Inner Entities
What makes me a good person? What happens inside me and how can I understand it? In the Middle Ages, what was at stake when it came to answering these questions was nothing less than eternal salvation. The kingdom of heaven or the fires of hell – and the verdict depends on our internal life. In the art and literature of the Middle Ages, personifications often transformed these inner processes and conflicts and made them clear and understandable to people. Characteristics, virtues and vices adopt bodies capable of acting and thus demonstrate to their audience that inner states are universal experiences shared by all people – regardless of whether they are rulers or Minne-Singers (minstrels). Arguing and loving, the personifications frolic about in the head and heart. The inner realm of a human might become a battlefield where virtues fight against the temptations of evil, or the site of a wild chase where the mind competes with the heart. Scenes from the realities of life at court become the scenes of mental and moral conflicts. Such scenes can be explored in the exhibits featured in the Inner Entities section.
