The Woman and the Dragon—The Formation of the Image of the Mulier Amicta Sole in the Revelation of St. John in Western Medieval Art
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
I found this article well structured and clear. It was a pleasure to read it. The only comments I have is on the language but the phrase 'In this way' appears little bit too often, for example twice on p. 24, lines 615 and 617, and twice again on p. 26, lines 699 and 713. But this is really a minor problem and has nothing with the content to do.
Author Response
I appreciate the comments and observations on the linguistic correction. In the final version I am going to make changes, especially the expression "In this way" that is repeated excessively in the manuscript.
Reviewer 2 Report
It was a joy to read this highly organized and interesting article about the iconography of the Woman and the Dragon! The author examines the origins of the visual motif to the 15th century by describing relevant literary and visual sources (manuscripts and wall paintings). As this might seem like a daunting task because of the sheer volume of visual material, this article is impressive in its clarity and organization.
At the beginning (perhaps around line 58?) I suggest a sentence or two to demonstrate how this study differs from traditional iconographical accounts (ie - Reau/Male). What does this add to what Boto Varela has already argued? It might be a good idea to reiterate this same thing in the conclusion. I think the contribution is that the author is examining this motif over a longer span of time and in many different contexts, but I'm not sure if there is more to it?
I'd like more clarification on line 148. The topic sentence, "Here we find one of the few themes...whose original typology owes little to Byzantine art." I'm not sure why this is noteworthy. Did someone suggest it was a Byzantine motif? Lines 154-155 are awkward "takes first appears"? Line 160 begins with "Therefore", but I'm not sure why. Also I wonder if this section header needs to be so long?
Line 232 has an awkward sentence structure that is repeated elsewhere: For example, we have the Bamberg Apoc, created around the year 1000. This sentence should connect to another idea in the paragraph. (See related issue line 263) Line 234 is also strange "that and now holds"?
Line 289-90 - "This reminds us" = Maybe this is reminiscent of?
Around line 376 Ambrosius Autpert is mentioned and then later on San Pietro al Monte in Civate and Novara are briefly addressed. I wondered if the author had seen work by Adriano Peroni/Yves Christe and others who explain these wall paintings in light of Ambrosius Autpert? A footnote might be in order here?
I also wondered if the author was aware of Stefania Paone? It might be worth thinking about the motif, Mary, and medieval queens in the 14th c.? This might be too much, but perhaps a footnote would serve?
I suggest a light copy-edit for minor typos, etc. Here are just a few typo-related comments:
l. 35 - After the birth, her son (then no comma)
l. 49 - remove "actually"?
l. 60 - remove one of the two commas
Figure 6 l.229 "with"
l. 333-336; 530-535; 603-607 - make the lists consistent in style
l. 347 - need an end parenthesis
Check Bible reference abbreviations so that the books are consistent. Should Revelation be Rev. if all other books have a period? I'm not sure about that.
Footnotes 14 and 16 have an extra space
l. 661 - just parentheses?
l. 721 sometimes I see Liber floridus and sometimes the F is capitalized
l. 705 "It really is a..." is awkward
l. 748 Revelation sp
Author Response
Answer in PDF attached
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Some of the arguments need to be strengthened in the light of literature that is not cited in this paper and needs to be discussed:
M. L. MELERO MONEO, «La Mujer Apocalíptica y san Miguel: modelos miniados en
San Miguel de Estella», en Lecturas de historia del arte: Ephialte, Vitoria, 1994, p. 166-173.
M. WARNER, Tú sola entre las mujeres: El mito y el culto de la Virgen María, Madrid,
1991,p. 332-350,
M. L. THÈREL, «La “femme à la coupe” dans les
images inspirées de l’Apocalypse», en Actes du 96ème Congrès National des Sociétés Savantes
(Toulouse, 1971), París, 1976, p. 373-394.
G. BOTO VARELA, «Mulier amicta sole. Acotaciones al programa apocalíptico de la catedral
tardorrománica de León», en IX Semana de Estudios Medievales de Nájera: Milenarismos
y milenaristas en la Europa medieval, Logroño, 1999, p. 327-347;
Author Response
I appreciate the comments. I agree with the bibliographical recommendations that I will introduce in the final version.
