| 1505/32. Scene from c 1110 illustrating one of the three occasions of sexual temptations as a youth and his willpower in resisting the advances of young women. He once looked curiously at a woman, but realizing what he was doing he blushed, ashamed of himself, and leapt into a pool of freezing water and remained there until he had cooled down from the heat of carnal longing. The woman is shown in the window on the left. On the right another story, not recorded in the Vita Prima but referred to in the text, is illustrated. It is that of a finely dressed widow inviting Bernard to her bed on the extreme right. Bernard's gestures with his hands, one on his heart, the other pointing away, indicate his refusal.
|
