The Bible in Medieval Art
In order to begin to figure out the biblical symbolism used in medieval art, one must have at least a vague grasp of the Bible and its importance in history. People who go to church or have some form of religious education such as Sunday School will probably have a decent understanding of it. But many people today have not had any exposure to the Bible or to religious studies, which puts them at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to figuring out medieval art.
I'm married to a minister, so I can ask him questions. We also have a lot of reference books about the Bible, the history of the church, and so on. But most people don't have easy access to that much information. And how can you know what to trust on the Internet? So I present a very quick summary of information about the Bible.
I have made use of many versions of the Bible, primarily the King James Version, the Revised Standard, and the Jerusalem Bible. I have also made extensive use of the Oxford Guide to the Bible. My sources, other than the Bible, are cited at the end of this page. Where I quote from the Bible, I've used the King James Version unless otherwise indicated.
My aim with this portion of my website is to provide information that will help people study medieval art, not to push my own religious views. If your own religious views differ, please keep this distinction in mind.
I'll also spell out my own denominational affiliation, so you don't have to guess. I'm an Anglican living in Canada. I've made every effort to be unbiased toward any version of the Bible, because my aim here is not to argue over which version is better. I should also point out that the version of the Bible used by medieval artists was the Latin Vulgate, including the Apocrypha. The Reformation had not happened, so the views of Protestants are not relevant to this study.
I've expressed my own opinions in a few places, but in keeping with my training, I've tried to be clear what's my opinion and what is not.
The Bible
Chapter and Verse
The ideal since before Christ has always been to read the entire Bible out loud during regular worship services in a specified period of time. This is why the Bible is divided into chapters and verses. It made it easier to know when to start and stop a reading for a given day or service. It also made it easier to refer to a specific phrase, both in studying the Bible and in discussing it. The chapters and verses we have today were mostly finalised during the Middle Ages. There are variations between versions, so you may find that your version is out by one or two verses when you compare it with a reference from a different version of the Bible. This is due to differences in translation and the order in which different translators have chosen to put sentences. But it's rarely more than 3 verses different, and in most cases, there are no differences.
Old Testament
The Christian Bible is divided into two sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament can be described as the history of the relationship of the Jewish people (or Israel) with God before the coming of Christ. The Old Testament is divided into three main sections: the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and Writings. The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Bible, and deals with the history of the world from Creation to the death of Moses and the settlement of the Hebrews in what we now call Israel or Palestine. It can be seen as the story of how the Hebrews, a bunch of nomads with sheep and goats who were pretty much the same as every other bunch of nomads in the Near East at the time, became God's Chosen People, the Jews.
There are numerous Prophets whose works are contained in the Bible. The main Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, although the story of Jonah is also well known, as is the story of Daniel in the lion's den.
The Writings include Psalms, Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and stories of figures in the history of the Israelites.
There are several books of the Old Testament that Catholics, Anglicans and a few denominations accept as authoritative, but which are not considered part of divine revelation by most Protestant denominations. These are known as the Apocrypha.
New Testament
The New Testament is a collection of writings from the time shortly after the life of Christ, which describe the career and teachings of Jesus, and provide commentary on how Christians should live a Christian life. They are divided into three sections: the Gospels and Acts, the Epistles, and the Revelation. The Gospels are directly concerned with the life story and teachings of Christ. There are 4 Gospels, written by men who are generally believed to have been Apostles of Christ: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The first 3 Gospels are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels, meaning "seeing together" or "one vision." Matthew, Mark and Luke often describe the same incidents. In some cases, they use such similar wording that it's clear one version is based on another, or that they used the same source. All three are primarily narrative. But each also contains information not contained in the others. Mark, for example, does not have any mention of the birth of Jesus. Luke and Matthew do.
The Gospel of John is very different from the first 3. John is rarely concerned with the story so much as the ultimate meaning of the life of Christ. The Gospel of Matthew begins with a recitation of the genealogy of Christ, placing him the family line of David and Abraham. Mark begins with a clear attempt to place Jesus in the line of Jewish prophets. Luke begins his Gospel talking about why he decided to write down what he witnessed. But John begins with the famous words, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." In the version of the Bible I have in front of me, this sentence contains no less than 5 references to other books of the Bible. John's vision of the story of Jesus is very different from the first 3 Gospel writers. John is trying to place the importance of Jesus on a cosmic scale, not merely tell the story of what Jesus said or what he did.
Acts recounts the history of some of the Apostles after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Mainly it describes what the apostles did to spread the word about Jesus throughout the Near East. It's generally assumed that the author of Acts is St. Luke.
