Beyond Good and Evil - The Image of Jews and Muslims around 1100

Fabian Bojkovsky - PhD Candidate History of Art

In my research I am looking at the larger corpus of representations of Jews and Muslims in Christian Spanish art. In this post I will present one of my case studies, the Girona Creation Tapestry, and introduce my reading in short. The embroidery (even though it is actually an embroidery it is usually called a tapestry) is dated between 1050 and 1110. The tapestry shows Christ and scenes from the Genesis centrally in a medallion. Cosmological and biblical figures are depicted on the edges. Below the central medallion is the invention of the True cross, which shall be our main point of interest on the tapestry.

 Photo: Fabian Bojkovsky

It begins on the left with Helena standing in front of a vaulted building and conversing with Judas Cyriacus. Behind him two Jews are displayed next to Jerusalem. All figures are identified by inscribtions. Next to Jerusalem we can see the top piece of a large cross. It is all that remains of the figure that was holding it, now lost, and its interpretation remains controversial and will be discussed later. To the right of the cross-end Judas Cyriacus is praying to find the true cross which results in a sweet smell at the site of Golgotha. This scene is followed by Judas digging up the three crosses and afterwards testing which is the true cross by touching a dead body. The 'True Cross' would then miraculously resurrect the body.

Photo: Fabian Bojkovsky

 

The Jewish figures in the narrative are not distinguished by any visual markers (Patton, 2012, 17-18). While we might be inclined to argue that this is evidence of a fairly neutral representation, we should consider that the legend of the True Cross and Judas Cyriacus itself had several clearly Anti-Jewish aspects. In the legend Helena forces Judas to help her by leaving him in a well for several days without food. Further the legend ends with Judas conversion to Christianity after he witnessed the miracles of the 'True Cross'. While the tapestry does not illustrate these parts of the narrative, we might suspect that the audience knew of them as this version of the story was quite popular.

While the identity of the figure with the cross that is now lost is controversial, I would suggest that the recent suggestions by Barabra Baert, that it originally showed Herclius is convincing (Baert, 1999, 122-123). His inclusion would have important implications for the meaning of the tapestry. The Byzantine emperor was associated with the fight against Islam due to his success in battle against the Persian king Chosroes II in the early seventh century. While historically incorrect, later Christianity identified Chosroes and his kingdom as Islamic therefore making Heraclius an important figure of Christian-Muslim conflicts in the history of the world (Baert, 1999, 124-125). His presence in the cosmographical program would have to be understood in reference to the contemporary battles against Islam on the Iberian Peninsula while also reassuring Christian victory.

The references to Jews and possibly Muslims within the tapestry localise them within the Christian cosmos, however in very different ways. While Jews are presented as ambiguous part of the Christian world and its history, the hypothetical reference to Islam portrays Muslims as enemies that, in the tradition of Heraclius, need to be purged off the Christian world fabric.

Photo: Pol Mayer / Paul M.R. Maeyaert
 

Other imagery of Jews and Muslims can be found throughout the Iberian Peninsula. One example is the tympanum of San Isidoro in León. While a lot could be said about this work I will summarise  a possible reading for this piece. The figures of Ishmael and Hagar, depicted on the bottom left, can be understood as representations of Islam (Williams, 1977, 3-14) and more specifically reflect the idea of Islam as essentially a Christian heresy, thus portraying Islam's point of departure from the 'true' church in the tympanum. Another example, a capital in Santo Domingo de Silos, shows hybrid creatures with headscarves that appear to allude to Muslims. Its position in the program and connections to other capitals suggests that these Muslim hybrid figures need to be understood as the evil side of the moralising program of the cloister (Valdez del Álamo, 2012). On the basis of textual evidence, such as the Vita Dominici Exiliensis, I would suggest that they also connect to monk's perceptions of and experiences with Islam.

Photo: Monestirs Puntcat

In summary, representations of Jews and Muslims within Christian spaces seem to have taken very different forms around 1100. It may not surprise that these images show very different faces of the Other, but are these differences due to their individual context, signs of the flexibility of the image of Otherness or due to regional differences among the Iberian kingdoms? These are just some further questions that will be considered in my work on the representation of Jews and Muslims in these objects.

Selected Bibliography:

Baert, Barbara, 'New Observations on the Genesis of Girona (1050 - 1100). The Iconography of the Legend of the True Cross', in Gesta 38 (1999), 115-127

 

Castiñeiras, Manuel, The Creaion Tapestry (Girona: Cathedral of Girona, 2011)

De Palol, Pere and Hirmer, Max, Early Medieval Art in Spain (London: Thames and Hudson, 1967)

———. , 'Une broderie catalane d'époque romane. La Genése de Gérone. 1', in Cahiers archéologiques 8 (1956), 175-214

———. , 'Une broderie catalane d'époque romane. La Genése de Gérone. 2', in Cahiers archéologiques 11 (1957), 219-237

 

Patton, Pamela Anne, Art of Estrangement: Redefining Jews in Reconquest Spain (University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012)

Valdez del Álamo, Elizabeth, Palace of the Mind: The Cloister of Silos and Spanish Sculpture of the Twelfth Century (Turnhout: Brepols, 2012)

Williams, John, 'Generationes Abrahae. Reconquest Iconography in Leon', in Gesta 16.2 (1977), 3-14