In the Days of the Barley Harvest: The Iconography of Author(s): Sarit Shalev-Eyni Source: Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 26, No. 51 (2005), pp. 37-57 Published by: IRSA s.c. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1483774 . Accessed: 18/10/2013 07:34

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

IRSA s.c. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Artibus et Historiae.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARIT SHALEV-EYNI

Inthe Days of the BarleyHarvest: The Iconographyof Ruth

Introduction contain the first eight books of the , a format that gained much popularityduring the post-iconoclastic peri- In the Days of the Judges, when a famine came over the od.2 However, while the first books of the illuminated land of , and her family found a refuge in . Octateuchs were adorned with a vast selection of miniatures, Afterthe death of her husband and two sons Naomi, bitterand Ruth, the last book, received two scenes only.3 Two more destitute, returnsto . Ruth, one of her two Moabite scenes appear in the eleventh century Catalan Roda , daughters in law, is determined to go with her, holding fast to where the earliest Western illustrations of Ruth are found.4 her and to her religion. The days are the beginning of the bar- Some more examples are known from the twelfth century,the ley harvest, and Ruth,like other poor people, goes to the fields time of the giant Romanesque from Salzburg,5 to glean ears of corn afterthe reapers. On her way, she comes Florence6 and Canterburyor St. Albans.7 A century later,the to a field belonging to , kindredof Naomi's late husband, elaborated biblical cycles developed in Paris reserved a place who takes her under his protection and finally accepts her of honor for .8The French illuminatorsnot request to marryher. They become the great grandparents of only based themselves on earlier English and Byzantine mod- ,the King of whose heir is the Messiah. els,9 but expanded the cycle, occasionally by using motifs In the Jewish tradition,the , telling the story from everyday rural life.10The French version became wide- of Ruth and her mother in law, is recited during the feast of spread in Western Europe and during the thirteenthand four- (Pentecost) also known as the Feast of Harvest. It is teenth centuries turned into a general Europeantradition.11 thus one of the five scrolls (megillot)associated with particular This paper discusses the iconography of Ruthas depicted liturgical events, which are placed together in the Hagio- in two manuscripts:the TripartiteMahzor, a Jewish Ashkenazi grapha, the third section of the .1 However,the prayer book of around 1322 from the Lake Constance region, setting of the story in the period of Judges (1:1) is the reason and the Padua Bible, a Christianpicture Bible of around 1400 why in the Greek and LatinBibles the book of Ruthfollows the from Italy.Both manuscripts were influenced by the general and figures as the eighth biblical book. It was European iconography of Ruth. Notwithstanding the geo- therefore part of the illuminatedByzantine Octateuchs which graphical and chronological distance between the two, they

37

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI share some iconographic similarities. While the general laborers (2: 3), while in the thirdshe reaps. The last scene, to European iconography basically follows the , the Latin the left of the tree trunk,depicts Boaz giving Ruththe six mea- version of the Bible by St. Jerome (c. 345-420), some of the sures of barley (3:15). specific components of the TripartiteMahzor and the Padua Ruth, like most women (but usually not men) in the Bible are based on Jewish commentaries and midrashictexts. TripartiteMahzor, is depicted as an animal headed figure. The The midrashic interpretationsof the book of Ruth were heads were originallydesigned by the draughtsman with nor- partlyincorporated in various Jewish translations such as the mal humanfeatures, as can be discerned under the pealing off Aramaic , as well as in some discussions in the colours in the extreme left figure of the panel. The animal Babylonian and several corpora of midrashim.12 heads were added later by the colourist, who did not neces- Others, such as the sixth or seventh century or sarily understand the scenes, for he endowed each Ruth fig- the tenth century Ruth Zuta were compiled as independent ure with a differentanimal head. In doing so he was recalling treatises.13Later, the outstanding medieval Jewish commenta- an earlier Ashkenazi tradition,which depicted both men and tors such as Rashi (Rabbi Shiomo Yzhaki, 1040/1-1105) and women as animal headed figures. The phenomenon has not Ibn (1089-1164) devoted full commentaries to yet been fully understood.21 It calls for comprehensive the book.14 Such prominent Christian medieval exegetes as research into the roots of the custom, which manifests itself Hugh of St. Cher (ca. 1200-1263) and the later Nicholas of Lyra about a hundred years prior to the TripartiteMahzor. Here I (ca. 1270-1340) showed a special interest in some of the shall consider the panel as it was designed by the draughts- Jewish commentaries on Ruth,especially that of Rashi, whose man, withoutreferring to the animal heads. work is based on earlier .15The impact of The Ruthpanel of the TripartiteMahzor will be discussed in midrashic sources and rabbiniccommentaries on the iconog- detail. I shall first define the common Christianiconographical raphy of Ruth,their details and implicationsare demonstrated elements, and then consider the special components, based on here, through the cycles of episodes in both the Tripartite Jewish literature,which are paralleled in the ChristianPadua Mahzorand the Padua Bible. Bible. The Padua Bible22 was produced in Padua around The TripartiteMahzor is an illuminatedAshkenazi prayer 1400,23more than seventy years afterthe TripartiteMahzor. This book that was used by the cantor in public prayer during the Christianpicture Bible consists of a wide cycle of miniatures Jewish Holydays, and special .16It includes liturgical illustratingthe Pentateuch, and Ruth,accompanied by poems, prayers and readings from the Scriptures for each a paraphraseon the biblicaltext writtenin a Venetiandialect.24 feast.17 The manuscript was written in Hebrew by a Jewish The text substantiallybased on the LatinVulgate, also includes scribe, whereas the illustrations were executed in a local details partlyderived from Jewish sources. Despite the late date Christian urban workshop. The strong stylistic link between some of the illustrationsdepend on earlierpictorial sources. H. the Mahzorand the Graduale of St. Katharinenthalof around Kessler, who analyzed some of the scenes, showed how the 1312 from Lake Constance region,18indicates the provenance cycle of miniaturesreflects early Christiansources which seem of the Mahzor, as well as its direct connection with the to have been known in the ninth century Tours and eleventh Graduale'sworkshop.19 The Christianartists of this workshop century Canterbury.25G. Vikan, who discussed the probably executed the painted panels of the Tripartiteunder cycle, thinks it includes numerous parallels to monuments of the guidance of a Jewish scholar, who determined the details the Cotton Genesis tradition.26The iconographicalsources of of the illustrations.Two main models were involved, a local the Ruth cycle have not yet been thoroughly studied.27 The Christian(with the Western iconography of Ruth)and a Jewish Jewish influence on its iconography and text is the subject of one with some midrashic components. While the Christian the second part of this paper. Althoughthe Padua Bible cycle model was available in the workshop, the Jewish model was comprising about fortysix scenes, is much wider than the sim- probably presented to the artists by the Jewish adviser.20 ple panel of the TripartiteMahzor, the remarkableiconographi- The Book of Ruth appears in the Mahzor within the cal similaritiesbetween the two suggest that both manuscripts prayers for Shavuot (Pentecost), in accordance with the tradi- go back to a common earlierJewish iconographictradition. tion of reading the book during this feast. The initial word panel presents several scenes fused together. They read from rightto left and, as I shall show, depict Ruthfour times in four In the Field: the French Model episodes. Inthe firstscene (on the extreme right)she declares her faith in Naomi's God by raising her hands (:16). In Ruth gleaning in Boaz's field is depicted in the centre of the following one she gleans in Boaz's field among other the right side of the TripartiteMahzor panel [Fig. 1].28 She

38

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTHE DAYS OF THEBARLEY HARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF RUTH

1) <,Tripartite Mahzor, Lake Constance region, c. 1322, British Library,London, Add. 22413, f. 71.

gathers the ears of corn in one hand, while in the other she probably originates in a French model,31 brought to Acre with carries a straw basket, where she stores her gleanings. The the Crusaders, and at the same time reaching other places in movement of her hands and her straw basket, are features that Europe, includingthe Lake Constance region, the place of ori- appear also in the Arsenal Bible, a manuscript produced in gin of the TripartiteMahzor.32 a French scriptorium at Acre in the Crusader Kingdom of The figure of Boaz, asking about the identity of the new around 1250 (Fig. 2, middle right compartment).29 female gleaner in his field, is depicted in the twelfth and thir- Ruth's bent posture is typical of the iconography of this teenth centuries examples [Figs. 2-3]. The artist of the scene,30 but the identical design of the receptacle as a straw TripartiteMahzor omitted Boaz, as well as the male reapers,33 basket is unique to these two manuscripts. The straw basket but added a few other figures, carryingout differentagricultur-

39

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARIT SHALEV-EYNI

;s?

