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IMC 2007: Sessions

Session 707: Jewish Images in Christian Society: Studies in Manuscript Illumination

Tuesday 10 July 2007, 14.15-15.45

Organiser:Eva Frojmovic, Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Leeds
Moderator/Chair:Colum Hourihane, Index of Christian Art, Princeton University
Paper 707-aNot Just a Wedding Scene: The Illumination of the Liturgical Poem Come with me from Lebanon my bride in the Worms Mahzor and the Jewish-Christian Polemic
(Language: English)
Sara Offenberg, Department of Arts / Department of Jewish Thought, Bar-Ilan University / Department of the Arts, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva
Index terms: Art History - Painting, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Medievalism and Antiquarianism, Theology
Paper 707-bDepictions of Jericho and Jerusalem in 16th-Century Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts
(Language: English)
Rachel Sarfati, Department of Judaica & Jewish Ethnography, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Index terms: Art History - General, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 707-cBy Means of an Angel?: The Absence and Presence of Angels in Jewish Manuscripts
(Language: English)
Zsófia Buda, Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest
Index terms: Art History - Decorative Arts, Hebrew and Jewish Studies
Abstract

Paper a: The illumination of the liturgical poem Come with me from Lebanon my bride, in the Worms Mahzor (Würzburg?, 1272), displays a wedding scene, commonly understood as an allegory of the relationship between God and Israel. Both the groom and the man performing the ceremony are shown wearing a red mantle. In the proposed paper, I suggest that this garment represents the 'Porphyrion', the red mantel of God, soaked with the blood of those who persecute the Jews, and who will be punished at the end of time. This assumption will be put in the context of medieval anti-Jewish persecution.
Paper b: awaiting text
Paper c: Some biblical kings, such as David and Solomon, constitute important parts of both Jewish and Christian religious thought, although they are interpreted quite differently in the two cultures. For the Jews they are primarily historical characters influencing Jewish history while Christians consider them principally as typological figures to be understood in light of the New Testament. Due to their importance, these biblical kings are often depicted in medieval Christian art. Some of them appear in Jewish illuminated manuscripts as well. This paper will be devoted to the question whether the different roles and interpretations of these biblical kings in Jewish and Christian medieval religious thought are reflected in their visual representation.
Paper d: My paper will deal with a group of 16th century Hebrew illuminated manuscripts from the Land of Israel and Italy. These manuscripts bear depictions of Holy Sites in the Land of Israel. Among them are depictions of two holy cities: Jerusalem and Jericho. Jerusalem is represented by the illustration of the Temple, and Jericho as a city surrounded by a labyrinth of seven circles. The lecture will focus on the continuing tradition of these visual depictions and their origin in the earliest Hebrew Bibles, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries.