The Routledge History of Monarchy the Biblical King Solomon In
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This article was downloaded by: 10.3.98.104 On: 24 Sep 2021 Access details: subscription number Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG, UK The Routledge History of Monarchy Elena Woodacre, Lucinda H.S. Dean, Chris Jones, Russell E. Martin, Zita Eva Rohr The biblical king solomon in representations of western european medieval royalty Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315203195-4 Laura Fábián Published online on: 25 Jun 2019 How to cite :- Laura Fábián. 25 Jun 2019, The biblical king solomon in representations of western european medieval royalty from: The Routledge History of Monarchy Routledge Accessed on: 24 Sep 2021 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315203195-4 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR DOCUMENT Full terms and conditions of use: https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/legal-notices/terms This Document PDF may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproductions, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. 2 THE BIBLICAL KING SOLOMON IN REPRESENTATIONS OF WESTERN EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL ROYALTY* Laura Fábián King Solomon, the famously wise ruler of the Old Testament and successor to King David, was a popular model for kings from the early centuries of Europe’s Middle Ages. He was the presumed author of four biblical books, the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs and the Book of Wisdom, which served as ethical and polit- ical guides for kings as well as lay people. An ambivalence surrounded his character that derived partly from the fact that he was influenced by his wives and lovers, and became idolatrous and turned away from God at the end of his life. Moreover, an ancient tradition held that Solomon acquired his knowledge thanks to magical prac- tices.1 David, alongside Solomon, was one of the most favoured biblical exemplars for rulers, especially in the early Middle Ages.2 Yet, Solomon became increasingly viewed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the example to emulate. Varied associations, some negative, meant it was impossible, however, for medieval authors to create a fixed image of him. The highlighted aspects of the Solomonic ideal varied through the ages as Solomon was intermittently associated with peace,3 justice (1 Kings 3:16–28), wealth (1 Kings 10:14, 23), wisdom4 and, not without potentially negative connotations, involvement in magical practices.5 From the Bible, we know of several famous epi- sodes concerning the king, such as ‘Solomon’s Judgement’, an incident in which he resolved a dispute between two women who both claimed to be the mother of the same child. Moreover, his rich kingdom and his famed knowledge were said to have drawn the attention of the Queen of Sheba, who travelled to meet with the king. Legendary objects as well as virtues were connected with him, ranging from the temple he built (1 Kings 6) and his palace (1 Kings 7), to his throne (1 Kings 10:18–20), key6 and ring.7 Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem became an archetype, one which many medieval rulers sought to imitate. This chapter will examine the way in which King Solomon was employed as a royal exempla in the medieval west between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. A Solomonic typology was certainly not attached to every medieval ruler’s image. The instances selected in this study are, however, particularly notable examples. First, the chapter will touch on the early instances of so-called ‘new Solomons’, particu- larly among Carolingian and Byzantine rulers. The analysis will then focus on a 54 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 03:38 24 Sep 2021; For: 9781315203195, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315203195-4 KING SOLOMON IN REPRESENTATIONS OF ROYALTY thirteenth-century group of kings: Saint Louis IX of France, Henry III of England and Alfonso X the Wise of Castile. Finally, it will consider a quintessentially Solomonic king, the fourteenth-century French ruler Charles V the Wise in contrast with one of his near contemporaries, the English king, Richard II. The following questions will be discussed: Which aspects of Solomon were selected and promoted for emulation? When and how did a monarch engage consciously in imitating Solomon as a strategy to increase his reputation through the use of biblical typology? The tradition of Solomon incorporates scriptural and theological sources, vernac- ular literature, folklore, Islamic culture, magical treatises, the visual arts and political writings. Besides clerical writings, vernacular literature sought to fill the gap and interpret the mystery around the way in which the figure of Solomon develops in the Bible. In this respect, good examples of vernacular texts include the entertaining dia- logue Solomon and Marcolf, which appeared in various languages, the closely related English text Solomon and Saturn II, or popular legends like that of King Solomon and Alexander the Great, and an episode in the legend of Edward the Confessor in which two pilgrims met with Solomon during their travels.8 This chapter will, however, restrict itself to exploring political, liturgical, poetical and iconographical sources connected with royalty. In most cases, citations of the Solomonic books in the sources have no intended message about kingship and political thought. It was, of course, common for medie- val authors to quote the Bible in support of their arguments,9 the words of Solomon from Proverbs being only one example. Methodologically, it is important, therefore, to separate specific allusions to the ruler as a new Solomon – which always depend on the historical context and the genre of the source – from the general citations. Those examples that feature Solomon as a supporting actor, that is, for example, as son of David or father of Rehoboam, can be discounted. Similarly, many cases in which citations associated with Solomon appear to have no particular significance need not be considered. However, caution is required: in some cases – for example in a mirror for princes that contains indirect references to biblical figures10 – such citations might help to convey the author’s general opinion about Solomon if the king was referred to on multiple occasions or other Old Testament kings were con- spicuous by their absence. This study focuses primarily on those instances when a direct comparison can be drawn between Solomon and a specific ruler with the exception of instances in which an author placed particular emphasis on Solomon. This comparison is not evident in every example, but as Elka Bakalova put it: ‘It is much more common to find a complex system of implicit guidelines which aims at activating certain associations.’11 We need to keep in mind that the use of the biblical typology could be mixed, and the rulers’ contemporaries sometimes applied numer- ous models at the same time, including David, Joshua,12 Melchizedek, the Magi13 or the negative example of a king like Saul.14 Early medieval kingship: the example of the Carolingian rulers and the Byzantine tradition The use of the Bible for political purposes was already current in the Merovingian period and is evident in the works of Gregory of Tours and Sulpicius Severus. The Carolingian rulers together with their advisors followed this earlier practice.15 55 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 03:38 24 Sep 2021; For: 9781315203195, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315203195-4 LAURA FÁBIÁN Not only did the leading clerics of the Carolingian court compare their kings to Old Testament figures, but popes also relied on this method of parallelism.16 By way of a brief illustration, we can refer to some examples from Carolingian circles. First, it is worth mentioning Charlemagne because it was commonplace that in his court he was called – among other things – ‘David’. This demonstrates the tendency to use biblical figures in courtly rhetoric.17 Charlemagne, as a con- queror, was definitely not a peaceful Solomon-like king, but the Solomon analogy emerged in a letter. Alcuin wrote to Charlemagne that the chapel in Aachen ‘is being constructed by the art of the most wise Solomon’,18 invoking the builder-aspect of Solomon and drawing a clear parallel between them. According to this interpreta- tion, Charlemagne’s building in Aachen was created as a second Jerusalem.19 On the other hand, Einhard, writing in his Vita Caroli Magni, did not refer to Solomon as a named biblical personage at all. This was the result of his general preference for the classical antique tradition over the biblical quotations relied on by other medieval authors. In the Bible, when the Temple was finished but prior to its consecration, God promised that if Solomon kept God’s commandments and the faith, his heir would rule. However, if Solomon was idolatrous, his heirs would be wiped from the Earth (1 Kings 9:6). As Mary Garrison noted, Einhard mentioned that Charlemagne took care of his church and the correct observance of the rites at Aachen.20 While not a concrete comparison between the two rulers, this could be taken as a sub- tle analogy between the temple building of Solomon and Charlemagne’s similar activity.21 Despite the letter of Alcuin and Einhard’s possible allusion, Charlemagne, however, was mostly a Davidic ruler in the eyes of his contemporaries.22 Charlemagne, as David, embodied another typology: his son, Louis the Pious, was openly praised as a new Solomon, drawing on the biblical ‘father-son’ identi- fication.