$:! t K

v

..

..

I- if

2) <

40

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTHE DAYS OF THEBARLEY HARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF RUTH

artist probably reduced the whole scene of the French model to one figure-that of the declaring Ruth. Since the episodes in the Mahzor'spanel read from rightto left, the declaring Ruth precedes the gleaning Ruth,as in the French model.

Reaping: The Tripartite, the Padua and a Local Secular Tradition

The similaritiesbetween our Mahzorand the French icono- graphical traditionof Ruth suggest the existence of a shared contemporaryFrench model used by the artists of the Hebrew manuscript.However, this kind of model cannot explain all the iconographical components of the scene. The female reaper standing near the gleaning Ruthdoes not appear in the French versions.37A parallelto the standing reaper can be found in the Padua Bible of around 1400 [Fig. 4].38 Here she is standing 3) <(Scenes of Ruth>>,Lambeth Bible, Canterburyor with a sickle in her hand, surrounded by maidens who are St. Albans, 1140-1150, Lambeth Palace Library,London, stooping while performingother harvesting tasks. An inscrip- Ms. 3, f. 130. tion above the female reaper identifies her as Ruth. In the Hebrew Bible, Ruth did not reap but gleaned, in keeping with Jewish law which made provision for the poor obligatory: "Andshe went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers..." (2:3). Ruth, kneeling with a sheaf of grain al tasks. A man kneeling to tie a sheaf is depicted on Ruth's which she has just gleaned is represented in the Padua Bible right according to Boaz's instructions to his men: "Let her in an earlier scene depicting Boaz asking about the identityof glean even among the standing sheaves" (2:15). The man the new woman in his field [Fig. 5].39 However, the reaping tying the sheaf can also be seen in the English LambethBible Ruth appears in a later scene, which takes place the next day of 1140-1150 [Fig. 3].34 In other detailed Ruth cycles, this [Fig. 4]. Boaz, who wants to ensure that Ruth will glean action is represented in the following scenes, as in the mid enough grain, says: "Donot go to glean in another field...Keep thirteenthcentury Morgan Picture Bible, where several panels your eyes on the field that is being reaped..." (2:8-9). were given to agricultural tasks in Boaz's field.35 A figure According to Flavius (c. 37-100), by making this threshing grain to the left of the tree trunk in the Mahzorlike- offer Boaz was actually giving Ruththe rightto reap instead of wise appears in the Picture Bible (Fig. 12, left panel).36 glean.40 The midrashic motif of the reaping Ruth, included The veiled woman on the extreme right of the Mahzor also in some later midrashim,41was possibly known to St. panel was probably borrowed from another episode in the Jerome (c. 345-420) and influenced his translationof two vers- French model. One of the preceding scenes in the Arsenal es.42 The first describes Boaz's order to his men after the con- Bible shows Naomi and her two daughters in law on their way versation with Ruth (2:15), while the second summarizes out of Moab (Fig. 2, middle left panel). Orpa is about to return Ruth's actions in the field from the next day till the end of the to the city, which she has just left, while Ruth,refusing to leave barley and wheat harvest (2:23).43Here, instead of using the her mother in law, is holding fast to her. Naomi, raising her verb conligare, as in the other verses, to define the act of hand, is trying to persuade Ruth to returnhome (2:15), while gleaning named in the Hebrew story,44Jerome used the verb Ruth is pointing upwards, as if declaring: "your God is my metere which indeed can be understood as "to collect", but God" (2:16). The woman pointing upwards in the Tripartite that at the same time and more often in such a context means Mahzormakes a gesture similarto that of Ruth in the Arsenal "to reap". Following the Vulgate, the text accompanying the Bible. Her veiled hair indeed differs from that of the gleaning miniaturedepicting the reaping Ruthin the Padua Bible adopt- Ruthwho is bareheaded, but the same difference exists in the ed a similarverb: "Como Ruth la maitinatorna a miere cum le Arsenal Bible: Ruth is veiled when she declares her faith and fantesche de Boog, per volunta de Boo( e per conseyo de her hair falls on her shoulders when she gleans. The Mahzor Noemi soa soxera."45

41

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI

4) <

6) <

The undoubted identificationof the female reaper in the Padua Bible as Ruth raises the question of her identity in the Mahzor.A similar female reaper is drawn in the miniatureof Kunz von Rosenheim in the Manesse Codex, an illustrated compendium of medieval German lyric poetry compiled between 1300 and 1340 in Zurich, at the same cultural and geographical milieu as the Mahzor [Fig. 6].46 Like our reaper, 5) <

42

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTHE DAYS OF THEBARLEY HARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF RUTH a few ears of corn while in the other she has a sickle. Both the was usually interpretedas a request for marriage.According to Manesse and Mahzor figures wear gloves. Scholars dis- Rashi, Ruth asked Boaz to cover her with his talith-an act cussing the Manesse have pointed out the odd inclusion of which forms a majorpart of the Jewish wedding ceremony.54In gloves in an agricultural environment.47 In the Codex this response, Boaz expresses his willingness to marry her as would imply that the reaper is the highborn lover of the knight a near kinsman, and Ruthstays untilthe morning.Before leav- standing next to her with a falcon, a common noble attribute, ing, he gives her six measures of barley.And the Hebrew Bible on his hand. The two are playing at rusticityas in a pastoral recounts: "Andhe said: Bringthe veil (mitpahat)that thou hast game.48 The "aristocratic"reaper of the Manesse Codex may upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six have been a part of the artistic repertoire of the Tripartite [measures of] barley,55and laid it on her"(3:15). Mahzorworkshop.49 Yet it is also plausible that by the aristo- The Hebrew word mitpahat ('nnltD;) was translated in cratic gloves our artist wanted to stress Ruth's royal origin as both the and the Vulgate as palliolum, which it is described in some midrashic sources. According to means a little cloak or a mantle. In accordance with these Ruth Zuta, Boaz orders his man: "Don'tdespise her translations, Ruth's palliolum is depicted in some French illu- since she is a daughter of kings."50Here he is referringto the minations as a cloak, which she uses as an attached recepta- earliertradition of MidrashRuth Rabah presenting Ruthas the cle for her gleanings. An example can be found in the French daughter of , the Moabite King killed by ben Gera Morgan Picture Bible [Fig. 7].56 This French pictorialtradition (Judges 3:19).51 At the same time, the gloves might express originated in England, as the twelfth century Lambeth Bible the spirit of similar midrashic sources emphasizing Ruth's shows in two preceding scenes. In one Ruth presents her first modesty and telling how not even one finger could be seen gleanings to her mother in law; in another she is shown glean- during her weary work in the field.52 ing (Fig. 3, left and middle panels). It is possible that the tradi- The female reaper of the TripartiteMahzor can thus be tion developed under the influence of contemporaryfield cus- identified as Ruth, appearing three times on the right side of toms, which include a similar apron for holding seed to be the panel in three sequential scenes, combined in one space sown, as in one of the single leaves of the Speculum virginum and reading from right to left [Fig. 1]. In the first scene she of 1190 (Fig. 8, middle panel).57 Holding both sides of the declares her faith in Naomi's God; in the second she stoops cloak without taking it off also fits the Vulgate version, where with her straw basket, gleaning in Boaz's field with other peo- the verb "bring"(havi) of Boaz's order to Ruth in the Hebrew ple performingdifferent agriculturaltasks; in the third scene, Bible was replaced by the verb expande which means stretch taking place later on the next day, she is depicted as a reaper. out (the cloak), without necessarily removing it.58 Whilethe firsttwo scenes are part of the French pictorialtradi- An entirely differenticonographical version is depicted in tion, the third is not. Its inclusion in the Mahzor panel might the TripartiteMahzor [Fig. 1]. Here Boaz holds a separate reflect the artistic repertoire of the local workshop, but could piece of cloth representing the veil ( mitpahat).This represen- also have been influenced by another model, similarto that in tation follows the direct meaning of the Hebrew Bible and the Padua Bible, which did include the reaping Ruth. some of the Jewish exegeses on the book of Ruth, defining the mitpahatas a veil covering the head or the neck.59Also the design as a separate piece of cloth and not as an attached The Veil: The Pictorial Similarities of the Tripartite and garment is closer to the direct meaning of the Hebrew Bible the Padua where the verb "bring"(the veil) in Boaz's instruction means that Ruth had to take off the veil in response. The probable relation between the TripartiteMahzor and Inthe Padua Bibleparaphrase the receptaclefor the barleyis a model similarto the Padua Bible becomes more evident when termed a pallio, similarto the palliolumin the Vulgate.Here how- we look at the left side of the Mahzorpanel. Followingher moth- ever the pallio is identified as the coverlet with which Boaz er in law's advice, Ruth secretly enters the threshing floor and wrapped Ruthafter her request "spreadyour palliumover your lies down at the feet of the sleeping Boaz (3:5-7). In the middle servant for you are next-ofkin".60 A similarrelation between the of night, after Boaz finds her at his resting place, Ruthidentifies receptaclefor the "sixbarley" (3:15) and Ruth'srequest (3:9)can herself and says "spread your kanaf over your servant for you also be distinguished in a twelfth century anonymous Jewish are next-of kin" (3:9). The word kanaf in this context can be commentary.Here, by interpretingthe veil as talith,61the com- understood as the edges of a garmentand as such it was trans- mentatormay be givingthe object a nuptialconnotation, referring lated in the Greekand Latinversions by the wordpallium, which to Ruth'smarriage request (3:9) considered earlierby Rashi as means a coverlet or a cloak.53In Jewish sources, this phrase a demand for the maritalact of coveringthe brideby a talith.62

