“Merovingian and Early Carolingian Art”: The Hypogeum of the Dunes

The Hypogeum of the Dunes outside of Poitiers especially captivated my students’ interest this spring, for the potency of its images and inscriptions.  Often neglected by English-language surveys (except of course, the English translation of the Arts of Mankind survey of Early Medieval Art, Europe of the Invasions), one must look farther afield for good material on this monument.  The Museums of Poitiers offer a useful website, and a website maintained by an archaeology student in France presents plans, photos, and inscriptions.

When presenting this monument, I followed the sequence determined by the monument.  We began with the steps leading down into the crypt.  You may find the plan from the Taschen Early Medieval Art Survey by Xavier Barral i Altet on Flickr.  The actual steps may have originally functioned as risers.  Ernst Kitzinger’s article on “Interlace and Icons”fits well as a follow-up reading, for it discusses these steps in terms of their apotropaic potential, which almost every aspect of the crypt reinforces.

We then examined the door frame and its extended inscription (scroll down).   

The inscription reads, in English:

In the name of God, I,

here, Mellebaude,

debtor/sinner and servant of Jesus Christ,

have created for myself thIS

little cave here where

my sepulcher

lies, unworthy,

which I did in the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ whom

I loved, in whom

I believed.  It is a

true dignity to confess that God

lived, whose

glory is GREAT,

 where peace, faith, and charity IS.

HE is God and man,

and God is in him. 

[added, in same hand]

If someone does not worship here the Lord JESUS

CHRIST and destroys this WORK,

may he be anathema – Maranatha –

Until Eternity.

Although only one of several intriguing inscriptions in the crypt, to go into each one would go well beyond the modest aims of this website.  I should mention, however, that one inscription, in particular, permits insight into the circumstances of the crypt’s dedication, destruction, and restoration.

In the second chamber, two plaques depict archangels and Evangelists.  They compare well with the Coffin of Saint Cuthbert.  The crypt also preserves an intriguing fragmentary relief of the two thieves from the Crucifixion. 

Although this monument requires a bit of effort, it rewards well that effort.

“Merovingian and Early Carolingian Art”: The Cenotaphs of the Mausoleum at Jouarre

The cenotaph for the tomb of Abbesses Theodechilde, the first abbess of Jouarre, and that of the later abbess Agilberte (visible in the distance here) both date from sometime in the eighth century.  One could omit them from an upper-level survey, but they may merit passing reference.  The cenotaph of Agilberte bears an overall pattern reminiscent of a textile, and that of Theodechilde bears two rows of shells between an inscription presented in three rows.  This inscription refers to the parable of the wise and foolish Virgins in Matthew 25, which, in turn, relates this funerary monument to the Last Judgment.

Here are the inscription and a translation, for which I am only partially responsible (I began with a rough translation prepared by the boyfriend of one of my students, whose name I do not know):

HOC MEMBRA POST ULTIMA TEGUNTUR FATA SEPULCHRO BEATAE
THEODLECHELDIS INTEMERATAE VI[R]GINIS GENERE NOBILIS MERETIS
FULGENS STRINUA MORIBUS FLAGRAVIT IN DOGMATE [VERO?]
CENUBII HUIUS MATER SACRATAS DEO VIR[GINES]…
…[ACCIPIEN]TES OLEUM CUM LA[MP]ADIBUS PRUDENTE[S]…
…FILIAS OCCUR[RE]RE XPM HAEC DEMUM EX[S]ULTAT PARAD[ISUM]…

These limbs, after the last utterances, are covered in the tomb of blessed
Theodlechelde, a chaste maid, noble by birth, Illustrious
On account of her merits, vigorous in her habits, she was zealous in [true] doctrine
The mother of this monastery … the virgins sacred to God…
Wisely taking oil with their lamps…
… daughters to run to meet Christ.  At last she exults in paradise.

“Merovingian and Early Carolingian Art”: The Crypt of the Abbey of Saint Paul, Part 1: The Sarcophagus of Agilbert

The mausoleum, and now crypt, of the Abbey of Saint Paul in Jouarre permits a plotting of three points along the transition from Merovingian to Carolingian art. 

The construction of the chamber itself offers compelling material for a discussion of reuse and imitation.  It has spoliated and original capitals and displays a sort of opus reticulatum on one wall.  But I focused in this class on the tombs.

We began with the sarcophagus of Agilbert.  Agilbert, bishop of Wessex and then of Paris, offers a point of communication between the Anglo-Saxons and the Merovingians, like the Merovingian coins in the Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo, and thereby demonstrates the interconnectedness of various regions and the potential for cross-cultural exchange.  

