Connotations of Sin and Heresy in the Figure of the Black King in

Connotations of Sin and Heresy in the Figure of the Black King in Some Northern
Renaissance Adorations
Author(s): Yona Pinson
Source: Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 17, No. 34 (1996), pp. 159-175
Published by: IRSA s.c.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1483528
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YONA PINSON
Connotationsof Sin and Heresy in the Figureof the BlackKing
in Some NorthernRenaissance Adorations
To Prof. Moshe Barasch, a great teacher and scholar
The celebration of Epiphany traditionallyholds a central position in Christian devotion.1 Since the Kings'worship of the infant
Christ was understood as the Manifestation of Christ to the
Gentiles, their recognition of the Lord also symbolized the triumph
of the Church (they personified the three parts of the world,
Europe, Asia and Africa2as well as the submission of the temporal power to the spiritualauthorityof the Church.3This became the
official ecclesiastical attitude, since the Church had a special interest in fostering the cult of the kings of the Earth submitting to
God.4
This approach came to dominate during the papacy of Leo I
(440-461), when the Adorationof the Kings was interpretedas the
pagans' recognition of Jesus, and from this point onwards the
Epiphanyoccupied a central place in the liturgy.5However, behind
the bland officialscene, we can discern hints of evil associated with
the figuresof the Kingsas Magi.This goes back to the writingsof the
Fathers of the Church in the second century and later, which containg pejorativereferences to the three Kings who came to worship
the ChristChild,arising chiefly from exegeses of the Kings as Magi
and astrologers.6The later Fathers of the Church,as well as some
of the hagiographers,maintainedan equivocal attitudetowards the
Kings,7and this ambivalence continued to prevaildespite the growth
of the cult in the fifteenthcentury.
The image of a dark or black king is derivedfrom a passage of
Pseudo-Bede "...Tertius, fuscus intig[er] barbatus Balthasare
nomine (the third,a dark, fully bearded king named Balthasar...").8
This figure was later identified(according to the commentaries on
Psalms 68(67):31 and 72(71):9-10 and on Bede himself) as an
Ethiopianor a black African.The belief firsttook form, as pointedout
by Kaplan,in Irishexegetical traditions;it then took root in Germany
and spread to the Netherlands.9
The introductionof the Black King into the visual arts can be
dated from the twelfthto the thirteenthcenturies, in Spain, Italyand
Germany, but such early examples are ratherrare.10It is in the late
MiddleAges and the Renaissance that the Black King became well
established. He is most often represented as the youngest of the
three, beardless, called Balthasar or Caspar, and usually standing
last in the line.11(Occasionally he figures as the middle-aged king,
second in line). During that period suggestions of the negative
aspects of the Magi and associations of evil began to appear, especially attached to the Kings' retinue, but also to the figure of the
Young King himself, shown as swarthyor black.12
Towards the end 'of the Middle Ages, especially in the
Netherlands and Germany, blackness or swarthiness were perceived as symbols of evil, sin and the demonic, mainly in popular
imagery.These complexions were especially associated with the sin
159
YONAPINSON
1) Albrecht Altdorfer, (<TheArrest of Christ)>,1518, St. Florian,
Polyptych.
1a) Albrecht Altdorfer, <<TheArrest of Christ,,, detail.
of Luxuria.BrotherHendrikvan Keulen declares that people guiltyof
Luxuriaturn black as pitch in Hell.13In the Dutch version of the life
of Saint Anthony the spirit of lechery that appears to the saint is
described as an ugly Moorishchild who is the fruitof Satan's fornications.14 Similar figures appear in scientific writings.A fourteenth
century treatise on physiognomy contains the following definition:
'Who is dark black or earth-like, means inclining towards moral
defects and lusts in particular."15
There is a similar statement in a fifteenth-centurytreatise on
nature:"Hasa person black skin, /That means a corruptfellow."16
The
Black and the Moor are also directlyassociated with Satan and Hell.
The expression "HeleschMoren"(inferal Moor)was quite frequentin
160
the Netherlandsin the fifteenthand sixteenth centuries.17The image
of blackor swarthyis thus seen to containa doublynegative meaning
in medieval and Renaissance culture;on the one hand, the black or
dark skin symbolizedevil, sin and the devilishin both high and popular cultureand, on the other, being associated with the figure of the
Moor,or Saracen, it was also relatedto heresy.18
The relicsof the Kingswere dedared at Milanin 1158 and transferredto Cologne in 1164, where they became an object of cult and
veneration.In 1464, the tercentenaryof this event was celebratedwith
great splendourin Cologne Cathedral.It was expected that the figures
CONNOTATIONS
OF SIN AND HERESYINTHE FIGUREOF THE BLACKKINGIN SOME NORTHERNRENAISSANCEADORATIONS
1b) Hans Memling, <<TheSeven Joys of the Virigin)>,Munich,
Alte Pinakothek, c. 1480, detail.
of the Kingswould thus be "cleared"of the negative connotationsthat
dung to them, and with them also the young King, representedas
Moorishor black.19However, at this time Europewas being threatened
by Muslimexpansion,casting a shadow over the MoorishKing,who in
some versionsof the legend is called the Kingof Arabia.20
Accordingto medieval exegesis, the Kings were descendants of
Noah's sons, dispersed over the continents (Genesis 10). The
youngest, the Black King, was believed to be descended from Ham
(father of Canaan and Cush-Ethiopia).21Ham, culpable of not covering his father's nakedness when he was drunk(Genesis 9:20-27),
was cursed and rejected.22 According to St. Augustine, Noah's
rejected son dwells in the earthly City of Evil.23In medieval commentaries Ham and his descendants were associated with the
rejectedJews and later also with the heretic Saracens.24Since Cush
and Canaan were related to Africa, they were accorded blackness
and pejorative connotations.
The identificationof the Black Magus with heresy became so
strongly rooted25 that his imagery attributes and his standard or
banner26are sometimes transferredto differentcontexts, to stigmatize heretics or betrayersof God. One of the most outstandingexamples of this kind of "emblem transfer"in Northem Renaissance art
can be seen in the Polyptych of St. Florian (1518) by Albrecht
Altdorfer[Fig. 1 and Fig. la]. In the Arrestationof Christthe Roman
soldiers surroundingChrist are carryingthe flag that is usually displayed by the Black King's retinuein NorthernAdorationscenes.27
One should not automaticallyassociate every representationof
the Magi and especially the Black Kingwith evil and hints of heresy.
YetAltdorfer'sidentification
of the betrayalthroughthe imageryof the
Black King'sstandard,confirmsthat such associations of Blacks, and
even the Black Magus, with evil and heresy were rooted in Norther
Renaissance thought, and that the idiom was available to be cited
and transferredto another context. In an Adorationof the Kings by
UlrichApt the Elder [Paris, Louvre,ca. 1500-1510, Figs. 2 and 2a],
notwithstandingthe attractiveappearance of the young King, who is
black,a murkierside of his natureis hintedat by the cat peeringout
of his sleeve. In Northem Renaissance literaturethere is much and
varied use of the expression "peers out of the sleeve," generallywith
The cat may thus sugthe connotation"histrue nature is revealed."28
the Black King - sinthe
"dark"
to
characterize
traits
supposed
gest
ful, demonic, or engaged in magic.30In this composition,the hint of
evil peering out of the sleeve of the handsome young Black King is
ratherodd, as we know that the commissionersof the work,members
of the Weavers' Guildof Augsburg, are portrayedas the two other
kings and their retinues.30
In a contemporary woodcut by Hans Schauflein, ca. 1510
[Fig. 3], connotationsof sin, heresy and the demonic are inlaid into
the Black King's costume and accessories, foretelling in a way
Bruegel's elaboratesymbolismin the 1564 Adorationof the Kings.31
Acrescent moon which might be understoodas suggesting heresy32
is conspicuous in the King's necklace; references relatingthe figure
to the realm of evil can be discerned in a monstrous creature that
peers out of his hat; anotherone is worked into the omamentationof
the scabbard. The elegant greyhound that was introducedinto fifteenth century NetherlandishAdorationscenes as a mark of nobility, and was usually attached to the figure of the youngest King [Fig.