43

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI

7) c(BoazPouring the Six Measures of Barley into Ruth's Mantle/ Ruth Presenting the Grains before Naomi,, Morgan Picture Bible, Paris, c. 1250, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, Ms. 638, f. 18v (upper panels).

However,the Padua illustrationalso contains the unusual in the Mahzor can be therefore understood as a shorter ver- design of the veil as a separate piece of cloth, as in the sion of the scene in the Padua, or as a sequential episode, TripartiteMahzor (Fig. 9, right panel).63 In the Padua Bible, where Boaz has just taken the cloth ends from Ruth, intending Boaz and Ruthare both holding the ends of the cloth or veil in to tie them together and give her the bundle to carry. the same way that Boaz holds them in the Mahzor[Figs. 1 and 9]. Inthe later,Ruth does not hold the ends, and her hands are folded together in a gesture of thanksgiving. This gesture was At the threshing floor: The Jewish Aspects of the probably introduced into our scene by means of an image Padua Bible showing Ruth kneeling in front of Boaz with the same gesture of her hands, as in the French Bible of Jean de Papeleu of The scene depicting the giving of the six measures of bar- 1317 [Fig. 10],64or in the Padua Bible, in the scene depicting ley in the Padua Bible is accompanied by additionalepisodes, their first meeting in the field [Fig. 11].65 Boaz holding the veil based on Jewish sources. The first scene shows Ruthpouring

44

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTHE DAYS OF THEBARLEY HARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF RUTH

8) <

45

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI

9) <

the grains by herself into the veil, which is spread out on the rejected in the late sixteenth century commentary of Rabbi ground (Fig. 9, left panel).66According to the Hebrew Bible as Gallico, an Italian Jew who became the student of well as the Greek and Latinversions, and the descriptive text RabbiYoseph Caro in . Gallico assumed that Ruthdidn't of the Padua Bible itself, Boaz is the one who performed this take her veil off, but held two of its ends while Boaz poured in action: "...and he measured out six measures of barley and the grains. This kind of interpretation is very close to the laid it on her" (3:15).67However, in Arabic translations of the English and French iconographic versions [Figs. 3, 7]. book of Ruth, written in Hebrew script, Boaz's order to Ruth: Howeverto stress his point, Gallico suggests another possibil- "holdit out" and Ruth's reaction "So she held it"are given as if ity which in his opinion, would have been rejected by the bibli- Boaz had said: "and take inside what I will give you".68Thus, cal text, and therefore supports his commentary:"On the face according to this tradition,possibly also known to the design- of it, it would have been better if he (Boaz) were to take the veil ers of the Padua or its pictorial model, Ruth might have per- off, lay it on the ground and measure the barley above, so that formed this action by herself. Ruthwould not have to be troubled holding it during the mea- Moreover,in the Bible the veil was not lying on the ground suring. Then both would have managed together to put the but was held by Ruth:"So she held it, and he measured out six filled veil on her back."69In this rejected description of events, measures of barley." This specific detail is discussed and Boaz, as in the Padua Bible, laid the veil on the ground to pour

46

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTHE DAYS OF THEBARLEY HARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF RUTH the grains, and then both he and Ruth arranged the filled veil for carrying. It is possible that Gallico, who based his com- mentary on earlier sources,70 was referringin this description to an unknown earliertextual or oral tradition,which may have been known to the artists of the Padua Bible or its model. No such earlier version has survived. Yet, it is possibly not acci- dental that these two motifs, the spreading out of the veil and the cooperation between Boaz and Ruth in arrangingthe bun- dle for carrying,71are presented in the Padua Bible and in Gallico's commentary in two separate sequential episodes [Fig. 9]. The scenes in the Padua Bible depicting Ruth as she steals into the threshing floor show the influence of Jewish sources as well. According to the Bible, after Boaz went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn, Ruth came softly, uncov- ered his feet, and lay down (3:7). The Hebrew uses the word margelotav ('Tnl271;), which has two meanings: "at his feet" or "hisfeet". Most Jewish translations,as well as the Latinver- sions of the Bible gave margelotav as "hisfeet".72 Accordingly, most of the pictorial renderings of this episode show Ruth in the act of exposing Boaz' feet as in the Arsenal Bible [Fig. 2], and the earlier Lambeth Bible [Fig. 3], or show Boaz with exposed legs and Ruth creeping or lying at the foot of his bed 10) ((RuthKneeling before Boaz),, Bible of Jean de Papeleu, or next to the heap of grain, as in the Morgan Picture Bible Paris, 1317, Bibliothbque de I'Arsenal, Paris, Ms. 5059, [Fig. 12].73A special iconographical feature was added to this f. 365. scene in the Padua Bible [Fig. 13].74Although as in the usual iconography, the sleeping Boaz's foot is exposed, Ruth is not lying at the foot of the bed, but appears to be resting there on a pillow. This representation which is not mentioned in the Padua paraphrase may be understood in light of Ibn Ezra's The Sack: Meeting of Traditions commentary on this verse. The Spanish exegete AbrahamIbn Ezra (1089-1164), who composed his commentary on the One of the apparently Jewish components of the Padua book of Ruth in Rome,75interprets the word margelotav in the Bible has a parallel in thirteenth century French Ruth cycles. usual way as "his legs". To stress his point, he refers to an According to the Bible, at the end of her first day in Boaz's anonymous commentary, where the word was interpretedas field, Ruth gathered up her gleanings, threshed them, and the quilt put under the legs: "Margelotav-is his feet, so the came into the city where "her mother-in-lawsaw how much one who interpreted [the word margelotav] as the quilt put she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was under the legs, like the word merashotav (n1'fl1WXn)-the left over after she herself had been satisfied" (2:17-18). The one put under the head, was completely mistaken."76The allu- Bible does not tell us how Ruth carried home the gleanings sion seems to tell us about a Jewish commentary which does and the remains of her meal. In the twelfth century Lambeth not figure in other sources but was known to Ibn Ezra in the Bible, as seen earlier,Ruth keeps the barley inside the apron middle of the twelfth century and may have been known also tied to her garment [Fig. 3].77 A different iconographical ver- to the Italiandesigners of the Padua Bible or its model. The sion appears in the Padua Bible [Fig. 14].78The scene on the same interpretationmay explain the special iconography of left depicts two of Boaz's men in the act of pouring the grains the scene in the Padua Bible: Ruth is taking the quilt or pillow into a sack, while the next scene shows them loading the filled under Boaz's feet and lying on it. The inclusion of this kind of sack on Ruth's back. The presence of the sack in this context Jewish exegetical component, not mentioned in the accompa- is also indicated in the accompanying text.79The representa- nying paraphrase, may suggest the use of a pictorial model tion might have been based on the Aramaictranslation of the which incorporatedsuch Jewish motifs. book of Ruth, according to which Ruth takes the remains of 47