The death of Agilbert in the 680s establishes his sarcophagus as a product of the late seventh century.  The main, long side displays a Last Judgment.  Simply discerning the detail, such as the scroll in Christ’s left hand or the angels on either end, requires some time. 

We also read together the New Testament sources for the imagining of the Last Judgment, especially Matthew 25.

The short side displays a Christ in Majesty. We re-read here the visions of Ezekiel (1.10) and John (Revelation 4.7); reviewed the Evangelist symbols that we had already encountered in class- in the Chapel of San Venanzio, the Codex Amiatinus, and the Book of Durrow; and then examined the Ascension in the Rabbula Gospels.  With this tour, I wanted to make the point that context and function determine the meaning of these four beasts.  In a Gospel book, they signify the harmony of the four Gospels.  In a depiction of the Ascension, they refer to the Second Coming of Christ, through the words of the two men in white in the Book of Acts:  ”Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven” (1.11).  On the sarcophagus of Agilbert, adjacent to the Last Judgment and in a funerary context, the four beasts actually show Christ in Majesty at his Second Coming. 

The site of the Jouarre Office of Tourism has a promotional video with some nice footage of the crypt.  The website of the Abbey presents an account of its history.  For good images, however, one must turn to publications, and Europe of the Invasions offers the most complete set.

Digitized Book: Early Christian Iconography and a School of Ivory Carvers in Provence

E Baldwin Smith, Early Christian Iconography and a School of Ivory Carvers in Provence (1918).

“Visigothic Art”: Pillar in the Church of San Salvador, Toledo

The pillar in the Church of San Salvador in Toledo defies certain dating, but scholars generally assign it to the Visigothic period.  Even before the Asturian carving promised in my previous post, we see a formal similarity between an early medieval Spanish stone relief and early Byzantine ivories. 

The pillar displays four scenes: the Healing of the Blind Man, the Raising of Lazarus, Christ and the Samaritan Women, and the Woman with the Issue of Blood. The simplicity of the compositions and their vertical arrangement recall the side panels on the front cover of the  Etschmiadzin Gospels (I can only find a blurry image of the back cover) and on the Murano Diptych.  The vertical format may also recall the scenes between the columns that flank Luke in the Corpus Christi Gospels (see earlier posting for the class on “Religious Imagery ca. 600″). 

The other three sides show vinescrolls and other vegetal ornament, but I have seen no images of them.

Discussion of the program of the pillar provides a useful exercise, but one without an obvious solution.  Also, when you look closely, you see that no faces remain, suggesting some sort of systematic destruction, perhaps by the aniconic conquerors who ended Visigothic dominion over the Iberian peninsula in 711. 

And here ends the class on the art of Visigothic Spain.

 

“Visigothic Art”: Santa Maria Quintanilla de la Viñas

Complicated by restoration in the ninth or tenth century, dating proves especially tricky at Santa Maria Quintanilla de la Vinas.  Furthermore, a later re-building incorporated the original apse and transept, preserving only some of its captivating reliefs in situ. 

The exterior displays friezes (here and here) and monograms (here, here, and a third, of which I have not found an image).

The archway leading into the chancel area displays carving: on the left impost, Luna (of which I cannot find a sutiable image), and on the right impost, Sol, both in medallions held aloft by angels.  The upper frame of the Sol relief bears a dedicatory inscription:

OC EXIGUUM EXIGUA OFF[ERT] DO[MINA] FLAMMOLA VOTUM D[EI]

FLAMOMOLA, THE LEAST OF THE LEAST, MAKES THIS PROMISED OFFERING TO GOD.

The arch itself displays birds and clusters of grapes, appropriate for their eucharistic symbolism.  A flashback to imagery of birds and grapes could work well here.

The church also preserves several relieves not in situ: a figure flanked by angels; and a figure holding a cross-staff also flanked by angels and displayed with two figures holding books.

The fragmentation and displacement of these reliefs render the meaningful teaching and learning of this church a challenge.  A flashback to representations of the Crucifixion from the Holy Land could here help explain the representation of Sol and Luna framing the space of the Eucharist.  The upper panel of the Barberini Diptych (note the signs for the sun and the moon) offers a useful comparandum for the relief of the figure bearing the cross-staff, especially since early Byzantine diptychs will offer useful comparanda when we examine some Asturian reliefs. 