4] is replaced here by a rather repulsive and threateningdog.33A
menacing dog appears occasionally in contemporary German
Adorationsas part of the Black King's retinue,as in a woodcut by
Durer, ca. 1502-3 (B. 76-95), and in the contemporarysculptured
161
YONAPINSON
2a) Ulrich Apt the Elder, <<Adorationof the Kings,, detail.
2) Ulrich Apt the Elder, <<Adorationof the Kings,,,
ca. 1500-1510, Paris, Musee du Louvre.
group by Hans von Aachen (Strasbourg Cathedral, Portail Saint
Laurent, 1503).34 Here a hideous and hostile dog peers out from
162
under the Black King's cloak, with the same satanic connotationas
the cat peeking out of the sleeve. A dog with a devil's head can be
seen followingthe Black King in an Adoration of the Kings by an
Antwerp mannerist (Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum,inv. WRM,
429, ca. 1515).
In Bosch's Adoration of the Magi [Figs 5, 5a and 5b] in the
Prado (ca. 1510), the presence of the handsome young Black
King raises many problems of interpretation.For Kaplan, Bosch
here created "the most glorious of all the early African Magi",perhaps a debatable statement.35Brand Philip has established a new
CONNOTATIONS
OF SIN AND HERESYIN THE FIGUREOF THE BLACKKINGIN SOME NORTHERNRENAISSANCEADORATIONS
4) Roger Van der Weyden, <<Adorationof the Kings,
St. Columba Altarpiece,, c. 1460-67. Munich, Alte Pinakothek.
3) Hans Schauflein, <<Adorationof the Kings>,
woodcut ca. 1510.
reading for this painting.36Associating the kings of the world as
they bow before the Lordwith the power of evil and the Antichrist,
she points out the innovatoryinterpretationBosch gave to the traditional theme. The Infantenters a world imbued with sin and evil,
and the kings kneeling before him waver between faith and idolatry.37
The ambivalence regardingthe figure of the Black King in this
painting is indeed problematic,as the varying interpretationsof the
work demonstrate.38I shall attempt here to offer a new reading of
this figure,as being entirelygiven over to the dominance of the powers of evil.39
As Marijnissenhas remarked,a persuasive interpretationwould
depend on identifyingthe details of the precious metal-workand the
clothing.40Let us therefore reexamine the MoorishKing's attireand
his gift [Fig. 5a and 5b], and also the adorment of the servant (a girl
servant?) accompanying him.
In the embroideryedging the king's cloak, birds pecking at a
fruitmay be discered [Fig. 5a], probablysuggesting sexual seduction.41Similarimages appear in Bosch's Garden of EarthlyDelights
(Madrid,Prado, ca. 1503-4), and in Saint John the Baptist in the
Wilderness [Madrid,Lazaro Galdiano Museum, ca. 1504-5; Fig. 6],
where, accordingto Tolnay, the meditatingsaint is distractedby carnal temptationssymbolized by the "open fruitwith seeds which are
growingout of a thornyshrub. This image
being picked by birds",42
of lust on the embroideredhem in the Adorationmight also be considered together with the oramentation of the oldest King's helmet,
showing two herons with fruit in their beaks, obviously related to
emblems of evil and symbols of unchastity.43It could also be compared with the depictionof a birdholdinga red berry(or a cherry)in
its beak that embellishes the silver orb offered by the Black King
(discussed below). In this richlyembroideredhem, one can also dis163
YONAPINSON
5) Hieronymus Bosch, (<Adorationof the Magi,), ca. 1510.
Madrid, Museo del Prado.
tinguish a siren and a pair of sirens, male and female, with human
heads and birds'bodies, another emblem suggesting devilish temptation through sexual seduction.44
The decoration of the Black King's tunic thus contains hints of
sin and wickedness. Similar allusions, as well as connotations of
164
5a) Hieronymus Bosch, c<Adorationof the Magi)>,detail.
OF SIN AND HERESYINTHE FIGUREOF THE BLACKKINGIN SOME NORTHERNRENAISSANCEADORATIONS
CONNOTATIONS
5b) Hieronymus Bosch, <(Adorationof the Magi,, detail.
heresy, are concealed in the King'soffering.The decor of the silver
orb depicts a pagan ritual(or perhaps a demonic ceremony).45The
vessel is topped with a bird pecking at a small red fruit.This image
may be seen as analogous with the emblematicalbirds on the King's
embroideredtunic as well as the birds decorating the older King's
6) Hieronymus Bosch, (<St.John the Baptist in the
Wilderness",, c. 1504-5, Madrid, Lazaro Galdiano Museum,
Detail.
165
YONAPINSON
7) The Master of Rohan, <<GrandesHeures de Rohan)>,ca.
1417. Paris, BN lat. 9742, fol 9r.
166
helmet [Fig. 5]. Tolnay's hesitant reading of this emblem, concealed
in the younger King'soffering,demonstrates the difficultyin defining
this figure as belonging enttirelyto the powers of evil, in the service
of the Prince of Darkness: "On the sphere that Caspar brings the
child a pagan ritualis shown; but the pelican crowningit is a symbol
of Christ's redeeming mission."46Later, Tolnay rejected his first
hypothesis concerning the pagan ritual, suggesting that "on the
sphericalcasket of myrrhthat the Negro king holds in his hand, we
see a pictureof three mightyheroes bringingwater to David (a prefigurationof the Epiphany:I Chron. 11:17-18)."47
In his left hand the younger King holds a strawberry-like
jewel
(part of the myrrhvessel decoration).Strawberriesand cherries can
be linked with virtues and spiritualvalues; as such these fruits are
associated with Marian attributes and may figure in the Enclosed
Garden (especially strawberries),or have a paradisiacalasepct (both
plant and fruit).48This could be an alterative interpretationof the
myrrhvessel if we accept Tolnay's suggestion of redemptivesymbolism. For myself, I would ratheropt for a negative readingof this oramental accessory, and link it with the symbolicalfigurationsseen on
the orb decorationas well as the omamentationof the MoorishKing's
tunic, suggesting idolatry,heresy and wickedness.As we know,strawberriesand cherries (or berries)are also associated with the vices, in
Bosch's vocabulary,and especially with carnal appetite.49
The Black King's cloak is decorated with thistles and thorns
[especially conspicuous over the left shoulder, fig 5b]. In the thought
and imageryof the late MiddleAges, thorns and thistles symbolize
evil and worldly temptations.50But thorns also refer to heretics,
those who are "outsidethe Church,"as we can see from a page of
the Bible Moralisee of the Grandes Heures de Rohan, ca. 1417 [Fig.
7], where the Commentaryon the Creationof the Trees on the Third
Day says: "Thegood trees signifygood deeds and are crowned with
flowers in Paradise; the thors signify bad men living in bad works
who are crowned with thoms in this world."51
The men crowned with
thoms are depicted "outside the Church,"as rejected unbelievers
and heretics, in contrastto the congregationof the blessed, crowned
with paradisiacalflowers, "insidethe Church".
We have seen that the omamentationof the Black King's tunic
contains many connotations of sin, wickedness and also heresy. His
offering suggests similar connotations. His companion, too, is
involvedwith sin, with special emphasis on the sin of Luxuria.Here
again one must study the embroideryon the edges of her robe [Fig.
