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Generosity and Charity piercing two Vices, capital depicting the Fight of the Vices against the Virtues, c.1155, from the church of Notre-Dame-du-Port, Clermont-Ferrand, France.

A larger image of 'Generosity and Charity piercing two Vices', capital, c.1155, church of Notre-Dame-du-Port, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Photo by ellapronkraft


Photo by Luc Olivier / Photononstop

Generosity and Charity piercing two Vices, capital depicting the Fight of the Vices against the Virtues, from the church of Notre-Dame-du-Port, Clermont-Ferrand
French School, (12th century); French. Medium: plaster cast from stone. Date: 12th Century. Chapiteau du Combat des Vices et des Vertus; Generosite et Charite transpercant deux vices; Provenance: Musee des Monuments Francais, Paris, France / Giraudon. Photographic Rights The Bridgeman Art Library.
Source: PBS Learning Media

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The right-hand figure is referenced as (C) on p.119, Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350, Western Europe and the Crusader States by David Nicolle
302A-C ‘Struggle of Vices and Virtues’, carved capitals, County of Auvergne, c.1155
(in situ Notre Dame du Port, Clermont Ferrand, France)
A-B — Generosity fighting Avarice; C — Charity. Almost exactly the same equipment is shown in Notre Dame du Port as in the slightly earliercarvings at St Nectaire. The later date does, however, suit the longer tunics worn beneath mail hauberks. The hauberks themselves might have mid to long sleeves (B and C) and ventails, either drawn across the face (A) or unlaced and hanging beneath the throat. A sword protrudes through a slit at the side (C) as at Mozat, but a large and much broader shield has now appeared. This looks suitable for infantry combat rather than for cavalry and is also seen in the hands of foot-soldiers in a Norman carving of a slightly earlier date. The non-tapering sword (B) is a broad Mediterranean form, as distinct from the tapering and pointed sword current in Northern art. A fluted conical helmet with a nasal and a lower rounded form without a nasal are present, as they are at St Nectaire. One of the latter has, however, become so stylised that one doubts whether the sculptor had ever seen such a helmet.