering the Body in Anglo-Saxon England.
Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2003.

Willen 20

Internet Sources

MS Bodley 264. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford:

http://image.ox.ac.uk/show?collection=bodleian&manuscript=msbodl264, 11/29/2012.
http://www.boydellandbrewer.com/content/docs/QA_Illuminating_the_Roman_d%27Alexan
dre.pdf, 11/29/2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ADurerWoodwoses1499.jpg, 11/29/2012.