The Epistles are letters written by various apostles, or followers of Jesus. Most of the Epistles are from St. Paul to groups of Christians in the Near East: Corinth (Greece), Galatia (modern Turkey), Rome, Thessalonika (Greece). Paul was a Jew who was not a follower of Jesus during Jesus' lifetime. But as he walked toward Damascus one day after Jesus had died, he had an experience so powerful he firmly believed he had met Jesus face to face. From that moment on, he did more than any other single individual to promote Christianity, and to create a systematic way of looking at the message of Jesus and figuring out how to follow it in everyday terms. It's important to recognise that at this time in history, the Gospels had not been written down, and all Christians had were stories told and retold by people who had been there, or knew someone who had. Christians met to discuss what individuals had seen, heard and experienced. Paul's task was to explain to people the right way of interpreting these messages, and point out the many wrong ways.
There are also Epistles from the Apostles James, Peter, John and Jude, written to followers of Christ in general.
The Revelation stands alone at the end of the New Testament, and the end of the Bible. It is properly titled the Revelation of St. John the Divine. Some scholars believe that there are 2 or more Johns, one the apostle who wrote the Gospel and the Epistles, while another wrote the Revelation. Others believe that the same person, the apostle John, wrote all. The Revelation is often viewed as a prophecy of the end of the world, and has inspired many dire warnings of damnation. It has also been seen as a visionary meditation that ties together many strands from the entire Bible into one coherent vision of the Kingdom of God. It is a problematic book that many Christians ignore, while others dwell on it obsessively.
The New Testament in its current form was finalised in the second century. The Gospels were written down between 85 AD and 100AD. There are references to the Gospels that confirm that by 150 AD, the Gospels as we know them were in circulation. By 190 AD, early Christians had agreed on what would be included and which versions were to be considered authoritative and which were not. There is very little variation in versions of the New Testament from this time forward.
Languages of the Bible
The Old Testament was mainly recorded in Hebrew. The New Testament was written in Greek, although some phrases were recorded in Aramaic, a Semitic language that was the language of the common people in Palestine at the time of Christ. Jesus most likely spoke Aramaic, while the language of the Roman Empire, which occupied the Holy Land during his time, was Latin. But the language of most educated people who could write was Greek. The Gospels were all written in Greek. In the third century BC, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek. This was known as the Septuagint. For more information on the history of the Bible, click here.
The Psalms
Most people in the Middle Ages were intimately familiar with the Psalms. The first part of the Bible to be translated into any European language was usually the Book of Psalms, which demonstrates how important people felt they were. They were written as songs. Many people assumed for centuries that they were all written by King David, a noted musician and performer in his own right. But it's clear from linguistic analysis and other clues that there was more than one Psalmist. There are 150 Psalms, some very short and others very long.
It has been said that every emotional state a human being can experience is recorded in the Psalms. From anger to envy to joy to grief to silliness to righteous indignation, it's all there. The poetic beauty of the Psalms survives regardless which language they are translated into. The Psalms use repetition, parallelism and concrete imagery to get their point across, rather than rhyme or rhythm, which is lost when translated into another language.
Monks and nuns sang or chanted the Psalms daily. It was common for wealthy or noble people to have a book of Psalms or a Book of Hours as one of their most intimate possessions, going with them on their travels, and referred to and read several times a day. Some were modest, while many of the surviving examples are beautifully illustrated with miniature illustrations of Biblical stories. Books of Hours contained prayers to be said at certain times of the day or on certain days of the week, reminders of Saint's Days and specific festivals or times of special remembrance. In many cases, the owner commissioned the book to be made to their specifications, so the scribe might include the day a loved one or relative had died, the saint's days of family members, the feast days celebrated by their local church, as well as the festivals and fast days the church generally followed. And A Book of Hours also included the Psalms, the Lord's Prayer, and a number of specific prayers taken from the Bible.
Prayers taken from the Bible
There are a number of sections of the Bible that are used as prayers, both in worship services proper, and as private prayers. In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, the Archangel Gabriel appears to Mary. He tells her she is about to have a child, in spite of being a virgin, and also tells her that her cousin Elizabeth is pregnant. . Elizabeth has no children and is beyond child-bearing age. Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, partly to confirm the truth of what the angel has told her, and partly because if it is true, nobody else on earth is going to be able to console Mary better than a woman who's in a similar predicament (although Elizabeth is married). When Elizabeth sees Mary, the child Elizabeth is carrying leaps inside her, and Elizabeth realises that Mary is also pregnant. And that, like her own pregnancy, this is a miracle of some sort. She says to Mary, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." This is the opening line of the prayer said by Roman Catholics as they recite the Rosary.
Mary responds with a speech that is known as the Magnificat. It begins with, "My soul doth magnify the Lord." It goes on to describe the way in which God will help the downtrodden through the baby Mary will bear, an the way that this child is the fulfilment of prophecies.
