The romance of the Maccabees in mediaeval art and literature [thesis]

454 Pages·1963·21.32 MB·English

by  Robert Leon McGrath

64-2695
McGRATH, Robert Leon, 1935—
THE ROMANCE OF THE MACCABEES IN
MEDIAEVAL ART AND LITERATURE.
Princeton University, Ph.D., 1963
Fine Arts
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ROMANCE OF THE MACCABEES IN
MEDIAEVAL ART AND LITERATURE
by
Robert Leon McG-rath
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
A DISSERTATION
PRESENTED TO THE
FACULTY OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE
OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
RECOMMENDED FOR ACCEPTANCE BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF
ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY
MAY, 1963
' r.
•V v
u '
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ABSTRACT
The essential concern of this study is an investigation
of the impact of the Naccabean legend on the art of the Kiddle
Ages, To this end, we have seen fit to divide our subject
under two general headings, the first treating of the literary
aspects of this theme and the second dealing with the visual
tradition as manifested in particular in illuminated manuscript
Part One is devoted to a consideration of two fundamental
currents of mediaeval vernacular literature on the Maccabees
that we have designated quite simply as the "secular” and
the "religious," The secular current, best characterized by
the epic fragments in Berne and the prolix romances of Gautier
de Belleperche and Pierre du Rids, was essentially the province
of the jongleur or lay poet, and the form and presentation of
this poetry was invariably in conformity with that of epic
and courtly literature. Moreover, the most salient feature of
these poems was a concentration upon the implicit knightly
and chivalric elements in the Maccabean histories; in short,
those aspects of the biblical account most readily subject to
interpretation as an exhortation to, and a justification for,
the Crusades•
The religious tradition of vernacular literature on the
Maccabees is best defined as an attempt to synthesize mediaeval
exegesis with the Vulgate account in a form at once poetic and
understandable to the lay reader. The emphasis in these works
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
iv
lay, quite naturally, within the biblical framework.
Throughout the Middle Ages, poets frequently made
allusion to the worth of the Maccabees and it was most frequently
upon the image that had evolved in the literature of the secular
tradition that they drew in singing the praises of these noble
Jewish warriors. Above all, it was the figure of Judas
Maccabaeus that gradually emerged in the epics and romances
as the preux chevalier, the peer of Roland, Charlemagne and
Lancelot, and, in the l4th and 15th centuries, he was to
become one of the most celebrated of ancient heroes by mediaeval
poets.
Part Two can be construed ostensibly as a study of the
miniature cycles that illustrate the extant manuscripts of
the Romance of the Maccabees. The Maccabean romances are
of particular significance in that it is in the illustration
of this legend - the only histories illuminated both as a
part of the Bible and as secular literature - that we can
most immediately and effectively view the important transition
from religious to profane art in the late Romanesque and early
gothic periods. Chapters one and two of this section are
concerned with the tradition of the illustration of the
Maccabees in Latin and Greek Bibles. Chapter three treats of
the previously unpublished miniature cycles that decorate the
manuscripts of the Maccabean romances while chapter four is an
attempt to determine what relationships, if any, can be
established between the biblical and romance cycles of the
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
V
Maccabees. In addition, chapter four contains a discussion of
the two principal means of decorating secular texts, "literal"
and "formulistic" illustration. Chapter fire can be inter­
preted as an epilogue to the considerations of the previous
sections in that.it deals with the expansion of the Maccabean
legend in lJfth and 15th century illuminated histories, chronicles
and other literary texts.
Our conclusions, briefly summarised, reveal that the
influence of religious upon secular iconography was of a
profoundly important but diverse nature. Apropos of our
immediate concern, secular artists evolved a process of
adapting religious schemes to use within the profane context
far top'generalised'to admit the direct dependence of the
illustration of the Maccabean romances on the biblioal cycles.
Additionally, the impact of secular illumination back upon
religious art is a discernible phenomenon from the late 12th
century on^that was of equal measure and significance to the
reverse of the equation.
In fine, the unity of the text and decoration of the
Romance of the Maccabees resides in the pronounced secular
character of this art that makes it more at one with the
