medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The apostles James (the Great) and John were brothers, the sons of Zebedee. In the (pseudo-)Hieronymian Martyrology and in the Latin Calendar of Sinai (ca. 800) both are celebrated on 27. December. In late antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages it was believed that John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, and John the Theologian (John the Divine), the author of the Apocalypse, were one and the same person. (Despite some modern doubts, this is also the position of the Roman Martyrology.) All the Johannine writings other than 2. and 3. John were usually ascribed to this one John. It seems, moreover, to have been generally supposed that John was the "beloved disciple" mentioned several times in the Gospel of John (13:21-30; 18:15-18; 19:26-27; 21:7 and 21:20). Iconographically, John is represented either as a young man (e.g. in Gospel scenes) or as an old one (e.g. in depictions of him as John the Theologian).
Many legends of John go back to an originally probably later second-century aprocryphal _Acts of John_ that circulated in Greek and in other languages and that was condemned by the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. A fifth- or sixth-century _Acts of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian_ supposedly written by his disciple St. Prochorus (BHG 916-917; Latin translation, BHL 4323) was likewise very influential. Somewhat similar in approach but substantively rather different is a legendary _Account of John_ in Syriac (BHO 468). Legendary anecdotes of John occur in many other venues.
Apart from a period of exile on Patmos (preceded by arrest and transportation to Rome for interrogation, as in the story of John before the Latin Gate), John's legendary apostolate was conducted from Ephesus. He is also said to have died there and a legend grew up that once he had been buried his body disappeared into the surrounding earth (John's metastasis). The sands over his grave were said to move and on his feast day the tomb that was built above it gave forth a healing, dust-like manna collected by numerous pilgrims.
Herewith some period-pertinent images of St. John the Evangelist:
a) as depicted (putatively) on the late fourth-century ceiling in the catacomb of Santa Tecla in Rome:
http://tinyurl.com/7ofjhfp
b) as depicted in the very late fifth- or early sixth-century mosaics of the Cappella Arcivescovile (a.k.a. Cappella di Sant'Andrea) in Ravenna:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/5779239255
c) as depicted (left margin, second from bottom; below, St. Thomas) among the roundels of apostles framing the Theotokos and Christ Child in a sixth-century tapestry icon from Egypt in the Cleveland Museum of Art:
http://tinyurl.com/jcurvnn
The object as a whole:
http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1967.144#
d) as depicted (at bottom) in the earlier sixth-century mosaics of the triumphal arch in Ravenna's basilica di San Vitale:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/5222651934
e) as depicted (to the right of center, following St. Paul) in the earlier to mid-sixth-century mosaics of the presbytery arch (carefully restored, 1890-1900) in the Basilica Eufrasiana in Poreč:
http://www.zupaporec.com/images/slideshow/bazilika1.jpg
Detail view (at center):
http://tinyurl.com/qaoj8mo
f) as depicted (at lower left at the Transfiguration) as depicted in the recently restored mid- or later sixth-century apse mosaic (ca. 550-565) in the Basilica of the Transfiguration in the Holy Monastery of the God-trodden Mount Sinai at St. Catherine (South Sinai governorate):
1) before restoration:
http://tinyurl.com/p87a6gp
2) during restoration:
http://classic.cca-roma.org/sites/default/files/sc08.jpg
