Introduction
The Morgan Picture Bible, also known as the Crusader Bible, unravels the history through bold colored fascinations of events that happened in the past. The manuscript consists of a compilation of Old Testament stories in a lively manner through the bright images that are brimming with castles among other aspects that were set in the thirteen-century . The illuminations also include battling knights in armor and ancient towns. Different artists were involved in these artistic paintings during their time. This paper will focus on Folios 16r and 16v of the Crusader Bible. These pages contain the visual representations of the Levite’s horrific story from the book of Judges.
Although the Crusader Bible is composed of intensely detailed images of battle scenes that highlight the brutality of medieval warfare, this paper will look at other violent acts, such as sexual assault and vengeance. While analyzing Folios 16r and 16v, the aim of this paper will also examine how the illuminations depict the written narrative of the Levite from the book of Judges and transform it to a gruesome scene. After revealing which moment from the narrative the artists illustrate, the important point to address is why did the images emphasize certain aspects of the text? The artist portrays his artistic ability through these violent images and illuminates how communities carried out civil warfare and domestic aggression to extreme measures.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Fol. 16r
In this page of the Morgan Picture Bible, there are four sections to the whole image, each of which contains a different theme. In the first section, there are four people seated at a table and servant is cutting bread for their feast. The message communicated in the first image is Hospitality. The second image on the top right shows reprehensible demands. In this image, two different groups appear to be in a standoff over a certain concern. The third image to the bottom left of the picture Shows Gibeah’s crime. Four armed men are seen holding a helpless unarmed woman. The fourth image indicates the Death of a Levite’s Wife. From the image, a lifeless woman is lying by the side on the floor where two other men appear to be mourning at the scene 1 .
Fol. 16v
Similar to the previous page, this picture is divided into three sections. In the first image, we see A Sorrowful Homecoming. Several people are gathered around the man with a donkey carrying the lifeless body of a woman. Could be the woman was severely injured or had died from the attack in the previous page. Upon arrival, the second image shows the man cutting the woman into pieces. She has been undressed and laid on a table where the man cuts her body into parts. The hands, legs, head and lower parts of the body are separated, which spilled her intestines in the process. The man is sending a grisly message or warning by separating the body of the woman into parts and handing them to multiple men. The last image shows a group of warriors with weapons charging into the wall of a village or castle. It appears that the residents have been battled and killed. Men are also clubbed, speared and battered ruthlessly by the army in what appears to be a Civil War 2 .
The Narrative
The book of Judges, Chapter 19, from the Holy Bible, bears the true story behind the source of the two images for the research paper 3 . This text is used to uncover the meaning and message behind the artwork from the Morgan Crusader Bible, Fol. 16r and Fol. 16v. This chapter will enrich my paper with a descriptive narrative of the illuminations. As a result, the images capture extended information that even the written narratives omitted in each of the images.
The passage in the Holy Bible that describes Hospitability is the Book of Judges, Chapter 19:21. This verse of the Bible says that the donkeys of the Levite guest were first fed. Then the elderly man with his daughter made preparations for a feast for their guest that included setting the table with golden dishes. The foreground showed a servant cutting bread. This text creates a clear understanding of the meaning and message behind the artwork from the first image in the Morgan Crusader Bible, Fol. 16r.
The Reprehensible Demands are described in Judges 19:22-24. The host is called away to his door when the Levite man and his wife are at the table. The old man is demanded to surrender the Levite by the men of Gibeah with the intention of raping the Levite man and murdering him. The Levite man fears meeting this fate. Rather, he turns to his wife and gives her out to the men of Gibeah who use her instead of him.
The following image indicates the crime of Gibeah’s men. Judges 19: 25 describes the script, indicating that the wife of the Levite is dealt with in a wicked manner by the rapists. Finally, chapter nineteen of the book of Judges describes the last image that shows the dead wife of the Levite 4 . After she was raped, the Levite’s spouse was left with little strength and was helpless. In distress, she crawls to the door of the same house where her husband was lodged. Her unconscious threshold is later on discovered in the morning by the Levite and the old man.
The part of the Bible that describes images from Folio 16v is Chapter 19 of the Book of Judges. For instance, Judges 19:28 documents a sorrowful homecoming. Bejaminites killed the wife of a Levite who picks her body and places it on the back of an ass. The Levite strikes the animal with a whip as it trudges towards home. Upon arrival, people gather around in expression of their outrage at the behavior of the Bejamites and sympathy for the unfortunate death.
The second image portraying a Grisly Message is documented in Judges 19:29. When the Levite man returned to the Ephraim, he dismembered the corpse of his wife into twelve parts; with the messengers being given each of the body parts to take to all of the twelve tribes of Israel. This action was meant to send a grisly message with the intention of causing an outrage among members of the twelve tribes over this egregious crime and consequently result in a great war 5 .