5a]. On the left is an illustrationof the Dutch proverb,"Bigfish eat
littlefish",and on the right,the back of a beast can be seen - panther or leopard - animals that in Bosch appear with associations of
Luxuria.In the medieval bestiary literaturethese animals symbolize
the vices, especially lechery, but also refer to the Devil.52The girl's
head is crowned with a thorn-bushbearing fruit,an apple or cherry,
like some male and especially feminine figures in the Garden of
EarthlyDelights [Fig. 8]. Her sleeve borders, like those of the Black
OF SIN AND HERESYIN THE FIGUREOF THE BLACKKINGIN SOME NORTHERNRENAISSANCEADORATIONS
CONNOTATIONS
King, are decorated with thorns. Again, like her master, she wears
pearls.53
In this Bosch paintingthe African Magus no longer seems to
belong to the Divine Personages in spite of his apparentlyglorious
appearance. In this, as Brand Philip justly remarks, the altarpiece
departs from its originalpurpose of assuring the faithfulspectator of
redemption.54 In Bosch the original purpose of the altarpiece is
denied and it has lost its traditionalsacramental character.55The
devotional meaning of the altarpiece is modified,and it has moved
into the moralizing sphere.56 This tendency in a way foretells
Bruegel, who, two generations later,transformedhis Adorationof the
Kings into a secular moralisticlesson.57
In Bruegel's Adoration of the Kings [London, National Gallery
1564, Figs. 9 and 9a], the figure of a tall, handsome young Moorish
king takes a prominentplace and captivates the viewer. His unusual
posture, the back towards the spectator, as in Roger Van der
Weyden's Adoration[Fig.4], and the face turnedaway fromthe Virgin
and the Child, replaces the accepted expression of veneration and
recognitionof the DivineInfant.In so doing, Bruegelbreaks away from
If
an established Netherlandishliturgicaland sacramental tradition.58
what is its significance?Althoughit
he made this change intentionally,
is rather difficultto prove that Pieter Bruegel knew Patristic and
exegetical literature(especially of the Greek theologians) directly,he
might have had an acquaintancewith some issues, like many others
of his time, throughpreachingand popularpamphlets.Tuming away
from God, as ascribed especially to the Black Ethiopianssons of the
devil,was dealt with by Didymusthe Blindof Alexandria(c. 311-395),
especially in his Commentary on Zechariah (this is echoed in St.
Jerome's Commentaryon Zechariah). Here he speaks about the conversion of the Ethiopians,sons and servants of the Devil.
According to Didymus, the Ethiopianis assumed to be black
because he is wrapped in darkness and has turned away from the
Divine light.59Yet according to Didymus'reading of Psalm 51(50):9
("Purgeme with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall
be whiterthan snow"),turningback to God and recognizingHim can
"whiten"the Ethiopian.
Bruegel follows Bosch in hintingat connotationsof sin and evil
throughthe imagery of the Black King'soffering[Fig. 9b]. This gift is
an elaborate piece of silversmith'swork, at firstsight characteristicof
manneristmetalworkin Germanyand the Low Countries.At the base
of this object is a silver-giltboat set with preciousstones. The head of
a lizardprotrudeson the left. In the centre is a green nautillusconch
The conch is
out of which springs a monkey,holdinga convex mirror.
adorned with two artificialelements: a statuette (apparentlya monkey,
or perhaps an idol) and a gilt armillarysphere, decorated with an
acorn in enamelwork. Bruegel's originalitylies in the combinationof
elements carrying symbolic significance, some in metalwork and
some "alive."In NorthernRenaissance Adorationsthe young Kingtraditionallycarries an offeringshaped like a vessel for myrrh,or a little
8) Hieronymus Bosch, <<TheGarden of Earthly Delights,.
Madrid, Museo del Prado, detail.
167
YONAPINSON
9a) Pieter Bruegel the Elder, <<Adorationof the Kings),, detail.
9) Pieter Bruegel the Elder, <<Adorationof the Kings)), 1564.
London, National Gallery.
boat. Here, althoughthe boat can be identifiedas the basis of the
offering,all the other parts are thick with negative connotations.
A snail or nautilus shell, from which hybridor imaginarycreatures protrudeinstead of the snail itself, is quite frequent in marginal church decorations and manuscript borders.60 Sometimes the
shell by itself has the same significanceas the snail - a suggestion
of the satanic.61Bruegel uses this image in a drawingof Christ in
Limbo [Vienna, Albertina,1561; Fig. 10], which shows a dog-devil
emerging from the shell. The shell was also associated with Venus,
lovers62 or sirens63 sometimes emerging from it. Bruegel, as we
have seen, shows a monkey with a mirrorsallying forth from the
168
shell.64 The monkey aroused various associations in Northern
Europe of that period. It symbolizedsin, folly,but also the demonic.65
It is not rare to find monkeys accompanyingthe Kings'retinues in
Adorations,probablyin order to emphasize the exotic aspects of the
event, but also sometimes suggesting sin.66Occasionally the monkey is seen next to the Black King or his retinue.67A monkey holding a mirroris however exceptional in Adoration iconography.The
mirrormight refer to Vanitas, pride, folly, but also to caral desire.68
In contemporaryAdorations,one can sometimes find suggestions of
Vanitas and pride directlyconnected with the Black King, such as a
peacock perched on his gift, or peacock feathers decorating his hat
or that of a member of his retinue.69
The unusual composite offeringof the MoorishKing is topped,
as we have seen, with an armillarysphere. Here I am ratherinclined
CONNOTATIONS
OF SIN AND HERESYIN THE FIGUREOF THE BLACKKINGIN SOME NORTHERNRENAISSANCEADORATIONS
10) Pieter Bruegel the Elder, <<Christin Limbo,, drawing, 1561,
Pen and blackish brown ink, 1561, detail, Vienna, Albertina.
9b) Pieter Bruegel the Elder, <<Adorationof the Kings,,, detail.
to see an attributeof astrology, a reference to the wise men as
stargazing soothsayers. Astrologywas largelydebated in patristicliterature. But the attitudeof the ecclesiastical authoritiestoward it was
equivocal. From the twelfth century onwards, astrology spread all
over Europe through Arabic writings and knew great popularity.In
the Renaissance, it was rejected by humanists, such as Pico della
Mirandola,and was attributednegative values by the Churchauthorities who linkedit to the Islamicthreatand thus to heresy; yet it was
adopted by the papal court of Leo X. For Isidoreof Seville astrology
was a forbiddenscience, inspiredby the Prince of Evil and the devils.70h Adorations,the flags of the Kings and their shields often contain references to their stargazing personae: crescent and stars on
a blue background,comet, or sun and stars.71The transference of
these emblems to the enemies of God in depictions of Christ'stor-
mentors, examples of which can be found in Italianand Northemart
of the fifteenthcentury and later, throws light on the perceptionof
astrology as heresy and betrayalof God.72
The enamel acor embellishingthe sphere could also refer to
idolatryand heresy. Acorns or oak branches or leaves were sometimes associated with idol worship (the worshippers of Baal, the
Druids).73This negative significance seems to be attached to the
acor on the headcoveringof the tormentorof Christin the Crowning
withThornsby Bosch [London,NationalGallery,ca. 1508-9, Fig. 11],
in analogy with the crescent, symbol of heresy, which decorates the
Jew's headgear in the same painting.
A lizardslinks out from the boat in Bruegel's elaborate piece of
metalwork. This is, of course, not a naturalorament for a myrrh
vessel; the lizard was traditionallyperceived, especially in Northern
culture, as an infernal creature linked with the underworld and
death.74 Its unexpected presence on the sacramental vessel enriches the emblematicalmeaning of the African King's gift, more firmly
relatingthe black royal personage to the realm of darkness.
Bruegel may have adopted Bosch's attitudeto the figureof the
Moorishking in the Prado Epiphanyas his point of departurefor the
1564 Adoration. In the Prado,the AfricanMagus does not bow down
to the Deityand he is imbuedwith meanings of sin. Bruegelwent further with this idea and depicted the youngest Kingturing away from
the divine group. This unusual posture together with the hints of sin
and heresy concealed in his gift, presents this MoorishKing as an
infidelruled by the forces of evil.75Bruegel thus makes a total break
from liturgicaltraditionregardingthe Adorationas a sublime religious
moment,signifyingthe recognitionof the Lordby the Gentilesand the
Kings of the Earthfallingdown before the Kingof Kings.
The cult of the Adoration,in spite of the ambivalence towards
the Magi expressed in some patristicexegeses occupied a central
169
YONAPINSON
11) Hieronymus Bosch, <<TheCrowning with Thorns,, 15081509. London, National Gallery.
place in devotional practice. It was endowed with sacramental
meanings in fifteenth and sixteenth century Northernpainting76and
most Adorationsof this period are in effect faithfulto this conception.
When an ambivalentattitudeis suggested, the negative aspects are
preferably attributedto the marginal figures, usually the retinues,
and most often the Black King's servants. Rarer is the attributionof
these negative aspects to the Kings themselves; nevertheless, the
attributionof such qualitiesto the young Black King is not accidental, since negative meanings were linkedwith the black Ethiopianin
the writingsof the Fathers of the Church and the exegetical literature. Black was considered the "colorof wickedness" and associated with sins of heresy and the Prince of Darkness.77Although blackness was not always necessarily regarded by the Churchas related
to sin and evil (see appendix), in the popular imagery, as reflected
170
11a) Hieronymus Bosch, <<TheCrowning with Thorns,,, detail.
also in drama and the visual arts,78blackness was imbued with negative meanings. Thus, the betrayers of God, heretics, Christ'stormentors,and demons are often shown as swarthyor black.The penetrationof this concept into a devotionalmoment, when the Kings of
the Earth bow down before the Lord, although fairlyrare, is significant.
Appendix
Blackness did not automaticallydenote evil or heresy in the
eyes of the ecclesiastical authorities.In the fifteenthcentury,on the
contrary, Church policy encouraged a positive attitude toward the
Ethiopianand Coptic churches, strivingfor their recognitionand inte-
CONNOTATIONS
OF SIN AND HERESYIN THE FIGUREOF THE BLACKKINGIN SOME NORTHERNRENAISSANCEADORATIONS
gration under the Papal Throne, in view of its conflict with the
Eastern Church. This attitude was especially favored by Pope
Eugenius IV,in view of the Ottomanthreat(1441).79One may regard
the special veneration for Saint Mauriceduring the Renaissance in
Italyand especially in Germany from this angle. Saint Mauricewas
the legendary chief of the Theban Legion in Egypt (thirdcentury).
Under his leadership, his soldiers refused to take part in a pagan
cult, and were executed by order of the Emperor Maximian
Hercules. The saint was chiefly represented in German
Renaissance works: he was the patron saint of Magdeburg
Cathedraland the Churchof Halle was dedicated to him and to St.
Mary Magdalen. It contained several works dedicated to Maurice,
the best known being those by MathiasGrunwaldand Hans Baldung
Grien. The saint is often shown as a dark-skinnedwarrior.Isidorde
Seville points out that Maurice derived from Mauron, black in
Greek.80
The Queen of Sheba (I Kings 10:13)81is related symbolicallyto
the Adoration of the Kings. As she presents her gifts to King
Solomon enthroned, she prefiguresthe Coming of the Kings. The
EthiopianQueen, according to some Patristicwritings,also symbolizes the Gentiles who passed from paganism to Christianity.As
such, she might be related to the Magis'recognition of the Deity.
Accordingto some apocryphalsources, the Queen of Sheba is also
involved in the history of the True Cross, as she recognized the
nature of the wooden bridge she passed on her way to Jerusalem
and worshipped it.
According to some exegetical writings, the Queen of Sheba
was relatedto the Bride of the Song of Songs: "...black but comely... as the tents of Kedar"(Song of Songs 1:5). As the Bride, she
represents the Church of the Gentiles. (This view was especially
stressed in German exegesis.) However, the Black Queen of Sheba
was also associated with Synagoga's blackness and the Saracens
("Kedar"as related to Ishmael), but also as the Bride of the
Canticles - the Church.82In the late MiddleAges, the Queen of
Sheba is rarelyrepresented as an Ethiopianwoman; more often, as
in the contemporary Adorations of the Magi, only her retinue is
shown as composed of black men and women.83 But sometimes
the Queen of Sheba, like the black Church of the Pagans, was
associated with evil and idolatry. In an early fifteenth century
German manuscript she is shown worshipping an idol (Hans
Vintelez, Die Blumen Der TOgened,Vienna, ONB, Cod. 13567, fol.
6r, 1411; as well in a copy of the Speculum Humane Salvationis
made in LObeck (Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliothek,Ms. G. Kgl
Somly 79.2 fol 16r, c. 1430).
1 G. Vezin,L'Adoration
et le cycle des Mages, Paris,1950,pp. 23-29,
35-38.
2 E. M,le, L'Artreligieuxdu Xllie siecle, Paris, 1958, vol. 2, p. 147; 152.
3 See Vezin, L'Adoration,p. 31.
4 M. Elissagary,La legende de Rois Mages, Paris, 1965, pp. 22-23;
A.P. Mirimonde,Le Langage secret de certains tableaux du Louvre, Paris,
1984, p. 42.
5 E. Dassman, "Epiphanieund die Heiligen Drei Koninge" in Die
Heiligen Drei Koninge: Darstellungund Verehrung,Katalog zur Ausstellung
in der Josef- Haubrich-Kunsthalle,
des Wallraf-Richardtz-Museums
Cologne,
1982, pp. 16-18.
6 Tertullian
(ca. 160-245),says: Namet MagosfereOriens:PL.I.,459
as magic:II,748A.Origen(185-265),also saw the Kings
A;I,612A:Astrology
as charlatansand sorcerers,as citedby M. Elissagary,
La legende, pp. 2223. See Y. Pinson, "Bruegel's1564 Adoration:HiddenMeanings of Evil in the
figureof the Old King",Artibuset Historiae.30 (1994) pp. 109-128.
7 R. Maur,De Universo,.libr.XXII-XIV,
cap. IV, PL.III,422. C,D;
Jacobus de Voragine, La Legende Doree (trans. J.B.M. Roze), Paris, 1967,
vol. 1, p. 115.
8 See M,le, L'ArtReligieux, vol. 2, p. 151; Vezin, 33-34 and P.H.D.
Kaplan, The Rise of the Black Magus in WesternArt,AnnArbor,1985, pp. 2635.
171
YONAPINSON
9 Kaplan, The Rise of the Black
Magus, p. 65.
10 Ibid.
11 John of Hildesheim,HistoriaTrium
Regum (1364-65), Ch. XXI, identifiedthe young thirdKing, here named Jaspar, as a Black Ethiopian.
12 Psalm 72(71):10 'The kings of Tarshishand of the isles shall bring
presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts."This source may be
the originof the belief that one of the kings was swarthywhile another was
black. Accordingto Voragine(as in note 7 above, p. 120) they came respectivelyfrom Persia, Chaldea and Saba. In the Douay Bible we read: "...the king
of Arabiansand Saba..." The first reference to the Magi'sage and "colour"
is
to be found in a passage attributedto Bede (Collectanea, Paris, BN, MS. lat.
17325, 11th century).Accordingto this source as cited by Emile Male [L'Art
religieux, vol 2, pp. 150-151], the second king was named Caspar, and was
young, beardless and swarthy (or "coloured").The third, named Balthazar,
had a dark skin (fuscus) and a full beard, see G. Schiller,Iconography of
ChristianArt (London,1971-72) vol. 1, pp. 96 and 116. Towardthe fifteenth
century, a new traditionseems to emerge. It is the young and beardless king
who is depicted as being black while the middle-agedking is sometimes represented as an "orientaltype";for colour symbolism see J. Gage, "Colorin
Western Art:An Issue?"ArtBulletin72 (1990) pp. 518-540, especially note 5;
pp. 533-4; and notes 150, 151 and 152; For a detaileddiscussion of this issue
see Kaplan, The Rise of the Black Magus, especially pp. 25-42, 62-70.
13 D. Bax, Hieronymus Bosch: his Picture-Writing Deciphered,
Rotterdam,1979, p. 94.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 See
Bax, Bosch, p. 57; idem, Hieronymus Bosch and Lucas
Cranach;TwoLast Judgment Triptychs,Amsterdam,Oxford,New York,1983,
p. 120; P. du Bourguet,"Lacouleur noire de la peau du demon dans I'iconographie chretienne:est-elle d'une origine precise?" Actas del VIIICongresso
Internazionale Arquelogia Cristina, 1969, Rome, Vatican and Barcelona,
1972, pp. 271-272.
18 See J. Devisse and M. Mollat,The Image of the Black in WesternArt,
Lausanne, 1979 (afterwardsDevisse), vol. II, part 2, p. 52 and p. 156; N.
Cohn, The Pursuitof the Millenium,London, 1970, pp. 75-76; see also J.B.
Friedman, The Monstrous Races in Medieval Art, New York, 1981, pp. 171
and 174. Accordingto Friedman,the image of the ignoble black Saracen was
derived from the Chanson de Roland. In late medieval and Renaissance art,
blacks are associated with heresy and infidelity,as in a mid-fifteenthcentury
Spanish panel that depicts the archangel Gabrielin combat with the infidels,
who are black (see Devisse, vol. II,part 2, fig. 156). In passion scenes God's
enemies and Christ's tormentorsfigure occasionally as black or swarthy.A
few examples: Giotto, Flagellation,Arena Chapel, Padua; a miniaturein a late
fourteenth century illuminatedmanuscript attributedto the Master of the
Parement de Narbonneshowing a black Jew among the executioners in the
Flagellation(Heures de Notre Dame du Duc de Berry, Paris, BN nouv. acq.
lat. 3093, fol. 197); black or swarthyRoman soldiers in Passion scenes by the
Limbourg brothers (Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Chantilly,
Muse Conde, Ms. 64 fols. 142r, 146r, 147r); similarfigures in Bosch's Ecce
Homo (PhiladelphiaMuseum, ca. 1500), Christbefore Pilate (Princeton Art
Museum, ca. 1513-15) and Christ carrying the Cross (Ghent, Musee des
Beaux-Artsca. 1515). For the officialEcclesiaticalposition, see: Appendix.
19 See Vezin, L'Adoration,p. 34; accordingto Devisse (vol II,part 2, p.
107), the pejorativeconnotationof black was dropped in Germany and the
Low Countries(in contrastto Spain), after the celebrationcommemoratingthe
transferof the relics of the Kings to Cologne.
20 See Vezin, L'Adoration,p. 31 and note 2; accordingto Tertullien,
(Adversus Judaeos), the three Kings came from "Damascus Arabiae",later
directlyassociated with the Saracens. See Elissagary,La Legende, p. 21.
172
21 See Friedman, The Monstrous Race,
p. 172; Kaplan, The Rise of
The Black Magus, pp. 31-33.
22 For a furtherdiscussion of the
meaning of Ham's rejection,see C.
Purtle, The MarianPaintings of Jan Van Eyck, Princeton,1983, pp. 76-79.
23 St.
Augustine, The City of God (trans. Marcus Dods), Edinburgh,
1913, Book XV, 20.
24 See
Kaplan, The Rise of the Black Magus, pp. 31-33; In an early fifteenth century Bible Moralisee, (Les Grandes Heures de Rohan, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. lat. 9471, fol 29, c. 1415-1417) Ham is associated withthe rejectedJews.
25 M. Bulard,Le Scorpion: symbole du peuple juif dans I'artreligieux
des XIVe,XVe, XVle siecles (Paris, 1935), p. 234 and note 1; p. 235 and note
2; pi. XXIV,1; for Gregorythe Great, the blackness of the Ethiopianis associated with Infidelity,see Moralia,PL76;663.
26 A figureof a blackAfricanin profile,dressed in red, holdinga banner
in his left hand, usuallyon a yellow ground.See H. Steuer, "Die HeiligenDrei
Konige und das Wappen der Stadt Koln,"in Die Heiligen Drei Koninge, pp.
97-112 (especially pp. 101-107); see also Kaplan, The Rise of the Black
Magus, p. 91-93.
27 The soldiers in Altdorfer'sArrestationare dark-skinned;one in the
foregroundclearly has a negroid physiognomy;The Arrestationmight be paralleled with Christ Carryingthe Cross from the same Polyptych,where the
betrayersare recognized by "their"
flag, a black scorpion on a yellow ground
with pseudo- Hebraic letters.
28 "Bis ihm die Pfeif aus dem Armel fallt"says Sebastian Brant:"Not
wishingto be a fool"(Ship of Fools, Ch. 67) when he speaks about the fool
who believes that nobody is aware of his folly,His faithis solid as a rock/That
all men in his wit believe/Untilthe pipe falls from his sleeve and his true nature
is revealed"(The Ship of Fools, trans. E.H. Zeydel, New York,1962, p. 227);
see further,Bax, Bosch, pp. 210-211; R.H. Marijnissen,"Bosch and Bruegel
on Human Folly",in Folie et Deraison a la Renaissance, Brussels, 1976, p.
43.
29 See Bax, Bosch, p. 114, G. Ferguson, Signs and Symbols in
ChristianArt, Oxford,1961, p. 141. The cat was also associated with licentiousness and the sin of Luxuria,see Bax, p. 150, S. Brant,The Ship of Fools,
Ch. 33, 'Of Adultery",especially p. 138. See also S. Lipton"Jews, heretics
and the sign of the cat in the Bible Moralisee",Wordand Image, 8 (1992), pp.
362-37.
30 O. Benesch, La peinture allemande de Durer a Holbein, Geneva,
1964, pp. 55; 57. In NorthernRenaissance Adorations,donors and especially rulers tended to portraythemselves in the image of one or other of the
kings, as a mark of their devotion;for instance, Roger van der Weyden's
Adoration of the Magi (St. Columba altarpiece, MunichAlte Pinakothek,c.
1460-62; fig. 4), where the young Charles le Temerairefigures as the Third
Magus.
31 See below 4ff.
p.
32 The crescent moon associated with Islam had become an emblematic sign of heretics. It is frequentlyused by Boseh to identifythe Lord'senemies, Jews and Romans, or the devilishthreat.See Bax, Bosch, pp. 194-197.
33 Bruenetto Latini mentions several types of dogs, includingsatanic
animals,fruitof a union between a dog and a she-wolf,or a dog and a tigress
(Li Livres dou Tresor, in Bestiaires du Moyen Age, ed. G. Bianciotti,Paris,
1980, p. 224). Accordingto Richardde Fourival (Bestiaire d'Amour,ed. C.
Hippeau,Geneva, 1969, pp. 60-61 and 103), the dog mightalso representthe
wickedness of man, easily temptedto sin. Menacingdogs, a form in which the
Devil appears, also figurein Bosch, for instance in the Vagabond(or Prodigal
Son, Rotterdam,Museum Boymans-van Beuningen). One of the tormentors
h The Crowning with Thorns (London, National Gallery) is depicted with a
spiked dog-collarround his neck (fig. 10).
34 Hans von Aachen, or Jean d'Aix-la-Chapelle, presumably of
Netherlandish origin, worked at Strasbourg between 1501-1503; see H.
CONNOTATIONS
OF SIN AND HERESYIN THE FIGUREOF THE BLACKKINGIN SOME NORTHERNRENAISSANCEADORATIONS
Reinhardt, La Cathedrale de Strasbourg, Paris, 1972, pp. 144-145, p. 145
note 3; fig 139.
35 See Kaplan, The Rise of the Black
Magus, p. 113; This phrase might
perhaps be appliedto Hugo Van der Goes'Africanking in the centralpanel of
the MontforteAltarpiece (Berlin, Gemaldegalerie, 1472).
36 L. Brand Philip,'The Prado Epiphanyby Jerome Bosch",ArtBulletin
35 (1953), pp. 267-293.
37 This confrontationis accentuated in the compositionas the Infantsits
solemnly enthronedon the Virgin's lap with the Kings bowing before him like
the priests before the altar during Mass, as pointed out by W.S. Gibson.
HieronymusBosch, London, 1973, p. 98.
38 See for a brief summary, R.H. Marijnissen and P. Ruyffeleere,
HieronymusBosch. The Complete Works,Antwerp,1987, pp. 234-259.
39
Accordingto J. Chailley,"JeromeBosch et ses symbols. Essaie de
decriptage", Memoires de I'Academie Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 1978,
2nd ser. XV-I,the Epiphanyis not the real subject of this painting,which is
devoted to the exemplificationof evil and heresy.
40 See Marijnissen,Bosch, p. 238; In adoptingthis method, I am partly
followingTolnayand Brand Philip.I used the same procedurein my study of
Bruegel's Adoration,see Y Pinson Bruegel's 1564 Adoration.
41 See C. Tolnay, Hieronymus Bosch, New York, 1966, p. 272; Brand
Philip, The Prado Epiphany, p. 272 and note 52.
42 Tolnay,Bosch pp. 367-368. For the erotic meaning of birds, see Bax,
p. 26, note 24, and p. 83. See also E. de Jongh, "Eroticain vogelsperspectief: Die dubbelzinnigheidvan een reeks 17de eeuwse genre voorstellingen",
Simiolus 3 (1968-1969) pp. 22-74. See also Gibson, Bosch, p. 156, who
speaks of "fruitsof evil".
43 See Brand Philip, The Prado Epiphany, note 52.
Accordingto Bax
(Bosch, p. 85 and p. 129), the heron symbolizes unchastityand camal temptation.
44 These creatures have sometimes been identifiednot as sirens with
birds' bodies and human heads, but as hybrids or monsters: see Tolnay,
Bosch, p. 372, who suggests that they signify lust; Brand Philip, The Prado
Epiphany, note 52; K. Linfert,Bosch, Paris, 1972, p. 124 and M. Cinotti,Tout
l'oeuvre peint de JerUme Bosch, Paris, 1969, pp. 112-113, no. 62. In the bestiary literature,the siren represents Satan and symbolizes sexual temptation.
She incites human beings to sin by lullingtheir consciences to sleep; see
Bestiaire de Pierre de Beauvais, G.R. Mermier(ed.), Paris, 1977, p. 68; see
GuillaumLe Clerc de Normandie,Bestiaire divin in Bestiaire du Moyen Age
(ed. G. Bianciotto),Paris, 1980, pp. 85-86; also Ovide moralisee, Amsterdam,
Johannes MOller,1915, vol. II, Uvre V, v. 3464-3492. Sometimes the siren's
wings symbolize licentiousness and prostitution;see C. Cahier & A. Martin,
Melanges d'Archeologie, Paris, 1851, vol. 2, p. 172; F. McCulloch,Mediaeval
Latinand French Bestiaries, Chapel Hill, 1962, pp. 166-169. Cranach uses
this figure to express the satanic temptationof carnal desire (Luxuria)in St.
Jerome doing Penance in a Luxuriant Landscape (Insbruck, Tiroler
Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum);a pair of sirens with bird bodies and the
heads of a man and a woman respectivelyare seen beside a pool in which
they are reflected.
45 See Tolnay,Bosch, p. 369. This image can be compared with pagan
or satanic cult scenes in Bosch's Temptationof Saint Anthony, Lisbon,Museu
Nacionalde ArteAntiga, central panel. Marijnissen,Bosch, pp. 238-239, suggests a differentinterpretation,referringto the Netherlandishinterpretationof
the Kings (Historien de heiligher drien coninghen, Delft, 1449, perhaps an
adaptationof Johannes von Hildesheim'sHistoriaTriumRegum), which deals
with the significanceof the offerings.The myrrhpresented by the young king
- Caspar - symbolizes purityand modesty.The meaning that Bosch gives his
gift, of licentiousness and carnal desire, is thus ironical.Accordingto this version of the story,the Kingsgave the ChristChildall Alexanderthe Great'sjewels, which had remained in the countriesof the East. Marijnissenthinks that
the giftof the BlackKingis Alexander's apple (whichin the Netherlandishtext
was presented by the Old King, Melchior,as Marijnissennotes). "Alexander's
apple"symbolizes his dominionover the world, but also the earthly paradise
and the head of Jesus, which is '"ithoutend withoutbeginning".The text also
hints at the "greatpowers"and Alexander's pride, so that negative qualities
as well are suggested by the apple.
46 See Tolnay,Bosch, p. 296. This birdmay be comparedto the pelican
in the tondo dedicated to Christ'sPassion on the reverse of Bosch's St. John
on Patmos, (Berlin,Gemaldegalerie,c. 1503-1505). The reading of the bird
raises problems. To some scholars it represents the pelican symbolizing
divine redemption,for others it is a parrot.Marijnissen(Bosch, p. 239) thinks
it is merely a handle for the vessel.
47 Tolnay, Bosch, p. 372. This interpretationwas adopted by Brand
Philip, The Prado Epiphany, p. 270 and note 51.
48 See for instance, Hubertand Jan Van Eyck, The MysticLamb in the
Ghent Altarpiece,where strawberriesare assigned paradisiacalsymbolism. A
beautifulexample of cherry and strawberrysymbolism as related both to paradisiacal meanings and to Mary's virginitycan be seen in the Master of
Frankfurt'sParadise Garden, c. 1420, FrankfurtStadelisches Kunstinstitut.
A
cherryheld by Christthe Childsuggests the delightsof the blessed soul as in
Quentin Massys' Enthroned Virginand Child, Berlin, Gemaldegalerie, c.
1520. Cherriesare also called the fruitof Paradise. In the Massys Madonna,
the cherrymightalso referto the EnthronedVirginin the Kingdomof Heaven.
49 Berries, cherries and strawberriesare represented as fruits of passion in Bosch's Garden of EarthlyDelights (see Tolnay,Bosch, p. 204). Fray
Jose de Siguenza (1605) put this triptychunder the sign of the strawberry
that, he says, signifies the brief pleasure: "the vain glory and fleetingtaste of
the strawberry..." (see Marijnissen, Bosch, p. 94). In a didactic treatise,
DestructionumVitorium(firstedition, Geneva 1500) Lyon, 1509, cap. LXXXI,
fol vii verso, (Paris, Bibl. Nat. Res. myc 1029), the strawberrysymbolizes
Luxuriaand vanity, and is relatedto adulteryas opposed to marriage;in the
Temptationof Saint Anthony (Lisbon,Museu Nacionalde ArteAntiga), in the
central scene of the "BlackMass"the woman-devil'sheaddress is decorated
with thorny jewelry ending in a similar silver strawberry,emblem of sin and
sexual seduction.
50 Thistles and thorns are symbols of
earthly temptation and sin
because of the curse pronounced after the Fall of Man: "...cursed is the
ground for thy sake...Thoms also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee"
(Genesis 3:17-18); see A.P. de Mirmonde,Le Langage Secret, p. 43. Thorns
and thorny branches thus signify grief, but also sin. In Bosch's vocabulary,
thistles and thory bushes mean evil and sin, as we leam from his St. John
in the Wilderness(see Marijnissen,Bosch, p. 397) but also camal temptation.
Accordingto Bax, Bosch, p. 55, "doom"(thom) also means penis while the
word "sterkeling"(spiky, thomy) has sexual overtones. In Bosch's Garden of
EarthlyDelights, many plants are preciselyvarietiesof thorns,thistles and briars. Some of the Garden's constructions also have thory elements; later
Bruegel likewise adopted the emblematicmeaning of thorns as related to sin
in "DameAnger"(Ira, drawing, 1557, Florence, Uffizi),who wears a hat with
thorn branch ornamentation.
51 My translation."Les bons arbres senefient les bonnes euvres et sont
couronnez de fleurs en Paradis. Les espines senefient les mauvais hommes
qui demeurent en mauvaises euvres qui sont couronne d'espines de ce
monde".(Paris, BN lat. 9471 fol. 9r).
52 One of the majormotifsin the Garden of EarthlyDelights is a cavalcade of men ridingwildlyaround the 'passion pool"occupied by women, on
animals of various species; this "bestiary"suggests lechery and other vices.
See Gibson, Bosch, p. 85 and fig. 69, Marijnissen,Bosch, pp. 96 and figs. 120
and 126. Accordingto Bax (Bosch, p. 154), the leopard symbolizes licentiousness and carnal desire, as well as Satan. Richardde Foumivalsays that
a leopardess or she-pantherhas the same significationas a siren. Ferguson,
173
YONA PINSON
(Signs and Symbols, p. 21), suggests that the presence of a leopard in the
Adorationof the Kings emphasizes the notion that the Incarnationof Christ
was necessary to save the world.
53 Pearls, in this context, might refer to vanity and luxuria.See E. de
Jongh, "Pearlsof Virtueand Pearls of Vice",Simiolus, 8 (1975-76), pp. 69-97.
54 See Brand Philip,'The Prado Epiphany",p. 291-2.
55 See B. G. Lane, The Altarand the Altarpiece,Sacramental themes in
EarlyNetherlandishPainting, New York,Cambridge,London, 1984.
56 See Brand Philip,ibid.
57 Pinson, "Bruegel's1564 Adoration".
58 See Lane, The Altar, pp. 60-64; in medieval liturgical
drama the coming of the Magi was relatedto the Mass and the Euchrist.It was performed
before the High Altar.The momentof offeringgifts to the Childwas associated with the offertorium,showing the Magi kneeling before the High Altar
where they deposited their offerings. See K. Young, The Drama of the
Medieval Church, Oxford,1933, vol. II, pp. 32-35 and 45-47.
59 See J.M. Courtes, 'The Theme of Ethiopiaand the Ethiopians"in
Devisse, vol. II part I, pp. 9-32, especially pp. 16-17. See Didymusthe Blind,
SurZacharie ed. and trans. L. Doutreleau,Paris, 1962, vol. II, pp. 658-661;
712-715; St. Jerome, In Zachariam, PL. 25:1480-1487, but accordingto St.
Gregorythe Great, Moralia, PL. 76:63, the white can also be turnedto black
by sins and evil doing.A woodcutof the Adorationof the Kings by Durer,1511
(B3) contains a precedent:the Black King'shead is slightlyturnedaway from
the divine group, toward his retinue (see E. Panofsky, Albrecht Durer,
Princeton,1971, fig. 84). Another sixteenth century German example of this
discourteousgesture can be seen in an engravingby Jerome Hopfer,where
the MoorishKingtums away fromthe Virginand the Child(Paris, Bibliotheque
de 'Arsenal,Est. 1045 fol 113). In the versions of the Adorationby the son
and grandson respectivelyof Bruegel the Elder, followingthe paintingin the
National Gallery,the Black King'sposture is preserved,his head being turned
away from the Divinity.Pieter Bruegelthe Younger's Adoration, ca. 1619, in
the Cogel Collection, Brussels, is an almost exact replica of the Elder
Bruegel's painting.The versionby Jan Bruegelin the Vienna Kunsthistorische
Museum, 1598, combines elements from the Elder Bruegel'sworkand that by
Bosch. The Black King'sturn of the head is exaggerated and stressed. (See
Bruegel une dynastie de peintres, Catalogue, Brussels, Palais des Beaux
Arts, 1980, nos. 82,120).
60 See J. Baltrusaitis,Le Moyen Age fantastique, Paris, 1955, pp. 5370. Accordingto Baltrusaitis,there is no difference in medieval grotesque
imagery between nuptialconch and snail shell.
61 The snail belongs to the "worm"
or "reptile"
group of creatures who
crawl on their bellies (Leviticus11:42);see F. Klingender,Animals in Artand
Thought,London,1971, p. 519. In the writingsof the ChurchFathers,the snail,
like the snake, scorpionand vampire,which belong to the same category,represents the demonic.The Churchfathers drew on etymologicalexplanationsin
Varro(116-27 B.C.): 'The dark, dirty slugs, Limax "slug"from Limus "slimy"
mud, because it lives there"(limax ab limo quod ibi vivid),Varro,De Lingua
Latina,On the Latinlanguage, trans.by R. G. Kent,London,1978, pp. 321-326,
No. 64. Isidore of Seville's etymological interpretationis based on Varro's.
Isidoreassociates the snail with the group of "vermis"that also includes the
snake, the scorpionand the vampire(Lymax,vermis limidictus, quod in limo,
vel de limo nascitur): Etymologiarium,V. 7, PI LXXXIII,
449A. See also A.
Emout and A. Meillet,DictionnaireEtymologiquede la Langue Latine, Paris,
1951, s.v. "Umax".A similarinterpretation
may be found in Raban Maur,who
stresses the connectionbetween sinners and the Satan, and especiallythe sins
of Luxuriaand Avaritia;see Raban Maur,De Universo,cap IV,PL. III,235c. An
interestingconnectionbetween the snail and eruditionand magic is mentioned
in Pliny'sNaturalHistory,Cambridge,Mass., 1960, iii, 341; xxx, 343. Bruegel
cites the snail or slug symbolismagain in his LondonAdoration,on the embroidered hem of the Old King.See Pinson, "HiddenMeaningsof Evil".
174
62 In a mid-fifteenth
century French manuscript,a pair of lovers appear,
emerging from a shell (Le livre des merveilles du monde, made for Duke
Remy d'Anjou,ca. 1445, New York,PierpontMorganLibrary,Ms. 46, fol. 78r).
A later example with a similar erotic meaning occurs in Neptune and
AmphitritebyJacques de Gheyn I (1538-1583);Cupidappears beside a shell,
pointingto the lovers within it: in a later version, by Jacques de Gheyn II
(1565-1629), the couple is depicted as an "ill-matchedpair";the elderly
Neptune is offeringa large shell to Amphitrite.Beside them, Cupid sticks his
finger into the shell (Cologne, Wallraf-RichardtzMuseum).