One Spanish sites has medium-size photos:  Iglesia de Santa Maria en Quintanilla de la Vinas (Burgos).  Turismo prerromanico offers some information for careful sifting.  The best images, however, come from publications.

“Visigothic Art”: San Pedro de la Nave

Although the architectural structure was questionably reconstructed following a relocation, the carving within San Pedro de la Nave merits examination.  The friezes offer examples of Visigothic ornament, but, more remarkably, the church preserves medieval art’s earliest surviving historiated capitals, preceding by several centuries the development of this form in Romanesque cloisters and elsewhere.

Surmounting engaged columns at the crossing of the church, the four capitals display four different scenes.  Those farther from the sanctuary depict Old Testament scenes on their main faces: the Sacrifice of Isaac  to the southwest and Daniel in the Lions’ Pool to the northwest. 

Inscriptions charge the Old Testament scenes with liturgical meaning.  The titulus for Daniel in the Lions’  Pool reads:

UBI DANIEL MISSUS EST IN LAQUM LEONUM

WHERE DANIEL IS SENT INTO THE LIONS’ POOL

The curious location of the event in a pool rather than a cave reflects the skewing of the story to prefigure baptism.

The titulus for the Sacrifice of Isaac appears more straightforward:

UBI HABRAAM OBTULIT ISAAC FILIUM SUUM OLOCAUSTUM DNO

WHERE ABRAHAM OFFERED HIS SON AS A HOLOCAUST TO THE LORD

But the label of the altar, ALTARE, encourages its assimilation to the Christian altar.

Labeled standing apostles flank each scene on the narrower faces: Paul and Peter flank the Sacrifice of Isaac and Thomas and Philip flank Daniel in the Lions’ Pool.  The two capitals closer to the sanctuary both show birds eating grapes on their broad face: here the capital to the northeast, and here the one to the southeast.  The narrow sides show unidentified faces: northeast, and southeast.

Flickr serves Spanish sites particularly well.  It has excellent exterior and interior detail shots of San Pedro de la Nave.  Other carvings in the church include column bases with Evangelist symbols, but only line drawings can convey their details.

 

“Visigothic Art”: The Sacrifice of Isaac, a Flashback

Before examining the historiated capitals at San Pedro de la Nave, a brief flashback through monuments familiar to students from the introductory survey provides some necessary background. 

The Sacrifice of Isaac found its earliest representation at the Dura Synagogue, in the panel above the Torah shrine.  (You may note the source of the image, Eikon: Image Database for Biblical Studies, at the Yale Divinity School).  When it appears on the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, the writings of Irenaeus (Against Heresies) and Tertullian (An Answer to the Jews) articulate the typological relationship of the Sacrifice of Isaac to the Crucifixion of Christ.  Finally, in the mosaics at San Vitale in Ravenna, the Sacrifice of Isaac, paired within the lunette with the Visit of the Three Angels to Mamre, which in turn are together paired with the Sacrifices of Abel and Melchisedech on the other side on the altar, becomes a prototype of the liturgy.  This brief excursion into the development of the typological potential of the Sacrifice of Isaac offers a useful prelude to an understanding of its meaning at San Pedro de la Nave.

Michael Shamansky, 2008-8

Franca Arduini, The Shape of the Book from Roll to Codex (3rd century BC - 19th Century AD) (Mandragora, 2008).

Massetti Calderoni et al., Intorno al Sacro Volto. Genova, Bisanzio e il Mediterraneo (secoli XI-XIV) (Libri Marsilio, 2007).

Efthalia Constantinides, Images from the Byzantine Periphery: Studies in Iconography and Style (Alexandros Press, 2008).

Roberta Panzanelli et al., The Color of Life: Polychromy in Sculpture from Antiquity to the Present (Getty Publications, 2008).

“Visigothic Art”: San Juan de Banos

Although I focused on representational art in this survey class, the Visigothic material provided an occasion to look at and describe architecture and ornament.  With this end in mind, we turned to the church of San Juan de Banos.  An inscription on the arch above the chancel area permits the precise dating of this monument to 661.  In the introductory essay to his translation of Julian of Toledo’s Historia Wambae, Joaquin Martinez Pizarro translates the inscription (page 38, with the Latin in footnote 82).  You may find another translation at Arte Preromanico Espagnol.

Flickr has mostly exterior shots, but also some details of the ornamental friezes.  A Spanish site, El Romanico en Palencia, offers some good medium-sized photos.  But only one photo on Flickr shows a fuzzy image of the chancel arch with its inscription.