literature and illustration developed to delight and instruct
chivalric and courtly society than to the older, more traditional^
current of biblical art that emerged from a monastic culture.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Vi
PREFACE
"Hark, I hear the trumpets
Sound from Beth-horon; from the battle field
Of Joshua where he smote the Armorites,
Smote the Five Kings of Eglon and Jarmuth,
Of Hebron, Lachish and Jerusalem,
As we today will smite Nicanor's hosts
And leave a memory of great deeds behind us."
H. W. Longfellow, Judas Maccabaeus.
Act III, scene iv.
When the learned Dr. Longfellow composed these verses
almost a century ago, there can be little doubt that he
considered himself to be the reviver, to a degree, of the
Maccabean legend, for we have preserved the record of his
memoirs in which he wrote:
"Began the tragedy of Judas Maccabaeus. The subject is
a very striking one, the collision of Judaism and
Hellenism. I greatly wonder that it has not been
treated before.” (December 10, 1871)
(Final Memorials. Boston, 1887. p. 130.)
Those who profess to know better can assuredly absolve
Longfellow from his nescience of the obscure plays of Calderon
and Otto Ludwig, but even a proper Bostonian must suffer the
abuses of the informed for his slight to the genius of Handel.
In a larger sense, however, Longfellow was not without reason
in visualising himself as responsible for the resuscitation
of the Maccabees, for in most periods since antiquity their
image has been rather dim, if not at times totally eclipsed.
As one cynic puts it, if remembered today at all, the Maccabees
are generally esteemed as the patron saints of Zionist athletic
clubs. It is equally true that in the early centuries of our
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
vii
era, the Maoeabees did not once figure, even in name, in the
New Testament, the Nidrash or the Talmud,
In the Middle Ages, however, this does not hold true,
for not only were the Maccabees the subject of an abundance of
biblical exegesis, but the memory of their noble deeds gave
rise to the formation of what we might choose to describe as
a literary cult. The canon of this popular devotion to the
Maccabees was the vernacular epics and romances dedicated to
their fame, the texts and illuminations of which will form the
basis of this investigation. As we shall have occasion to
remark, the importance of these little known works resides in
their relation to (and the corresponding distinctions from)
the Biblical Maccabees, for in the entire Middle Ages there is
no more pertinent example of the immediate evolution of religious
art into the realm of the profane.
In that the illustrations of these romances have never
been the subject of a scholarly investigation, it is felt that
the fact of their publication alone constitutes a significant
advance in the study of secular illumination in the Middle Ages.
With the exception of Loomis' great publication on the Arthurian
legends, secular art is probably one of the most sadly neglected
of all mediaeval studies. At this writing, I understand that
Dr, Buchthal of the Ocurtauld Institute is preparing a study
of the illustrations of the Troy Romance while Prof, Ross of
the University of London has undertaken to publish an iconography
of the famous mediaeval Alexander Romance. It is only to be
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
viii
hoped that this study of a humble chapter of mediaeval secular
illumination will be able to take its place alongside of these
more important contributions in revealing one of the most
significant and rewarding aspects of the art of the Middle
Ages.
To properly acknowledge one's indebtedness to all of the
persons who have rendered me assistance in the preparation of
this thesis is a task seemingly impossible to perform. Every
member of the Department of Art and Archaeology of Princeton
University, my fellow graduate students no less than faculty,
has contributed something toward shaping my view of the history
of art. Professors Lee, Martin, Sjorquist and Koch, to name
but a few of the able men who have directed my study in fields
outside of the Middle Ages, are singled out for the particular
expression of my gratitude. But, above all, one man is to be
credited with whatever merit may be found in this study. A
great mediaevalist, an indefatigable scholar and a benign
gentleman, Dr. Kurt Weitzmann has patiently guided my studies
in mediaeval art from the outset. The example of his
enlightened teaching and brilliant scholarship will ever be a
source of inspiration to me as to many of his former students.
Another to whom X am greatly indebted is Prof. Alfred Foulet
of the French Department of Princeton University. His unselfish
assistance in the correction of my transcription of the Garrett
fragment of the Roman de Judas Machabee is gratefully acknowledged
as are a number of profound insights into mediaeval French
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.