g) as depicted in a full-page miniature in the early eighth-century Lindisfarne Gospels (London, BL, MS Cotton Nero D.IV, fol. 209v):
http://tinyurl.com/7s5lq9
h) as depicted in a full-page miniature in the late eighth-century Book of Mulling (Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS 60, fol. 193r):
http://tinyurl.com/ckr8lfs
i) as portrayed in relief on early ninth-century ivory plaque from Aachen in the Cloisters collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York:
http://tinyurl.com/23orwal
j) as depicted in a full-page illumination in the later ninth-century Egmond Gospels (ca. 850-875; Den Haag, KB, ms. 76 F 1, fol. 162r):
http://manuscripts.kb.nl/zoom/BYVANCKB%3Amimi_76f1%3Ans_162r_afb
k) as depicted (disappearing into his grave) in the late tenth- or very early eleventh-century so-called Menologion of Basil II (Città del Vaticano, BAV, cod. Vat. gr. 1613, p. 68; image greatly expandable):
http://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.gr.1613/090
l) as depicted in an eleventh-century mosaic in the cathedral of St. Sophia in Kyiv:
http://www.icon-art.info/hires.php?lng=en&type=1&id=981
m) as depicted (at right; at left, St. Prochorus) in an eleventh-century Gospels in the Special Collections of Glasgow University Library (MS Hunter 475 [olim V.7.2], fol. 274v):
http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/treasures/greek.html
n) as twice depicted in the earlier eleventh-century decor (restored betw. 1953 and 1962) of the monastery of Hosios Loukas near Distomo in Phokis:
1) at right in a mosaic in the narthex of the church of the Theotokos (Crucifixion scene):
http://tinyurl.com/j4lfcjd
Detail view:
http://tinyurl.com/hluv8h9
2) in a fresco in the crypt of the katholikon (John the Theologian)
http://tinyurl.com/jhs4wan
o) as thrice depicted in the mid-eleventh-century mosaics of the Nea Moni on Chios:
1) as John the Theologian:
http://tinyurl.com/bokmhra
Detail view:
http://tinyurl.com/d9lkc7h
2) at the Transfiguration:
http://tinyurl.com/cjlw8lx
Detail view:
http://tinyurl.com/d4fweg5
3) at the Crucifixion (at right, St. Longinus):
http://tinyurl.com/28d22a4
p) as depicted in the restored later eleventh-century frescoes of the Elmalı kilise (Apple Church) at Göreme in Turkey's Nevşehir province:
http://tinyurl.com/3rhjvlh
q) as depicted (at left; at right, St. Mark) in the restored eleventh- or early twelfth-century frescoes of the Karanlık kilise (Dark Church) at Göreme in Turkey's Nevşehir province:
http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/image/41566368
r) as depicted (upper register at center) in the mid-twelfth-century apse mosaics (betw. 1145 and 1160) of the basilica cattedrale della Trasfigurazione in Cefalù:
http://www.wga.hu/art/zgothic/mosaics/3cefalu/5cefalu.jpg
s) as depicted on the surviving leaf of the mid-twelfth-century (ca. 1147) Wedricus Gospels (Societé Archéologique et Historique, Avesnes-sur-Helpe [Nord], France):
http://tinyurl.com/8c9tpd
t) as depicted in a full-page illumination in a later twelfth-century Gospels of possible Mosan origin (Den Haag, KB, ms. 76 E 17, fol. 100v):
http://manuscripts.kb.nl/zoom/BYVANCKB%3Amimi_76e17%3A100v_min
u) as depicted (at the Transfiguration) in the later twelfth-century frescoes (1164) in the church of St. Panteleimon (Pantaleon) at Gorno Nerezi (Skopje municipality) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia:
http://tinyurl.com/q83on7m
v) as portrayed in high relief (fourth from left; asleep in Jesus' lap) by Anselmo da Campione in his Last Supper panel on the later twelfth-century parapet (_pontile_; ca. 1170-1180) in the cattedrale di San Geminiano in Modena:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1/italy_december_2005_1/modena/duomo/interior/pontile/DSC00019.JPG