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI

11) (

her food out of a sack.80 Ruthcarrying the sack on her back is Padua Ruth cycle with their Jewish midrashic and exegetical presented in a similar scene in the OxfordBible Moralisee, as components. Some of these are associated with the episode well as the Toledo version [Fig. 15],81 where the sack is of the sack, which includes midrashic scenes unparalleled in also mentioned in the text.82 Some parts of the Aramaic the Bible Moralisee or any other Christianexamples. The first translation of the book of Ruth, referredto as the Chaldaeus depicts Boaz's men pouring the measured barley into the Paraphrastes, were added to the twelfth century Glossa sack; the second shows them loading it on Ruth's shoulders Ordinaraat a later date and appear in the earliest printed edi- [Fig. 14]. The Bible tells us that Ruthperformed these tasks by tions of the Glossary.83It is possible that this Jewish transla- herself without mentioning the presence of Boaz's men: tion was already known in thirteenthcentury Paris, the place of "...then she beat out what she had gleaned and it was about origin of the Bible Moralisee. an ephah of barley. She picked it up and came into the The similaritybetween the scenes of the sack in the Padua town..." (2:17). In contrast to the biblicaltext, the tenth centu- Bible and the Bible Moralisee may indicate the incorporation ry Midrash Ruth Zuta tells of how "they (Boaz's men) were of a French model in the illuminationof the ItalianBible. The busy in threshing and preparing the barley for Ruth until presence of this model is also felt, as I have shown, in the evening."85 scene of Ruth kneeling before Boaz [Figs. 10-11].84 Yet this The Padua paraphrase incorporates a similar midrash French model cannot explain many of the miniatures of the withinverse 2:17 of the Vulgate: "Como le ovre e li famigy de

48

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTHE DAYS OF THEBARLEY HARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF RUTH

12) <(Threshing of Boaz's field / Ruth Creeping under Boaz's Mantle,,, Morgan Picture Bible, f. 18 (lower panels).

Boog si insacha l'orgo che aveva guadagna Ruth, el quale fo, some reached the Christiantext in an indirectway through the segondo le mesure che se uxava in quel tempo, trea m6oa."86 early Latinversion of Jerome or later Christiancommentators Whereas the first part follows the midrash and describes how influenced by Jewish exegesis; others, which have no paral- Boaz's labourers pour the barley into sacks, the second fol- lels in other Christian texts, originated directly in Jewish lows the Vulgate and gives the amount of Ruth's crop as sources.88 "threemeasures" of that time. The three measures mentioned by St. Jerome (id est tres modios) are based on an early midrashic interpretation.The Hebrew Bible says only: "it [the Conclusion: The Jewish Influence on the Padua Bible amount of Ruth's crop] was an epha of barley"."How much is in the General Context an ephah?" asks Midrash Ruth Rabbah, and R. Yohanan answers: "Threeseahs, as we have learned:An ephah is three The Jewish connection of the Padua Bible can be dis- seahs [Menahot 7:1]."87The paraphrase thus demonstrates cerned in two complementary aspects; one textual the other the different levels of Jewish influences on the Padua Bible: pictorial.The inclusion of Jewish elements with no parallels in

49

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI

- UWnt

13) ((Ruthin Boaz's Bed), Padua Bible, f. 44 (upper panels).

contemporary Christian sources indicates a Jewish literary in the related Jewish sources.91 Whereas the thirteenthcentu- influence. This circumstance may be considered in relationto ry theologian Hugh of St. Cher (ca. 1200-1263) incorporates the medieval attitude towards Jewish commentaries on the some of Rashi's interpretationsin his Postilla on Ruth,the later Old Testament. As seen above, already in the fourth century Nicholas of Lyra (ca. 1270-1340) uses Rashi as the main St. Jerome used Jewish rabbinic interpretationsin translating source for his literalcommentary.92 At times, both commenta- into Latin some problematic verses of the Hebrew text of tors indicate the Jewish origin by a general statement referring Ruth.89Consulting Jewish exegesis became especially con- to the Hebrews (Hebraei),93 and in a few rare instances, spicuous from the twelfth century on, when a new interest in Nicholas even gives the Jewish commentator's name.94 the literal sense of the Scriptures flourished among some Another famous Jewish exegete, Abraham Ibn Ezra, is prominent contemporary Christianexegetes. These commen- mentioned in connection with his interpretationof :3 in tators not only wished to learn Hebrew in order to read the the later additions to the most widespread Glossa Ordinara,95 original version of the Bible, but also turned to Jewish which also includes large parts of the Aramaic translation of medieval commentaries for clarificationof the biblicaltext.90 Ruth, referred to as the Chaldaeus Paraphrastes.96 These As maintained by Lesley Smith, the linguistic difficultiesof additions appear in the early printedversions of the Glossary the text of Ruthand the problems in understandingthe ancient but were probably known earlieramong Christians.97How the Hebrew customs it describes led to a special Christianinterest Jewish sources were transmittedis still not clear. Whereas the

50

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTHE DAYS OF THEBARLEY HARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF RUTH

14) ((Boaz's Men Pouring the Grains into a Sack and Loading it on Ruth>, Padua Bible, f. 43 (upper panels).

commentary of Rashi and some parts of the Babylonian places him in her bosom (4:16). The Jewish exegetical ele- Talmudwere translated into Latin,98most Hebrew texts were ments incorporatedthe cycle are not based on a sole consis- not available to Latin readers. However, the Jewish sources tent source that could have been available to the Christian could be read by those Christian theologians who had compiler as a writtentext. They are a combination of different acquired some Hebrew and could understand the texts to Jewish interpretations originating in various sources and a certain extent, or by Jewish converts who were more showing a wide range of not only textual but also oral tradition. acquainted with the language.99 Othertexts might be commu- It is therefore reasonable to assume that a Jewish adviser nicated through oral discussions with Jewish advisers.100 might have been involved in designing the Padua Bible. The Ruth cycle of the Padua Bible is testimony to the The participationof Jews in forminga Christianilluminated Christian interest in the literal sense and the Jewish under- Old Testamenttext has some well-knownparallels. A few years standing of the Scriptures in general and Ruth in particular. later, the Spanish Rabbi Arragaltranslated the entire The detailed cycle of miniatures and the accompanying text HebrewBible into Castilianfor Don Luis de Guzman,the Grand present the literalstory of the book of Ruth step by step from Master of the Order of Calatrava.This huge project, executed the moment that Naomi leaves the land of Bethlehem with her between 1422 and 1430, includes the biblicaltext with a com- husband and two sons (1:1) to the last narrativeverse describ- mentary mainly based on midrashic elements and rabbinical ing how Naomi takes the baby born to Boaz and Ruth and notions.101Not only the Christian scribes worked under the

51

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI supervision of Arragal,but apparentlyalso the illuminatorswho incorporated Jewish midrashic components within the minia- tures and their captions.102The case of the Padua Bible might have been similarto the Alba but it was not necessarily identical. The prominentrelation of the Padua to the Vulgate version,103 probably indicate that the text was composed by a Christian author who was directed by a Jewish adviser in incorporating the Jewish additions not otherwise availableto him. The Jewish associations of the Padua Bible are not con- fined to probable textual and oral direction. Although the iconographical scope of the Padua is very wide compared with the TripartiteMahzor, the specific shared pictorialcompo- nents indicate the influence of the same iconography on both manuscripts. The geographical and chronological distance between the two raises the question of the transmission of this pictorial tradition. It is possible that both manuscripts hark back to an earliercommon Jewish iconography that originated in Italy.Although the early traces of this traditionare lost, the later evidence suggests Italyas a center for Jewish medieval iconography transmitted by illuminated Hebrew manuscripts and carried by means of Jewish immigrationand culturalrela- tions to Germany104and other communities in Europe, espe- cially Spain.105 These Jewish-Italian cycles were probably under the influence of local Christiantraditions but designed <(Ruth and her to her Mother in at the same time were enriched distinct Jewish 15) Threshing Carrying Crop by compo- Bible c. Tesoro de la nents. In their Jewish version in returnhave influ- Law), Moralisee, Paris, 1230, Catedral, they might vol. f. 95v. enced local Christiantraditions. Toledo, 1, Throughout the Ashkenazi TripartiteMahzor there are many midrashic elements, indicatingthe existence of a possi- ble Jewish model,106probably presented to the artists by the Jewish scholar who guided them. At this point it cannot be explained the Jewish components in the episodes of the ascertained how the artists of the Padua Bible got hold of model. At the same time a pictorialmodel could have gained a direct or indirectJewish-like model. Yet it is possible that the an independent existence and be copied, not necessarily with Jewish adviser probably involved in forming the paraphrase full understanding of every detail. However this may be, the also transmitted such a model to the illuminators.The inclu- Jewish influence on the text and miniatures is discernable sion of some Jewish iconographical components not men- throughout the manuscript,107a comprehensive analysis of tioned in the accompanying texts, such as the pillowat the feet which is still to be made. This paper is only one step in study- of Boaz, supports the assumption of a Jewish pictorialmodel. ing the iconographical relations between the Padua Bible and The adviser might also have instructed the illuminatorsand Hebrew illuminatedmanuscripts.