Just after the birth of Jesus, Mary goes to Jerusalem to offer the appropriate sacrifices at the temple after the birth of a child. An old man named Simeon, who is noted as devout, sees Jesus and recognises who he is. He says to God, "Lord, now lettest thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel." (Luke 2:29-32). This speech is called the Nunc Dimittis, and together with the Magnificat, it is used in the service of Evening Prayer, which may be celebrated in a church, but can also be said by people in their own homes at the close of the day. So even though Simeon means, "I've seen it all, now I can die in peace," the person reading it as a personal or family prayer at home will hear it as, "let me sleep peacefully, knowing that the world has been saved through Jesus."
So when we see the scene of Elizabeth and Mary embracing, we are meant to think of the Magnificat, possibly even recite it. Bear in mind that people who do not read have tremendous memories, so most people with any learning or faith would know all of these prayers, the various creeds, and most or all of the Psalms by heart.
References within the Bible
Christians have made extensive use of the Old Testament to understand the New Testament, and to place Jesus in the context of the history of God's revelation to mankind. St. Paul refers to stories and sayings from the Hebrew Bible to illustrate points about Christ. The Apostles refer to the prophets and other parts of the Hebrew Bible. The Apostles also quote Jesus making similar references.
This comes out of the Christian understanding of Jesus as the culmination of the history of the Jews. The Jews are seen as God's Chosen People, while Jesus is seen as the one of whom the Prophets spoke, who takes God's promise of eternal life to the entire world.
Many published versions of the Bible will include notes either at the bottom, along the side or down the centre of each page. These notes may translate unusual words or give alternate meanings for a word or phrase. In some cases, a word was understood a certain way in Greek, but referring to the Hebrew version gives it a different meaning. There may be more than one way to understand that word or phrase. Some objects no longer exist, or are peculiar to the Holy Land and need to be explained for modern readers.
There will also be references to other parts of the Bible. So, for example, I have my King James Version open to the third chapter of Micah, and beside the phrase, "I will send my messenger," there's a tiny letter "a". In the column beside the text, the letter "a" lists three references to the Gospels. So I can flip to those verses to see that 3 of the Gospel writers have quoted this passage from Micah word for word. I can look at one of the Gospels, say Matthew 21:16, when Jesus says, "have you never read, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" and the superscript letter refers me to Psalm 8 verse 2, "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger." And in Psalm 8:2 there are 3 letters that can lead me to other verses that connect with this in some way.
The use of Old Testament verses by Christians is called foreshadowing or prefiguring, and is also described technically as "typology." This becomes very important in trying to sort out biblical imagery in medieval art. In my version of the King James Bible, verses of the Old Testament that are believed to embody a prophetic reference to Christ are marked with a star, in addition to having cross-references in the centre column of the page.
Prefiguration or typology gives another layer of meaning to reading the Bible. In 1 Peter 3:19-21 the author talks about the story of Noah and the Flood as a mirror image of baptism, since both wash away sins. This gives artists a choice of ways to portray concepts. When we see a depiction of Noah and the Ark, we can see this as a literal story of Noah, and also as referring to baptism. Baptism may also be the meaning in depictions of the parting of the Red Sea, while the giving of manna can be read as a reference to the bread of Communion.
The Tree of Jesse is commonly used in medieval art (the most famous example being the Jesse Window at Yorkminster, considered to be the largest single expanse of glass in a medieval cathedral in England) It s a reference to the family tree of the Old Testament figure Jesse. In Isaiah 11:1-10, the says "there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." The passage goes on to describe how this rod, or branch, will have the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and he will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth. This is taken to be a reference to Jesus, who came to reveal the word of God to mankind. In the Christmas hymn, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" one verse begins, "O come thou rod of Jesse, come."
In stained glass windows of Canterbury Cathedral, scenes from the Old Testament are used to prefigure scenes in the New. So the Ascension of Christ into Heaven is depicted by showing the Prophet Elijah being taken up in a winged chariot. The coming of the Queen of Sheba is associated with the Adoration of the Magi after the birth of Christ.
From the Cambridge Cultural History of Medieval Britain: "That episodes from the age of Grace were prefigured by older events encouraged two conclusions. One was that the revelation by Christ of the true meaning of these ancient mysteries confirmed that he was the Messiah, for he was seen to fulfill and expound prophecy. The other consequence of this mode of thought was that events and sayings, especially if of divine origin, were thought to have an import that went beyond their superficial content."
The medieval artist had a vocabulary of stories and images that were used in standard ways. Artists often copied from one another, or used each other's ideas freely. We might see this as limiting, but medieval artists did not value self-expression. Artists were craftsmen who did a job. They took pride in doing the job well. And for a craftsman who is being paid to provide illustration of biblical scenes and theological concepts, the more commonly used the theme and depiction, the better. The people who would view the art might not understand a scene if it were too unusual in style or imagery. For the artist, the Old Testament often provides better images to use in a depiction.
References:
Ford, Boris, ed., Medieval Britain: The Cambridge Cultural History, (1992: Cambridge University Press)
Metzger, Bruce M., and Michael D. Coogan, editors, The Oxford Companion to the Bible, (1993: Oxford University Press)
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