w) as depicted in a full-page illumination in a late twelfth-century Gospels of Byzantine origin (London, BL, Add MS 5112, fol. 134r):
http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=add_ms_5112_f134r
x) as portrayed in relief on the late twelfth-century monumental portal (betw. 1180 and 1190; restored betw. 1988 and 1995) of the église primatiale Saint-Trophime in Arles:
http://tinyurl.com/bubn7zv
y) as depicted (drinking from the poisoned cup) in one of four panels of a full-page illumination in the late twelfth-century so-called Bible of Saint Bertin (ca. 1190-1200; Den Haag, KB, ms. 76 F 5, fol. 29r, sc. 1B):
http://manuscripts.kb.nl/zoom/BYVANCKB%3Amimi_76f5%3A029r_min_b1
z) as portrayed in a statuette (in this view second from left, starting with Christ the King around the corner) in the earlier thirteenth-century silver gilt Mary Shrine (consecrated, 1239; restored, 2000) in the cathedral treasury in Aachen:
http://sites.tufts.edu/textilerelics/files/2011/05/2-87-902-04_gross.jpg
aa) as depicted in a full-page illumination in a mid-thirteenth-century Gospels of Constantinopolitan origin (Paris, BnF, ms. Grec 54, fol. 278v):
http://tinyurl.com/yzxfjc9
bb) John as depicted in a later thirteenth-century wall painting in the Reformed Church in Csaroda (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg), Hungary:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabboo/428434728/sizes/l/
Detail view:
http://www.hung-art.hu/kep/zmisc/falkepek/13_sz/csaroda5.jpg
cc) as portrayed in a silver gilt statuette on the later thirteenth-century copper gilt châsse of St. Remaclus (completed betw. 1263 and 1268) in the église Saint-Sébastien in Stavelot:
http://balat.kikirpa.be/image/thumbnail/Z007681.jpg
dd) as depicted (at left; at right, St. Prochorus) in the late thirteenth- or very early fourteenth-century frescoes (ca. 1290-1305) attributed to Manuel Panselinos in the Protaton church on Mount Athos:
http://nevsepic.com.ua/uploads/posts/2011-06/1307716728_44_www.nevsepic.com.ua.jpg
ee) as depicted (holding the poisoned cup) in a fourteenth-century wall painting in All Saints Church in Weston Longville (Norfolk):
http://www.paintedchurch.org/wlongvje.htm
ff) as depicted in a fourteenth-century fresco in the originally thirteenth(?)-century church of Agios Ioannis Theologos in the village of Agios Ioannis in Sfakia (Chania prefecture) on Crete:
http://www.west-crete.com/dailypics/crete-2008/3-17-08.php
gg) as depicted in a fourteenth-century panel from a glass window probably from the château of Rouen and now in the Musée National du Moyen Age (Musée de Cluny) in Paris:
http://tinyurl.com/p53x8yf
hh) as depicted by Cimabue in an early fourteenth-century Deesis mosaic (betw. 1301 and 1303) in the cattedrale metropolitana primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta in Pisa:
http://www.wga.hu/art/c/cimabue/mosaic/st_john.jpg
Detail view:
http://tinyurl.com/yhlf5on
ii) as depicted in an earlier fourteenth-century dome fresco (betw. 1312 and 1321) in the monastery church of the Theotokos at Gračanica in, depending upon one's view of the matter, either the Republic of Kosovo or Serbia's province of Kosovo and Metohija:
http://tinyurl.com/y94kd3o
jj) as depicted (on Patmos) by Giotto di Bondone in an earlier fourteenth-century fresco in the Peruzzi chapel of the basilica di Santa Croce in Florence:
http://www.wga.hu/art/g/giotto/s_croce/1peruzzi/evang1.jpg
Detail view:
http://www.wga.hu/art/g/giotto/s_croce/1peruzzi/evang11.jpg
kk) as depicted by Giotto di Bondone in an earlier fourteenth-century panel painting (betw. 1320 and 1325) in the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris:
http://www.wga.hu/art/g/giotto/z_panel/3polypty/12polypt.jpg