52

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions IN THE DAYS OF THE BARLEYHARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHYOF RUTH

* I wish to thank Prof. Bezalel Narkiss for reading the text and Academy of Sciences, KaufmannCollection, Ms. A384), London (B.L., offering helpful remarks. I am also grateful to Dr.Andreina Contessa Add. 22413) and Oxford (Bodleian Library,Ms. Mich. 619). On the and Ms. Anna Nizza for their advice in translatingthe Venetiandialect TripartiteMahzor, see B. Narkiss, "ATripartite Illuminated Mahzor from of the Padua Bible. a South German School of Hebrew IlluminatedManuscripts around 1 The five scrolls consist of five books: , Ruthand 1300",Papers of the FourthWorld Congress of Jewish Studies, 2 (1968), , which are read in public on the three main biblical holy- pp. 125-133, and figs. 30-33; id., Hebrew IlluminatedManuscripts days of Passover (Pesah), Pentecost (Shavuot) and Tabernacles (Jerusalem,1969), pp. 106-108 and pls. 33-34; G. Sed Rajna,Le Mahzor (Sukkoth)respectively; the ,read on the Ninthof enlumine,Leiden, 1983, pp. 16-17, 71-74; S. Shalev-Eyni,The Tripartite Av (commemoratingthe destruction of the Temple) and the book of Mahzor, Ph.D. Diss. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2001; idem ,read at Purim. "Illuminiertehebraische Handschriften aus dem Bodensee-Raum", 2 See K.Weitzmann and M. Bernabo, The ByzantineOctateuchs Kunstund Architekturin der Schweiz, 51/3 (2000), pp. 29-38. (The Illustrationsin the Manuscriptsof the Septuagint II), Princeton, 17 The decoration of the Tripartiteis concentrated in the initial 1999, Textvol., pp. 3ff. word panels for the main liturgicalpoems, and the biblical books of 3 Ibidem,text vol., p. 323 and plates vol., figs. 1545-1552. Song of Songs, Ruthand Ecclesiastes. Since there are no capital let- 4 Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, Ms. lat. 6, vol. I, f.110v and vol. ters in Hebrew,initial words take the place of the initialletters in Latin II,f. 1. See W. Neuss, Die KatalanischeBibelillustration um die Wende illuminations. des ersten Jahrtausends, Bonn-Leipzig,1922, p. 76. 18 Zurich,Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Inv.Nr. 26117 19 5 See the Admont Bible of the 1140s (Vienna, Osterreichische These conclusions are discussed at length in my PhD thesis. Nationalbibliothek,MS S. N. 2701, f. 105v;T. Wehli, "Die Admonter Bibel", For a short summary see Shalev-Eyni, "Illuminiertehebraische Acta HistoriaeArtium, 23/3-4 (1977), pp. 173-285;W. Cahn, Romanesque Handschriften",pp. 29ff. BibleIllumination, Ithaca and NewYork,1982, p. 258, Cat. No. 26. 20 Ibidem, pp. 31-34. 21 6 See the Tuscan Bible of S. Mariadel Fiorefrom the firstquarter The reluctance to depict human faces is typical of thirteenth of the twelfthcentury (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana,Edili and fourteenth century Ashkenazi illuminated manuscripts, and is 125, f. 109); E. B. Garrison,Studies in the Historyof Medieval Italian possibly based on Jewish Halakhaicsources. See B. Narkiss, "Onthe Painting, Florence, 1953-1962, vol. I, pp. 164-166, vol. II,pp. 170 and Zoocephalic Phenomenon in Mediaeval Ashkenazi Manuscripts",in 228-233; Cahn, Romanesque Bible, p. 284, Cat. No. 12; and C. R. Norms and Variationin Art: Essays in Honour of Moshe Barasch, Dodwell, The PictorialArts of the West800-1200, New Haven, 1993, p. Jerusalem, 1983, pp. 49-62. Other scholars have also discussed this 180. See also below note 30. phenomenon. The first was Z. Ameisenowa, "Animal-headedGods, 7 See the Lambeth Bible of around 1145-55 (London, Lambeth Evangelists, Saints and Righteous Men",Journal of the Warburgand Palace Library,Ms. 3, f. 130), below note 34. CourtauldInstitutes, 12 (1949), pp. 21-45, who compared the figures 8 See the mid thirteenth century Morgan Picture Bible (New to the Christiananimalheaded figures of the four Evangelists, and con- York,Pierpont Morgan Library, Ms. 638, fols. 17v-18v;S. C. Cockerell, sidered the phenomenon as an attributeof righteous people. While Old Testament Miniatures,London, 1975, pp. 92-97); as well as the this argument seems reasonable with respect to representations of various copies of the Bible Moralisee, thoroughly studied by John positive animal-headedpersonages, it cannot explain why similarani- Lowden, The Making of the Bibles Moralisees, vol. II:The Book of mal heads are sometimes given to dishonest or negative people. R. Ruth,University Park, Pennsylvania, 2000. Mellinkoff,Antisemitic Hate Signs in Hebrew IlluminatedManuscripts 9 For English influence on the French cycle see below. For the from Medieval Germany, Jerusalem, 1999, pp. 35-42, explains the Byzantineinfluence, see note 73. Some French cycles also shows an motifas an attempt by Christianartists to insert anti-Semiticelements affinityto the two scenes of the Roda Bible. into Hebrew illuminated manuscripts from Germany. This proposal 10 See e.g. the MorganPicture Bible, f. 17v, lower rightpanel and does not take into account the difficultyof believing that a Jewish f. 18, two lower panels; Cockerell, Old TestamentMiniatures, pp. 93 patronwould accept such an element in his books. and 95. 22 The Padua Bible consists of two volumes kept today in London 11 For a short but comprehensive survey of the iconography of (B. L., Add. 15277) and Rovigo (Biblioteca dell'Accademia dei Ruth, see Lexikonder ChristlichenIkonographie, ed. E. Kirschbaum, Concordi, ms. 212). Rome, 1968-1976, vol. 3, s. v. Ruth,by J. Paul and W. Busch. 23 G. Folena and G. L. Mellini,Bibbia Istoriata Padovana della 12 See e.g. MidrashTanhoma, below note 52. fine del Trecento:Pentateuco-Giosue-Ruth (Saggi e studi di storia del- 13 Fora survey of early translationsof the book of Ruthas well as I'arte5), Venice, 1962, pp. IX-XXIIIand XXVII-LIX. of the midrashicsources and commentaries relatedto Ruth,see D. R. 24 The whole cycle was published by Folena and Mellini,ibidem. 25 G. Beattie, Jewish Exegesis of the Book of Ruth (Journalfor the Study H. L. Kessler, "Traces of an Early Illustrated Pentateuch", of the Old Testament, Supplement Series 2), Sheffield, 1977. For fur- Jewish Art,8 (1981), pp. 20-27. ther bibliography,see M. M. Caspi, The Book of Ruth: an Annotated 26 G. Vikan,'Joseph Iconographyon Coptic Textiles",Gesta, 18 Bibliography(Books of the Bible 7), New Yorkand London, 1994. For (1979), p. 104. See also S. Arensberg-MacMillan,"The Padua Bible more sources see also M. M. Kasher, Shelemah: Megilat Ruth, and the Late MedievalBiblical Picture Book,"Ph. D. dissertation, The Jerusalem, 1999 (Hebrew). Johns Hopkins University,Baltimore, 1986, available in an abstract 14 For additionalJewish medieval commentaries on the book of form at the ProQuestDigital Dissertations. Ruthsee, Beattie,Jewish Exegesis, pp. 114ff. 27 The Ruthcycle of the Padua Bible was republished by M. Levi 15 L. Smith, Medieval Exegesis in Translation:Commentaries on d'Ancona, with some references to other examples, but without the Book of Ruth, Kalamazoo,Michigan, 1996, pp. x-xi, xiii, xviii,41ff, a detailed discussion of the iconographical sources of its various 57ff. These aspects will be discussed below. components. See id., "Figurazionidel libro di Ruth nella Biblia",II 16 In its present state the TripartiteMahzor consists of three vol- codice miniato: Rapportitra codice, testo, e figurazione:Atti del III umes dispersed in three libraries,Budapest (Libraryof the Hungarian congresso di storia della miniatura(Storia del miniatura:Studi e docu-