63 In a marginal illumination,a siren emerges from a conch; see
Baltrusaitis,Le moyen age fantastique pl. CVI,p. 59 and notes 41, 78.
64 A similar monkey, with a bit of cloth slung from its shoulder,can be
seen on the marginof a late fifteeenthcenturymanuscriptilluminatedby the
Master of Mary of Burgundy(Oxford,Bodleian Library,Ms. Douce 219; see
O. Pacht, The Master of Maryof Burgundy, London,1948, fig. 33.
65 Bax, Bosch, p. 41, says that Antichristwas sometimes called "Gods
aap" or "een simme des Heeren"(God's monkey). The words "monkey"or
"ape"were to some extent synonymous with Satan (ibid., p. 77), and in fact
referred to the comparisons of the medieval bestiaries; see: Bestiaire de
Pierre de Beauvais, p. 75; GuillaumLe Clerc, Bestiaire Divin in Bestiaire du
MoyenAge, p. 102. Also H. W. Janson, Apes andApe Lore in the MiddleAges
and Renaissance, London, 1952, ch. 1, "figuradiaboli".
66 Janson (Apes and Ape Lore, pp. 261-262 and 288) holds that in
Italiandepictionsof the Epiphanythe ape does not necessarily symbolize sin,
but simply representsthe exotic. On the other hand, where the ape or monkey is linkedby a chainto a leg of one of the Kings,or where it holds an apple,
it certainly carries a pejorative significance, as Janson remarks (Apes, p.
262); see also E. Panofsky,Studies in Iconology, New York, 1972, pp. 195196, and note 72.
67 A monkey rides on the head of one of the members of the retinuein
the Adoration of the Kings by Ghibertion the doors of the Baptistry in
Florence, ca. 1410. there is a similar image in a fragment of a carved
Adorationof the Magiof about 1475, in Strasbourg,Musee de I'OeuvreNotreDame. Here too, the mounted monkey is part of the Black King's retinue.
68 Janson (Apes, pp. 261-262) sees an ape holdinga mirroror gazing
into it as a symbol of Luxuria.An ape holdinga mirrorsymbolizes lechery but
also hints at the 'folly of love" in a German woodcut, ca. 1480 (Paris, BN
Estampes), The Lovers, where a young courtesan tempts her young admirer
and picks his pocket at the same time (see Janson, Apes, p. 163, fig. 20).
69 In a SwabianAdorationof the Magi, ca. 1480, a peacock perches on
the Black King'soffering(see Devisse, vol. II, Part 1, fig. 168). A woodcut by
Hans von Kulmbachshows one of the Black King'sretinuewearing a peacock
feather in his hat.
70 Tertullian
considered astrologyto be a form of idolatry;TertullianOn
Idolatrych. XC in Writingsof Quint Sept Flor. Tertullianus,Edinburghand
London, 1969, vol. 2, pp. 151-154; and as associated with magic: PL II, 748
A Astrologywas often associated with the Arabs and the Jews and thus also
with magic and heresies. See Isidor de Seville, cited by E. Brechaut, "An
Encyclopaedistof the DarkAges: Isidorde Seville",Economics and the Public
Law 48 (1912) part 2, pp. 140-142.
71 See H.
Steuer, (as in note 28).
72 In Uccello's Desecration of the
Host, 1467-8, (Urbino, Galleria
Nazionale),the hearth in a Jew's house is decoratedwith three coats of arms:
a scorpion,a Moorishhead and a comet, signifyinghis sacrilegiousact. In Urs
Graf's woodcut, Christbefore Pilate, both Pilate's banner and headdress display comets; for other examples, see Bulard,Le Scorpion pis XV, XXXIV,1
and Ch. X, no. 67.
73 Isidorof Seville, Etymologia, lib. XIItrans. J. Andre, Paris, 1981, p.
114, no. 38; see Hall, Dictionaryp. 227 and L. Brand Philip, Hieronymus
Bosch, New York,1955, p. 3: 'The man at the upper rightwears a bunch of
OF SIN AND HERESYINTHE FIGUREOF THE BLACKKINGIN SOME NORTHERNRENAISSANCEADORATIONS
CONNOTATIONS
oak leaves on his hat. The oak is a tree which was venerated in pagan cults
and which, even in biblicalpassages, appears as a symbol of paganism. In
Bosch's painting,the oak leaves seem also to make a special allusionto the
custom of wearing green leaves duringthe Easter season."
74 See Bax, Bosch, p. 146. Bax, Hieronymus Bosch and Lucas
Cranach, pp. 26, 31, 71. But there was also an associationwith lechery,ibid,
pp. 71, 100 and 115; G. de Tervarent,Attributset symboles dans I'artprofane,
1490-1600, Geneva, 1958, col. 234. Tervarentmentions a seventeenth century German ivoryon which are depicted a skeleton, a skull,a snake, a lizard
and a toad. As an earlier example of this association, we may cite Durer's
etching The Knight,Death, and the Devil, 1513 (B. 98), where a lizardlies at
Death's feet.
75 It might be that the yellowishcolor of the Black King'scloak in both
Pieter Bruegel the Elder's originaland Pieter Bruegel the Younger's version
also indicates the Black King's leaning to the devil and heresy. See R.
Melinkoff,"Judas'Red Hairand the Jews", JournalofJewishArt9 (1982), pp.
31-46; M. Pastoreau, Couleurs, images, symboles, Paris, 1989, pp. 49-52
and 69-81.
76 See Lane, The Altar, pp. 60-68.
77 See Courtes, 'The theme of Ethiopia"pp. 10, 11-12, 17-20 and especially 22-25.
78 Hans Memling's Passion of Christ (Turin, Galeria Sabauda, c.
1470), is clearly inspired by contemporary Mystery plays. The painter
adopts the structureof a central stage surroundedby "mansions"wherethe
differentepisodes of the Passion are shown simultaneously.In this illustrat-
ed Mystery we can see some swarthy figures and Ethiopians among the
Romans and Jews; Arrestationof Christ;Christ before Pilate and the Road
to Calvary,where among the Jews we may discem a big black Ethiopianin
yellow garments. This figure is seen again in the Crucifixion.In the later
Passion Play of Valenciennes (1547), we again find swarthy persons and a
black Ethiopian among Christ's betrayers and tormentors. In Hubert
Cailleau, Le the,tre ou hourdement pourtraitcomme il estoit quant fut jouie
le mistere de la Passion, Paris BN fr. 112536 fol. 225, one of Christ'stormentors in the Flagellationis a demonic black Ethiopianwith radiatingblack
hair. In the late medieval theatre, the black Ethiopianwas associated with
heresy and the devil. On the meaning of "horribleand hideous black
Ethiopians"in the Voeu de Faisan played before Philippe le Bon, see G.
Cohen, Histoire de la mise en scene dans le the,tre religieux francais du
MoyenAge, Paris, 1926, p. 163.
79 See Devisse, vol. II, part 1, p. 145-182; Kaplan,the Rise of Black
Magus, "Introduction."
80 J. de Voragine, La
Legende Doree, vol. II,p. 218.
81 See Courtes, in Devisse, The
Image of the Black, vol. II, part 1, pp.
14-16; 129-132. See also A. Chastel, "Lalegende de la Reine Saba", Revue
de I'histoiredes religions, 119 (1939), pp. 204-225, and idem, "La rencontre
de Salomon et de la Riene de Saba dans I'iconographemedieval",Gazette
des BeauxArts 35 (1949), p. 99-114.
82 See J. Plummer,The Hours of Catherine de Cleve, New York, 1975,
no. 85 [M.p. 109].
83 See
Devisse, vol. II,part 1, p. 30 and p. 129.
175