ll) as depicted by Simone Martini in an earlier fourteenth-century panel painting (betw. 1330 and 1339) in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham:
http://www.wga.hu/art/s/simone/7last/5evangel.jpg
mm) as depicted (his metastasis) in the earlier fourteenth-century frescoes (betw. 1335 and 1350) in the narthex of the church of the Holy Ascension at the Visoki Dečani monastery near Peć in, depending upon one's view of the matter, either the Republic of Kosovo or Serbia's province of Kosovo and Metohija:
http://tinyurl.com/ybm8wzu
nn) as depicted by Taddeo Gaddi in two mid-fourteenth-century panel paintings (betw. 1348 and 1353) in the Collezione Vittorio Cini in Venice:
1) John a) being taken up to Heaven:
http://www.wga.hu/art/g/gaddi/taddeo/panels/panel1.jpg
2) drinking from the poisoned cup:
http://www.wga.hu/art/g/gaddi/taddeo/panels/panel2.jpg
oo) as depicted in the later fourteenth-century frescoes (1360s and 1370s; restored, 1968-1970) in the church of St. Demetrius in Marko's Monastery at Markova Sušica (near Skopje) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia:
http://tinyurl.com/nw5x333
pp) as depicted in the late fourteenth-century frescoes (1389; restored in 1971 and 1972) in the monastery church of St. Andrew at Matka in Skopje's municipality of Karpoš:
http://tinyurl.com/np6lomw
qq) as depicted (at left; at right, St. Prochorus) as depicted in a full-page miniature by Andrei Rublev in the late fourteenth- or early fifteenth-century Khitrovo Gospels (ca. 1400) in the Russian State Library in Moscow (shelfmark: ф. 304, III, № 3 / М.8657 [Троиц.III.3]):
http://www.icon-art.info/hires.php?lng=ru&type=1&id=1276
rr) John as depicted on the fifteenth-century rood screen in St George's Church in Gooderstone (Norfolk):
http://tinyurl.com/bmm9mqj
ss) as portrayed by Donatello in an earlier fifteenth-century marble statue (1410-1411) in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence:
http://www.wga.hu/art/d/donatell/1_early/duomo/3john_1.jpg
tt) as depicted (on Patmos) in the earlier fifteenth-century Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (betw. 1412 and 1416; Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms. 65):
http://tinyurl.com/23h9ak
uu) as depicted (holding the poisoned cup) by Jan van Eyck in a panel of his earlier fifteenth-century Ghent Altarpiece (1432) in the cathedral of Saint-Bavon / Sint Baaf in Gand / G(h)ent:
http://www.wga.hu/art/e/eyck_van/jan/09ghent/2closed2/l3johne.jpg
vv) as depicted by Andrea del Castagno in a mid-fifteenth-century vault fresco (1442) in the cappella di San Tarasio in Venice's chiesa di San Zaccaria:
http://www.wga.hu/art/a/andrea/castagno/1_1440s/023johne.jpg
ww) as depicted in grisaille (on Patmos) by Jean le Tavernier in the Gospel readings of the mid-fifteenth-century Hours of Philip of Burgundy (ca. 1451-1460; Den Haag, KB, ms. 76 F 2, fol. 211r):
http://manuscripts.kb.nl/zoom/BYVANCKB%3Amimi_76f2%3A211r_min
xx) as depicted (upper register, fourth from left; asleep at the Last Supper) by master Leonardo in the later fifteenth-century frescoes (ca. 1470) in the chiesa di San Giovanni in Meluno (BZ) in Trentino-Alto Adige:
http://tinyurl.com/pologqt
yy) as depicted (at right; at left, St. James the Great) by Miguel Ximénez and workshop in a panel of his and Martín Bernad's late fifteenth-century altarpiece of the Holy Cross (completed, 1487) for the parish church of Blesa (Teruel) and now, after dismemberment, mostly in the Museo de Zaragoza:
http://tinyurl.com/p7zwu8d
zz) as portrayed by Tilman Riemenschneider in a late fifteenth-century limewood statue (1490-1492; from the predella of the high altar of the St. Magdalenenkirche in Münnerstadt) in the Bode-Museum in Berlin:
http://tinyurl.com/277uhu
http://tinyurl.com/ytvo26
Best,
John Dillon
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