53

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI menti 7), ed. M. Ceccanti and M. C. Castelli, Florence, 1992, pp. 3-18. the verse: "...she came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers" For a discussion of the typological aspect of Ruth, see ibidem, pp. (2:3) (see e.g. figs. 2-3). Boaz, trying to protect Ruth, suggests she 11ff. keeps close to his maidens (2:8). Naomi, her mother in law, advises 28 London, B. L.,Add. 22413, f. 71. her to "...go out with his young women" (2:22), and the Hebrew Bible 29 Paris, Bibliotheque de I'Arsenal, Ms. 5211, f. 364v, see H. recounts: "So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning Buchthal,Miniature Painting in the LatinKingdom of Jerusalem,Oxford, until the end of the barley and wheat harvests". According to the 1957, pl. 81. The Arsenal Bible includes a short version of twenty-two Hebrew Bible, these maidens did not reap but gleaned. However,the books of the Old Testament,written in old French.Each book has twen- existence of female reapers in the field of Boaz is mentioned in the ty fullopening pages and illustratedinitials (ibidem, p. 54). The gleaning exegesis of AbrahamIbn Ezra (1089-1164), according to whom the Ruthis depicted on the opening page to the Book of Ruth. women mentioned by Naomi in the verse: "Youhad better go out with 30 Some examples present Ruth holding her gleanings in one his young women" are female reapers who together with the male hand. See the Tuscan Bible of S. Mariadel Fiorefrom the first quarter ones were under the patronage of Boaz. Twofemale reapers drawn in of the twelfthcentury (Florence, LaurentianLibrary, Edili 125, f. 109; D. ink join the initialword panel of a piyyutto Pentecost writtenon a fif- Denny, "Notes on the LambethBible", Gesta, 16/2 (1977), pp. 55-56, teenth century quire and added to the thirteenthcentury Ashkenazi and fig. 11), or the thirteenth-centuryEnglish De Brailes Picture Bible Worms Mahzor(Jerusalem, The Nationaland UniversityLibrary, Heb. (Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, Ms. 500, f. 18); H. Swarzenski, 4?781/1, f. 221). See above note 32. Unlike our Mahzor,the women "UnknownBible Pictures by W. de Brailes",The Journalof the Walters reapers in the WormsMahzor are stooping. ArtGallery, 1 (1938), pp. 55-69, and fig. 20. 38 Rovigo, Bibliotecadell'Accademia dei Concordi,ms. 212, f. 43, 31 The opening Ruthpage in the Arsenal Bible resembles to con- lower rightpanel; Folenaand Mellini,Bibbia Istoriata Padovana, pi. 242. temporaryRuth cycles from Paris as well as other western examples. 39 F.42, ibidem, pi. 240. See Buchthal,Miniature Painting, p. 57, and note 1. 40 Jewish Antiquities,book V,ix.2. See H. St. J. Thackerayand R. 32 A large straw basket is depicted in an ink drawingaccompany- Marcus,Josephus: Jewish Antiquities,Cambridge, Massachusetts- ing the initialword panel of a piyyutto Pentecost writtenon a fifteenth London, 1926, vol. 5, p. 147. century quire added to the thirteenth century Ashkenazi Worms 41 See Midrash Ruth Zuta of the tenth century; S. Buber, Mahzor(Jerusalem, The Nationaland UniversityLibrary, Heb. 4?781/1, Midrasch Suta: Hagadische Abhandlungen uber Schir ha-Schirim, f. 221) See A. Cohen-Mushlin,"Later Additions to the WormsMahzor", Ruth,Echah und Koheleth,Berlin, 1894, p. 50. in WormsMahzor Ms. Jewish National and UniversityLibrary Heb. 42 The influence of Jewish interpretationson the translationof St. 4?781/1: Introductory Volume, ed. M. Belt Arie, Vaduz-Jerusalem, Jerome can be distinguished in other verses. See below and note 89. 1985, p. 94. 43 "...praecepit autem Booz pueris suis dicens etiam si vobiscum 33 Inthe Arsenal Bible Boaz is ridinga horse on the left, while the metere voluerit ne prohibeatis eam" (2:15). "iunctaest itaque puellis reapers are on the right,and one of them turns back to talkto his mas- Booz et tamdiu cum eis messuit donec hordea et triticumin horreis ter. Boaz is shown as a horseman also in the thirteenth century conderentur"(2:23). MorganPicture Bible, f. 17v (see note 8). In earlierexamples the horse 44 See verses 2:2, 2:3, 2:7, 2:8, 2:16, 2:17, 2:19. is absent, but the whole composition is similar,and Boaz appears on 45 Folena and Mellini,Bibbia Istoriata Padovana, p. 115, para- the left, standing as in the English LambethBible (fig. 3 and note 34), graph XXVIII.See also the Padua text based on verse 2: 15 of the or seated as in the FlorentineBible of S. Mariadel Fiore (see notes 6 Vulgate:"Se Ruthvolesse miere cum vu, lassella miere (ibidem, para- and 30). graph XXIIII). 34 London, Lambeth Palace Library,Ms. 3, f. 130. See C. R. 46 Heidelberg,Universitatsbibliothek, Cod. Pal. Germ.848, f. 394; Dodwell, The Great Lambeth Bible, London, 1959, pl. 3. On the K. Martin,Minnesanger: Vierundzwanzig farbige Wiedergabenaus der Lambeth Bible see also: D. Denny, "Notes on the Lambeth Bible", Manessischen Liederhandschrift,Aachen, 1971-72, vol. II,pl. 22. See Gesta, 16/2 (1977), pp. 51-64; Cahn, Romanesque Bible, p. 261, Cat. also I. F. Waltherand G. Siebert, Codex Manesse: Die Miniaturender No. 34, and Dodwell,Pictorial Arts, pp. 347-350. Grossen HeidelbergerLiederhandschrift, Frankfurt am Main,1988, pl. 35 New York,Pierpont Morgan Library, Ms. 638, f. 17v; Cockerell, 125. Old TestamentMiniatures, pp. 92-93, No. 118. 47 Martin,Minnesanger, pi. 22. 36 F 18; ibidem, pp. 94-95. The man holding the rake on the right 48 Ibidem. side of the Mahzor panel has no parallels in the preserved Ruth 49 Anotherreaper with gloves appears in the TripartiteMahzor in cycles. Yet the work of raking did appear among contemporaryhar- the medallion showing the labour of reaping in the month of Elul vesting tasks, as can be seen in the allegorical harvesting scenes of (Budapest, Libraryof the HungarianAcademy of Sciences, Kaufmann the Speculum Virginumilluminated in the middle Rhineland, about Collection, Ms. A384, f. 144). See B. Narkiss and G. Sed-Rajna,Index 1190 (fig. 8, middle panel). The gesture of raisingthe hand is also per- of Jewish Art: Iconographical Index of Hebrew Illuminated formed by one of Boaz's men in the same scene in the stained glass Manuscripts, vol. IV: Illuminated Manuscripts of the Kaufmann windows of the Sainte Chapelle (Paris, 1242-1248). See Corpus Collection at the Libraryof the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, VitrearumMedii Aevi: France,vol. I:Les vitrauxde Notre-Dameet de la Jerusalem-Budapest-Paris,1988, card no. 21. This medallionis one of Sainte-Chapellede Paris, ed. M. Aubert,L. Grodecki,J. Lafondand J. twelve marginalmedallions depicting the labours of the months, and Verrier,Paris, 1959, pls. 32-33. This man, together with two reapers, illustratingthe special liturgicalpoem of the prayerfor dew. See: Sed- appears in one medallion, while Boaz and the gleaning women are Rajna, Le Mahzorenlumine, p. 36 and B. Narkiss, "Descriptionand depicted in the opposite one. In the Sainte Chapelle, as in the French Iconographical Study", in WormsMahzor Ms. Jewish National and model, the raised hand probably represents Boaz's men hailingtheir UniversityLibrary Heb. 4?781/1: IntroductoryVolume, ed. M. Beit Arie, master: "TheLord bless you" (2:4). Vaduz-Jerusalem, 1985, pp. 84-86. Since here the gloves seem to 37 The French version, as the English one by which it was influ- have no reference to their aristocraticconnotation, it is possible that enced, shows the gleaning Ruthamong the male reapers according to also in our scene the gloves had lost their originalmeaning.

54

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions IN THE DAYS OF THE BARLEYHARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHYOF RUTH

50 2:15; Buber,Midrasch Suta, p. 51. pallio, coe sul coverturo, che lo aveva tegnu adosso ello e Ruth in 51 Ruth Rabbah to verse 1:4, J. Neusner, Ruth Rabbah: An quella note", Folena and Mellini,Bibbia Istoriata Padovana, p. 116, AnalyticalTranslation, Atlanta, Georgia, 1989, p. 60, No. 3. A: "R.Bibi paragraphXXXV. There is no indicationin the Hebrew Bible that Boaz in the name of R. Reuben said: Ruth and Orpa were the daughters of covered Ruth in response to her request, but this is mentioned in the Eglon..." Padua Bible (ibidem, 116, paragraphXXIV), though not shown in the 52 Ruth Zuta 2:3, Buber,Midrasch Suta, p. 50. According to the miniatures. However, Boaz covering Ruth is depicted in some thir- Talmud"He [Boaz] perceived modest behaviour in her: the standing teenth century French copies of the Bible Moralisee. See Lowden, ears [she gleaned] standing, the fallen [she gleaned] sitting".English Makingof the Bibles Moralisees, figs. 69-72. Here the accompanying translation, The Babylonian Talmud: Translated into English with text altered Ruth'srequest and it turned into Boaz's act: "Boazentered Notes, Glossary and Indices, ed. I. Epstein, London, 1938, Seder his bed and Ruth came next to him and with his coverlet he covered Mo'ed, Shabbath, vol. II, p. 555. The TalmudicMidrash was adopted her" (Vienna,Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek,Ms. 1179, f. 84; ibi- by Rashi in his interpretationto verse 2:5, followed by Nicholas of Lyra dem, 142). For the text of the other three versions, see ibidem, pp. in his Postills on Ruth.See Smith, MedievalExegesis, p. 60. A different 141-146. pictorialexpression of the same midrash is included in the fifteenth 61 A. Jellinek, Commentarien zu Esther, Ruth und den Klage- century ink drawing added to the Ashkenazi Worms Mahzor (see liedern, Leipzig, 1855, p. 32; Beattie,Jewish Exegesis, pp. 33-35, 127. above note 32): Whereas the two reapers in this drawingare bending 62 See above. In the Vulgate the use of the same verb and exposing their legs, the gleaning Ruth is seated and her legs are (expandere) in both verses also connect the two. entirely covered. This depiction is in accordance with MidrashRuth 63 F. 44, lower right panel, Folena and Mellini,Bibbia Istoriata Rabbah, which describes her noble behaviour:"all the other women Padovana, pi. 244. The miniaturein the Padua does not necessarily bend down to gather gleanings, but this one sits down and gathers. All represent the receptacle as a coverlet as does the attached text. It the other women hitch up theirskirts, she keeps hers down" (2:5), see may be derived from another tradition,a pictorialone that provided Neusner, Ruth Rabbah, p. 108. The ink drawing includes a few other a model for the illuminators.This may be deduced from some details midrashic components. Among these is the woman on the extreme of the miniatureitself. AlthoughRuth wears her typical head kerchief, upper left. She is completely covered from head to toe, but is holding the veil covering the neck that usually accompanies this type of head- one of her shoes, which she has just taken off. This depiction derives dress (compare figs. 4, 5, 11, 14) is lacking.The absent piece of cloth- fromtwo differentcommentaries to the biblicaltext. The Hebrew Bible ing may therefore be the textile that serves as a container for the bar- describes the way Ruth steals into the threshing floor by the word ley, in accordance with the direct intention of the Hebrew Bible and "3U ". This word was translated in the Aramaicversion, as well as the some of the Jewish interpretations. Greek and Latinas "stealthily".This may explain the way Ruth is tak- 64 Paris, Bibliotheque de I'Arsenal,Ms. 5059, f. 365; H. Martin, ing off her shoes in the Worms Mahzor.Her enveloping garment can Miniaturefrangaise du XIIIau XVsiecle, Paris, 1924, fig. 34. be explained by commentaryin the eighth century MidrashTanhuma, 65 F. 42v, upper panel; Folena and Mellini, Bibbia Istoriata translating the same word as "wrapped in a mantle" lest strangers Padovana, pl. 241. 66 should recognize her (Midrash , Behar 3), see J. T. F.44; lower left panel, ibidem, pl. 244 Townsend,Midrash Tanhuma: Translated into with Indices and 67 Forthe Padua text see above note 60. English 68 BriefNotes, Hoboken, NJ, 1997, vol. II:Exodus and Leviticus,p. 356. M. Peritz, "Zweialte arabische Uebersetzungen des Buches 53 "...expande pallium tuum super famulam tuam". Ruth", Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des 54 On the usage of the talith in the Jewish wedding ceremony, Judentums, 43 (1899), p. 401. The two manuscripts containing this see: J. Gutmann,"Wedding Customs Ceremonies in Art",in Beauty in version are Oxford, Bodleian Lib., Ms. Opp. 4?.154 and Berlin, Holiness in Jewish Customs and CeremonialArt, New York,1970, p. Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz,Ms. Or. Fol. 1203. See 314; T. and M. Metzger,Jewish Life in the Middle Ages (New York, ibid., pp. 49ff. Both texts were ascribed to the tenth century Karaite 1982), pp. 227-233. commentatorYephet ben Ali ().See H. Malter,Saadia Gaon: His Life 55 According to the Hebrew Bible Boaz gives Ruth "six barley" and Works,Philadelphia, 1942, p. 323. usually regarded as six measures of barley. See e. g. the Aramaic 69 S. Regev, "A fragment from Rabbi Elisha Gallico's translationas well as the Septuagint and the Vulgate. However,in the Commentaryto the Book of Ruth",Asufot: Annual for Jewish Studies, 4 Midrashthe number six was interpretedin a symbolic way. See e.g. (1990), p. 118 (Hebrew). the BabylonianTalmud, Sanhedrin 93a-b, or RuthRabbah on the same 70 M. Benayahu, "TheCommentaries to the Five Scrolls of Rabbi verse; Neusner, RuthRabbah, pp. 168-169. Elisha Gallico",Asufot: Annual for Jewish Studies, 4 (1990), pp. 73-98 56 F. 18v; Cockerell, Old Testament Miniatures, pp. 96-97, No. (Hebrew). 122. 71 Ruthand Boaz tying the bundle together are mentioned in the 57 Bonn, Rheinisches Landesmuseum, 15/ 326-8; The Year1200: paraphrase: "Como Booc e Ruth ingropa... pallio..." (Folena and A Centennial Exhibitionat the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ed. K. Mellini,Bibbia IstoriataPadovana, p. 116, paragraphXXXVI). Hoffmann,New York,1970, Cat. No. 266. 72 "...discoperto a pedibus eius pallio se proiecit" 58 "...expande... palliolum tuum quo operiris et tene utraque 73 In the Toledo and Bodley versions of the Bible Moralisee the manu..." scene of Ruthbeing covered is also based on this contemporarywest- 59 For example, Rav Saadia Gaon (late ninth-tenthcentury) in his ern iconography, portrayingRuth at the foot of Boaz's bed (Lowden, Arabic translation interpretedthe word "Mitpahat"as a scarf. See Y. Bibles Moralisees, figs. 71-72). In the mid thirteenthcentury Morgan Capah, Five Scrolls: Old Commentaries,Jerusalem, 1962, p. 148 (in Picture Bible, Ruth is partlycovered by Boaz's blanket, but the act of Hebrew). covering is absent and Boaz's feet are exposed as in the original 60 The text of the Padua Bible describes how Boaz measured out iconographic western version and the Vulgatetext (fig. 5). A different the barley on the pallio, which is the coverlet with which he covered iconographic traditionis involved in the design of this scene in the Ruththat night: "Como Booc;la maitinamesura sie mo;a de orgo sul Vienna Bible Moralisee. Here Boaz and Ruth lie on two separate mat-

55

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SARITSHALEV-EYNI tresses, facing each other (ibidem,fig. 69). This composition probably 89 See e.g. Jerome's translation to verse 3:3 regarding Ruth's derives from the Byzantine , where the sleeping couple is clothes and cf. BabylonianTalmud, 113b and MidrashRuth arrangedsymmetrically. For the Byzantineversion, see: K.Weitzmann Rabbah; Neusner, Ruth Rabbah, p. 141. For more examples, see and M. Bernabo, Byzantine Octateuchs, Text vol., p. 298 and Plates above. vol., figs. 1549-1552. Forthe influence of the Byzantineversion on the 90 D. Copeland Klepper,"Nicholas of Lyraand the Franciscan fourteenth century French Wenzel Bible, kept today in Vienna, see T. Interest in Hebrew Scholarship",in Nicholas of Lyra:The Senses of Erenstein,Das Alte Testamentim Bilde, Vienna, 1923, p. 526, fig. 3. Scripture,ed. P D. W. Kreyand L. Smith, Leiden, 2000, pp. 289-311. 74 F. 44, upper panels; Folena and Mellini, Bibbia Istoriata See there for furtherbibliography. Padovana, pl. 244. 91 Smith,Medieval Exegesis, pp. x-xi. 75 AbrahamIbn Ezra was born in Tudela. He left Spain in 1140 92 For the literal Postills on Ruth by Nicholas of Lyra, see L. and lived the life of a wandering scholar in Italy,France and England. Smith, "The Rewards of Faith:Nicholas of Lyraon Ruth",in Nicholas See EncyclopediaJudaica, s. v. Ibn EzraAbraham. of Lyra,pp. 47-58, esp. pp. 53ff. For Christianacquaintance with Rashi 1" 76 a l 173 Da lnnnn aCrl nC: Xn1;11: VW113nE3nt ID1+ ' between the twelfthto the fourteenthcentury, see H. Hailperin,Rashi ZXn;1nnn 7t2l7lrniZ7si ". and the Christian Scholars, Pittsburgh, 1963, pp. 103ff. On the 77 This iconographic version influenced the thirteenth century changes regarding the literal exegesis of the Scripture in the same French Morgan Picture Bible (f. 18, upper left panel, Cockerell, Old centuries, see F.van Liere,"The Literal Sense of the Books of TestamentMiniatures, No. 119). Herethe artistadded a small sack, bal- and Kings; FromAndrew of St. Victorto Nicholas of Lyra",in Nicholas anced on Ruth'shead. Itseems plausiblethat the tied apron serves for of Lyra,pp. 59-81. the gleanings and the receptacleon the head forthe remainsof the food. 93 Smith,Medieval Exegesis, pp. xi, 41, 58, 59, 60, 62. 78 F. 43, upper panels; Folena and Mellini, Bibbia Istoriata 94 See Nicholas of Lyra'sinterpretations of verses 3:2 and 3:8; Padovana, pi. 242. ibid., p. 61. 79 Ibidem,p. 115, paraqraphXXV. 95 Ibidem,p. 33. 80 "nn'I'T2h HTbn.l'l rn' iN'n'rn1nplsKi" 96 Ibidem, pp. 31-36. 81 Toledo, Tesoro del Catedral, f. 95v and Oxford, Bodleian 97 Ibidem, p. xiii. Library,Ms. Bodley 270b, f. 125v; Lowden, Bibles Moralisees, vol. II, 98 Formanuscripts containing a Latintext of Rashi's commentary pp. 130ff and figs. 64-65. In the Vienna2554 version the folio is miss- on Ruthsee the list in G. de Martel,Repertoire des textes Latinsrelat- ing and in the Vienna 1179 a differentscene is depicted, where Ruth ifs au Livrede Ruth, VII-XVes(Instrumenta Patristica 18), Dordrecht, appears to be orderingthe reapers to carrythe corn into the house of 1990, p. 27. For a general discussion concerning the translationinto the Lord.See ibidem, pp. 129-30 and fig. 63. Latinof some of Rashi's commentaries on the Scripturesand parts of 82 "AfterRuth had gleaned ears in the field she threshed them the BabylonianTalmud as a result of the Talmudtrials in the 1240s, see and she carried the grain in a sack to her mother in law, three Copeland Klepper,"Nicholas of Lyra",p. 301, note 47 and G. Dahan, bushels". English translationafter Lowden,vol. II,p. 130. "Undossier latinde texts de Rashi autour de la conroverse de 1240", 83 Ibidem, pp. 31-36. Revue des etudes juives, 151 (1992), pp. 321-36. 84 See above. 99 Forthe use of Hebrewmaterial among late thirteenthand early 85 2:17; Buber,Ruth Suta, p. 51. fourteenth century Franciscan theologians, see Copeland Klepper, 86 Folena and Mellini,Bibbia Istoriata Padovana, p. 115, para- "Nicholasof Lyra",pp. 301-302, 309-310. XXV.See also the text of the how 100 Smith,Medieval Exegesis, p. x. graph following panel describing 101 Boaz's men loaded the crop on Ruth:"como quelle ovre e quillifami- In the commentary of the Alba, Arragl also included some gy de Booc si mette adosso a Ruthquelle trea moca de orco" (ibidem, Christianexegetical comments instructedby BrotherArias de Encinas, p. 115, paragraphXXVI). the Superior of the Franciscan monastery in Toledo. For a detailed 87 RuthRabbah to verse 2:17; Neusner,Ruth Rabbah, p. 131. See descriptionof the Alba Bible and its production,see C. O. Nordstrom, also the AramaicTargum. The Duke of Alba's CastilianBible: A Study of the RabbinicalFeatures 88 One of these sources was probably a pictorialmodel whose of the Miniatures,Uppsala, 1967, pp. 11-24, 233-235. traces may be seen in the scene precedingthe fillingand loadingof the 102 Ibidem. For the Jewish sources of the Alba, see also S. suck. Here, as in the midrash,one of Boaz's men helps Ruthwhile she Fellous, Histoirede la Bible de Moise Arragel:Quand un rabbininter- beats the grain (f. 42v, lower right panel; ibidem., paragraphXXIIII). prete la Bible pour les chretiens, Paris, 2001. Following the biblical text, Ruth herself, identified by an inscription, 103 See above. For the inclusion of a few elements derived from performs the task of beating, not one of the labourers as in the Christiancommentaries on Ruth see the passage describing Boaz midrash:"Como Ruth bate cum el batauro le spige de I'orgo..."Here eating and drinkingbefore turningto his resting place (3:7), where the again the text follows the Vulgate, adding to the original Hebrew the Padua text describes the custom of preparinga feast on the threshing instrumentused by Ruthfor threshing (batuarein the paraphraseand floor at harvestingas well as sheep-shearing time ("ComoBooc cena virga in the Vulgate).Yet it is interestingto note that in the miniature cum gran deleto, segundo la uxanca del convivio che se faxeva al Ruth is drawn as a man wearing the short tunic and hat typical of tempo dela meson e del toxare dela piegore..."; Folena and Mellini, Boaz's reapers in previous scenes (see fig. 5). The representationas Bibbia IstoriataPadovana, p. 116, paragraphXXXII). This custom is an apparentlymale figure might result from combining two different mentioned by Peter Comestor (d. ca 1179) in his Scholastic History, versions; one based on the biblicaltext describing Ruthas the one who followed by Hugh of St. Cher in his literal Postills on Ruth. For an beats, the other,probably included in the pictorialmodel, influencedby English translationof both, see Smith, MedievalExegesis, pp. 38 and the midrash and depicting one of Boaz's labourers performingthis 44 respectively.The firstwas probablythe source of the Padua. task. The artistindeed copied the man threshingbut added the inscrip- 104 This traditioncould have reached Germanyat an earlier date tion to adjustthe miniatureto the paraphraseand the biblicaltext. through the Jewish Italianimmigrants who formed the main core of the firstAshkenazi communities. See I. M.Ta-Shma, "Toward a History

56

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions IN THE DAYS OF THE BARLEYHARVEST: THE ICONOGRAPHYOF RUTH of the CulturalLinks between Byzantine and Ashkenazic Jewry", in Picture Cycles of the Rylands Haggadah and the So-called Brother Me'ah Shearim:Studies in MedievalJewish SpiritualLife in Memoryof Haggadahand their Relationto the WesternTradition of Old Testament Isadore Twersky,ed. E. Fleischer, G. Blidstein, C. Horowitz and B. Illustration",Bulletin of the John RylandsLibrary, 79 (1997), pp. 15-16. Septimus, Jerusalem, 2001, pp. 61-70. 106 Shalev-Eyni, "Illuminiertehebraische Handschriften",pp. 29- 105 Specific Jewish iconographicallinks can be discerned between 38. the Genesis and Exodus cycles of the Padua Bible and the biblical 107 See e.g. the Jewish aspect of the scenes dedicated to the cycles preceding the text of the fourteenthcentury Hebrewilluminated story of Phineas in the Padua Bible as discussed by A. Contessa, Haggadotfrom Spain. For some associations of the Haggadot withthe "Phineas lozelante nell'artecristiana", in Raccontare Dio: il Midrashe Padua Bible, not necessarily in a midrashiccontext, see K. Kogman- la tradizionede Israele, ed. R. Zini, Reggio Emilia,2002, pp. 115-159. Appel, "Coping with Christian Pictorial Sources: What Did Jewish For an English version see the forthcoming idem, "Phineas: A MiniaturistsNot Paint?",Speculum, 75/4 (2000), p. 850; idem, "The ProblematicFigure in ChristianArt", Jewish Art,25 (in print).

57

This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:34:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions