This legend, I believe, circulated in a number of forms, but goes back to a
Syriac tradition about King Abgar of Edessa, who is also reputed to have
carried on a correspondence with Jesus. He wanted Jesus to pay him a
visit, but the Savior's Franklin Planner was all booked up.
Rich textual information can be found in the Edessa chapter in Walter
Bauer, "Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity" (Phila: Fortress,
1971; now back in print, I think). Richer still, for the stout of heart,
are the references in the second German edition, "Rechtglaeubigkeit und
Ketzerei im aeltesten Christentum," ed. Geo. Strecker (1964). Be warned
that Bauer's general theses about heresy are now superseded. But the
references to the origins of the Abgar/Jesus legend are there. I don't
know about the later history of that legend in the East or the West.
Patrick Nugent
>I am currently working with a 13th Century text that refers to a King
>sending a
>painter to make an image of Jesus...could any of my fellow list-members offer
>guidance to where this comes from or to similar stories?
>Patrick Holt
>St. Basil College
>195 Glenbrook Road
>Stamford, CT 06902-3099
>203-324-4578
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Patrick J. Nugent
Earlham College
Richmond, Indiana 47374 USA
(765) 983-1413
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