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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture No scroll here, I'm afraid, but you'll like this one, from the Hosrtus deliciaruum of Herrad of Hohenbourg. Synagoga sits on a donkey, holds what looks like a square box (Moses stone tablets or a codex?), a scrificial knife (??), and a small goat. Frans van Liere Department of History, Calvin College 1845 Knollcrest Circle SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 e-mail: [log in to unmask] http://www.calvin.edu/academic/history/faculty/vanlieref/ >>> Robert Kraft <[log in to unmask]> 10/27/2008 11:59 PM >>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Thanks for this. Since more eyes are better than just my two, have any of you seen a depiction of the synagogue holding a normal type of Jewish liturgical scroll (opens horizontally), rather than a banner (often on a staff) or tablets of the law, or a small goat (?), or the like? I'm trying to explore the survival of the horizontal scroll in Christian imagery (as frequently in Ravennas mosaics!), in contrast to the vertical scroll (rotulus) and of course the codex. Sometimes the tablets of the law in the grasp of the synagogue looks a bit like a codex, but I think that is not likely to be what the artisan intended. There are depictions of Moses receiving a scroll from God's hand on Sinai, incidentally (tangent on tangent?). Bob Kraft (UPenn) Jonathan Hall wrote: > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and > culture This may be tangential to your original question, but the > Synagogue/Church personifications in Christian art are present at > least by the 9th century. They show up primarily in crucifixion > scenes in various media, including the windows of St. Denis and the > stonework of many 13th-c. cathedrals. > > The personification of the Synagogue becomes more and more negative > over the centuries. For instance, on a late 9th c. book cover, she is > nimbed and carrying a bannered staff. Beginning in the early 12th c., > she is often portrayed with a falling or fallen crown. Beginning > around the middle of the 12th c., the bannered staff is consistently > portrayed as broken and she is frequently blindfolded. In the late > 12th c., she begins to sometimes be portrayed with instruments of the > crucifixion. In the 12th c., the tables of the Law begin to become a > standard identifier of the Synagogue; by the middle of the 13th c., > they are usually portrayed as upside-down, falling, or broken. There > are many examples in the Index of Christian Art, if you have access. > > If you're interested, you might try: > Wolfgang S. Seiferth, *Synagogue and Church in the Middle Ages:Two > Symbols in Art and Literature* (New York: Ungar, 1970); translated > from *Synagoge und Kirche* (München: Koesel, 1964). > Margaret Schlauch, "The Allegory of Church and Synagogue," *Speculum* > 14, no. 4 (Oct. 1939): 448-464. > > --Jonathan Hall > > I seem to recall reading somewhere an arguement that the > destruction > of the Temple was an act of Divine supercession more than > punishment, > but don't remember where I came across that arguement. > > > On some late medieval calendar pages, as for example in the early > 14th-century Belleville > Breviary, this idea of Divine Supercession involves "the > Synagogue" rather than the Temple > per se (or, at least, that is the usual interpretation): at the > bottom of each calendar page, a > Prophet standing beside a building, the Synagogue, hands a veiled > prophesy to an Apostle, > who unveils it, transforming it into an Article of Faith, and at > the same time, the Prophet > removes a stone from the Synagogue. At the end of the 12-month > cycle, the Synagogue is > completely in ruins, since the New Dispensation is completed by > the 12 Articles of the Credo. > Cheers, > Jim Bugslag > > ********************************************************************** > To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME > to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it > to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the > message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order > to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: > [log in to unmask] For further information, > visit our web site: > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html