Judges 20:29–35 contains the written narrative of the last image that portrays the theme of the Civil war. The grisly message delivered to the twelve tribes of Israel aroused their anger. The tribe of Benjamin committed a crime against the wife of a Levite, and they swore to take vengeance for this act. Four hundred thousand Israelite men gathered and teamed against their brethren from Benjamin’s tribe due to the outrage committed against the wife of the Levite. A battle raged around the village city of Gibeah for three days. The opposing tribe, however, managed to slay over twenty-five thousand Bejamite soldiers by springing a successful ambush over them. The combat involved a victorious Calvary that killed the horsemen who were fleeing and the soldiers attacking on foot dealt with mercilessly along with men who tried to escape from the city. The destruction of Gibeah begun with the victors capturing the battlements 6 .
(ADD Transition to Argument here)
During the middle ages, there were many forms that war and violence assumed. The territories could conflict through civil war, contest and conquest. Other causes of war included judicial and social actions. People and tribes could engage in violence as a result of tournament and joust, ordeal, punitive spectacle and trial by combat. Other forms of conflict included spiritual war such as religious persecution and diabolical combat. Comic violence was among the major causes of violence during the medieval period 7 .
Violence was attested via a media similar to polyvalent ranging from the hagiography to fabliau, manuscript to fresco, and chronicle to romance. Debates have been raised by scholars over the roles of practice and motivation of the violence in the medieval period. The images represented in this picture depict the manner in which tribal conflicts motivated violence 8 . Tribes could team up and fight against one tribe. This resulted in the creation of civil war. In addition, communities fought in vengeance. This is depicted in Fol. 16v.
According to the images, communities in the 13 th centuries valued life, explaining why the entire community teamed up to create a civil war against one community for killing one of their own. Vengeance and symbolism are also depicted by the artistic images, elements that are omitted by the written narratives of the Bible.
The illumination has played an important role in indicating the manner in which woman was depicted during the 13 th century. The Bible describes the scenes covering a situation when a Levite man with his concubine visited an old man who was living with his daughter. Other men came for the Levite man with an ill intention of raping him and killing him, but the man opted to offer his concubine instead. In the 13 th Century, little value was attributed to the woman. Indeed, the woman was used in the community as an object to please a man. No value was associated with woman. The Levite man does not negotiate or attempt to defend the woman from the cruelty of Gibeah’s men. This is contrary to what we would expect in the modern day where a man would die while defending a woman 9 .
Women were not valued in the 13 th Century like was the case with men. Indeed, little respect was accorded to both women and girls. People used to be polygamous, permitting the marriage of more than one woman by men. Besides, it was believed that women were weak as opposed to men. The former could only be left at home to clean and cook which appeared to be the only role they played. When they went out with men, their roles were to assist men whenever need be. The evidence of little value attached to a woman in the 13 th century is clear owing to the fact that the old man offered his virgin daughter and a wife to his guest to the violent mob in a bid to save him 10 .
Striking imagery of rape in the ancient history further indicates that despite being viewed as an act of cruelty, it was specifically venerated by individuals during that point in time. In essence, the assailants were viewed as heroes or gods, and they appeared to have some special elements distinguishable from other men 11 . The most popular example is that of the Roman soldiers who instead of seeking for wives in an ordinary way, relied on a festival where neighboring Serbians were invited. Amidst it all, various images portray the men carrying off the Serbian women who staged little resistance indicating that they were not opposed to the idea 12 . Later on, an image of the men leaving the scene hand in hand with the Serbian ladies shows acceptance, or submission. In this case the women have already embraced their fate and accepted to be the wives of those men.
The aforementioned imagery is, nonetheless, condemned with the clearest demonstration of rape as a savage atrocity being revealed from the rape of the Levite`s wife. The victim happens to be the main point of focus, her gaze and uplifted poise being symbolic of the torment that Christ had to undergo when he was offered as a sacrificial lamb 13 . When the husband goes to check on his wife only to find that she was already dead, he is greatly distressed, holding up her wrist to demonstrate the heinous act committed against her. A similar scenario occurs in Genesis 34 signifying the rape of Dinah whereby Shechem lifts up her wrist 14 . For the contemporary reader, it would be hard for them to decipher that a rape has actually occurred.
There are various reasons why the images emphasize certain aspects of the text. For instance, the act of holstering one`s wrist in the past mainly indicated that force has been used against the victim. Both Biblical and medieval law are in agreement with the fact that more evidence besides lifting the wrist and the word of the victim is required to show that she was raped against her will. The victim is expected to cry out unless cruel act is committed in an area where there are no people around 15 . In 1248, charges leveled against the defendant in a British court were dropped when it occurred that the plaintiff did not raise any alarm during the occurrence of the rape incident 16 . Additionally, the Morgan Picture Bible focusses on the Levite wife`s disheveled hair. This is intentional since it acted as additional evidence to indicate that the victim had indeed been raped. In essence, medieval art showing fluttering hair along with tattered garments symbolizes rape.
In addition to the rape of the Levite`s wife, a clear demonstration from the picture Bible illustrating forced sexuality is where Tamar appears with loose hair after being raped by Ammon; her half-brother in contrast to Bathsheba whose hair remains covered after her experience with King David 17 . The former shows that the victim was forced into the act while the latter elaborates the willingness of the accomplice. The above mentioned indicators of rape: Loose hair and torn attire, became widely used later on in incidents of false accusation. The best example presented being that of Joseph, who is falsely accused by Potiphar`s wife of raping her 18 . The only way she could prove it was by running her fingers through her hair whereas the part of her garment which she had earlier torn in a bid to seduce Joseph played the part. Further still her utter cry for help was evident enough to prove that she was in distress.
Before the slay of the Benjamites, several Bible versions depict the Israelites seeking God`s counsel on the matter. His declaration of support shows that severe punishment needed to be leveled against rapists 19 . The medieval illustrations show that justice was served through war contrary to contemporary scenarios where the battle is staged in the precincts of a court room. The Byzantine cycle, nevertheless, offers a clear depiction of the Levite wife`s story offering nine more additional scenes from the moment the Levite arrives to the old man`s miniature abode up until his departure back home 20 .The representation of rape stories as fables depicting the struggle existent between profanation and Christianity appears to be the Bible`s main objective. From the Levite`s story it can be established that despite the fact that women were not highly regarded in the ancient society, sacrilege was exceedingly opposed. In this case, all who were found to have engaged in such an odious act were bound to face drastic measures.
Conclusion
The aforementioned images have played an important part in illuminating the written narrative in many ways. First, the image is clear on the events that were happening as captured. The golden plates are visible as depicted by the color of the images. Secondly, the illumination captures the image of a woman who is cutting bread in the foreground. Other than this, images of people bringing other foodstuffs to the table are visible. This table has been well prepared for a large meal and covered with a white tablecloth. Obviously, this portrays the warm welcome that the Levite guest is accorded. One can visualize the entire picture demonstrating the kind of hospitality the Levite guest received.
The image also shows the arrival of armed men in the same house where there appear to be a standoff between the two parties. The fierce raiders demand that the Levite man be handed over to them so they can rape and kill him. Instead of giving in to their demand, a woman from the house is offered in exchange as can be observed in the third image where she is being raped and tortured. This indicates the demeaning position that women were given in the 13 th Century. On the other hand, the images offer details that oral narratives do not include.
Notably, however, the artist does the work with an aim of passing the message of hospitality to the people. Rather, he transforms the written narrative on the image to include the elements that were omitted. Besides, a single image communicates a lot of information regarding hospitability of the people. Further still, the theme overturns upon the seizure of the house by Gibeah’s men. A woman is offered to be tortured and die in the place of a man.
Art work is simple and easy to comprehend which is the reason why it is used to emphasize certain aspects of the narrative. The images chosen for this discourse bear a striking resemblance to other rape incidences that occurred in the ancient society. For a woman to be considered as having being raped, certain elements were, nevertheless, expected to be visible. For example, her hair was expected to be disheveled and her garments torn. The victim was also likely to cry out to signify distress. Holding up the victims wrist, was also another element used to ascertain that the individual had indeed been raped. Failure for these elements being observed discounted the entire accusations leveled against the accused.
Generally, the slaying of the Benjamites was believed to have been supported by the Lord owing to prior inquiry before the battle. Their defeat signifies that rape is not supported and that the consequences for engaging in the act are very severe. There is therefore, no doubt whatsoever that one can learn a lot from the incidences as well as embrace a virtuous life.
1 “Fol. 16r.” The Morgan Library & Museum. January 02, 2015. Accessed October 10, 2017.
2 “Fol. 16v.” The Morgan Library & Museum. January 02, 2015. Accessed October 10, 2017.
3 Judges . In The Holy Bible, New International Version NIV . 2011. Accessed October 12, 2017.
4
5 Kaeuper, Richard W. "Medieval Warfare – Representation Then and Now." In Representing War and Violence, 1250-1600 , edited by Bellis Joanna and Slater Laura, 23-38. Woodbridge, Suffolk; Rochester, NY: Boydell and Brewer, 2016.
6 Lasine, Stuart. "Guest and Host in Judges 19: Lot's Hospitality in an Inverted World." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 9, no. 29 (1984): 37-59.
7 Bellis, Joanna, and Laura Slater, eds. Representing War and Violence, 1250-1600 . Woodbridge, Suffolk; Rochester, NY: Boydell and Brewer, 2016
8 "INTRODUCTION: ‘Representation’ and Medieval Mediations of Violence." In Representing War and Violence, 1250-1600 , edited by Bellis Joanna and Slater Laura, 1-20. Woodbridge, Suffolk; Rochester, NY: Boydell and Brewer, 2016.
9 Kelly-Gadol, Joan. Did women have a Renaissance? Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977.
10 Bellis, Joanna, and Laura Slater, eds. Representing War and Violence, 1250-1600 . Woodbridge, Suffolk; Rochester, NY: Boydell and Brewer, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt1d39202 .
11 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
12 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
13 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
14 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
15 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
16 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
17 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
18 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
19 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
20 Wolfthal, Diane. "“A hue and a cry”: medieval rape imagery and its transformation." The Art Bulletin 75, no. 1 (1993): 39-64.
