As
in only few other instances in medieval history, the kingdoms on the
Iberian peninsula had populations of different religions living in
often close proximity. Without question this posed a number of
problems for the Christian church, one of them being the conversion
of Christians to Islam or Judaism. That these conversions occurred is
documented, though they were not so much happening in large numbers but rather in
individual cases.1
Nevertheless, they
were anything but welcomed by the church. It is not very surprising
therefore that we, at least to my knowledge, don't find visual
material depicting conversions to Islam or Judaism. Conversions to
Christianity, however, both from Islam and Judaism, were indeed
depicted by Christian artisans.I
will in short present two examples of such imagery in this post, both
are part of the Cantigas de Santa Maria manuscript in the El
Escorial (ms. T.I.1).
On
fol. 68v the visual narrative begins by presenting the
Christian-to-be as looter of Christian property,
illustrated in the
two images in the top register. His turban and beard mark him as
Muslim. He is then shown selling everything, apart from on single
image of the Virgin Mary and Christ child, which he keeps for himself
and that he ostentatiously presents in the second register. The
narration then switches to his home. Here the image of the Virgin
miraculously begins to lactate, thereby convincing him and his family
to convert, which is illustrated in the last image on the page. Several points
about this imagery are notable. While the text of the story focussed
on the man and the wonder taking place in his home, the illustrations
have an additional scene taking place simultaneously to the miracle.
The wife and child of the man, depicted on the left were added in the
illuminations.
She and her child are indiscernible from Christians by their looks
alone. The space within which they are depicted however makes
their religious affiliation unmistakeable: a piece of cloth above
the alcove, where she sits with her child identifies her as Muslim.
Tied around two pillars, it displays pseudo-kufic script framed by
four swastikas. While
mother and child appear to be in embrace in the first of these two
scenes, in the second one she breast feeds him. Remarkably, this is
the very scene in which the image of the Virgin stars lactating. The
two women are thereby linked through the act of giving milk.
illustrated in the
two images in the top register. His turban and beard mark him as
Muslim. He is then shown selling everything, apart from on single
image of the Virgin Mary and Christ child, which he keeps for himself
and that he ostentatiously presents in the second register. The
narration then switches to his home. Here the image of the Virgin
miraculously begins to lactate, thereby convincing him and his family
to convert, which is illustrated in the last image on the page. Several points
about this imagery are notable. While the text of the story focussed
on the man and the wonder taking place in his home, the illustrations
have an additional scene taking place simultaneously to the miracle.
The wife and child of the man, depicted on the left were added in the
illuminations.
She and her child are indiscernible from Christians by their looks
alone. The space within which they are depicted however makes
their religious affiliation unmistakeable: a piece of cloth above
the alcove, where she sits with her child identifies her as Muslim.
Tied around two pillars, it displays pseudo-kufic script framed by
four swastikas. While
mother and child appear to be in embrace in the first of these two
scenes, in the second one she breast feeds him. Remarkably, this is
the very scene in which the image of the Virgin stars lactating. The
two women are thereby linked through the act of giving milk.
Several
conclusions might be drawn from the imagery. For one the conversion is the result of miracles, so that one might be inclined
to suggest that the imagery implies the Muslim figures are so far
away from god, that they need a
miracle to be converted.2
However, one must not forget the text itself, miracles are the
central part of all of the narrations of the Cantigas simply due to
the
genre. The visual link that is established between the Virgin and the
Muslim woman further contradicts with this explanation. Instead it
seems plausible to suggest that the contemporary approach regarding the
Islamic threat
in the thirteenth-century is reflected in these images. A strategy of
conversion rather than of elimination, which also had an impact on
other media as the Vita
of St. Raymond shows, terminus ante quem 1351, that tells of the
conversion of more than ten-thousand Muslims.3
A
different story is told in Cantiga 25. Illustrated over two pages,
the Cantiga tells of a Christian who borrowed money from a Jewish
money lender. When the time for paying the money back comes, the
Christian happened to be in a different city, unable to give it back
himself. By calling upon the Virgin he is eventually able to deliver
a chest with the money through a miracle. The Jew, however, decides
to hide the chest and pretends to have never received the money. His
scheme is eventually foiled and
exposed by the Virgin, resulting in
his conversion to Christianity. While the Jew is the depicted with what at that time were commonly used visual markers such as,
a crooked nose, pointed hat and a beard, it is notable that his
conversion results in a visual change. He is depicted in
profile view in every single image before the conversion, a technique often used for figures of questionable character, but during his baptism he is shown in a three-quarter profile view.4
exposed by the Virgin, resulting in
his conversion to Christianity. While the Jew is the depicted with what at that time were commonly used visual markers such as,
a crooked nose, pointed hat and a beard, it is notable that his
conversion results in a visual change. He is depicted in
profile view in every single image before the conversion, a technique often used for figures of questionable character, but during his baptism he is shown in a three-quarter profile view.4
As
in the other image, it appears as if these images reassure their readers that the religious Others can be tamed, that the Other while in
their midst might be made into one of their own. The reality,
however, was quite different, even if Muslims or Jews converted to
Christianity they were frequently still considered suspicious
characters. One might suggest therefore that these scenes of
conversion are not manifestations of the desire for a peaceful
life together under one religion. Rather they are a reassurance of
the superiority of the Christian belief, presenting the audience with visual evidence of Christianity's victory both on the material
plane (as e.g. in scenes of military success that I have not
discussed here) and on the spiritual plane.
-Fabian
1Burns,
Robert I, Las Siete Partidas
Vol. 5 (Philadelphia : Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2001),
xxxiv-xxxv, 1439-1440.
2Lipton,
Sara, “Where
are the Gothic
Jewish
women? On the non-iconography of the Jewess in the Cantigas de Santa
Maria', in Jewish
History, 22 1/2 (2008),
139-177
3Smith,
Collin, Christians and Moors in Spain Vol.
2 (Warminster : Aris & Phillips,
1989) 60-63.
4See
Mellinkoff, Ruth, Outcasts: Signs of Otherness in Northern
European Art of the Late Middle Ages (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1993) for a detailed account of visual markers for
the Other.
Images:
1. fol 68v. ms. T.I.1, El Escorial, from Prado-Vilar, Francesco, 'The Gothic Anamorphic Gaze' in Under the Influence. Questioning the Comparative in Medieval Castile, eds. Cynthia Robinson a. Leyla Rouhi (Leiden: Brill, 2004)
2. detail fol 68v. ms. T.I.1, El Escorial, from Patton, Pamela A., Art of Estrangement. Redefining Jews in Reconquest Spain (University Park: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2012)
3. fol 39r ms. T.I.1, El Escorial, from Patton, Pamela A., Art of Estrangement. Redefining Jews in Reconquest Spain (University Park: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2012)
<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com">Hyper Smash</a>
Images:
1. fol 68v. ms. T.I.1, El Escorial, from Prado-Vilar, Francesco, 'The Gothic Anamorphic Gaze' in Under the Influence. Questioning the Comparative in Medieval Castile, eds. Cynthia Robinson a. Leyla Rouhi (Leiden: Brill, 2004)
2. detail fol 68v. ms. T.I.1, El Escorial, from Patton, Pamela A., Art of Estrangement. Redefining Jews in Reconquest Spain (University Park: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2012)
3. fol 39r ms. T.I.1, El Escorial, from Patton, Pamela A., Art of Estrangement. Redefining Jews in Reconquest Spain (University Park: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2012)
<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com">Hyper Smash</a>
No comments:
Post a Comment