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CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO the Jewish Hat As CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO PRESSO LA PONTIFICIA UNIVERSITÀ LATERANENSE QUESTIONS THAT PAINTINGS POSE—2 BY BRUNO ALBER The Jewish hat as a form of objection In the previous section of our series “questions that paintings pose” we realized that apart from a few exceptions the Christian majority society had no home place for the Synagogue for more than two thousand years. Furthermore, the Synagogue was subject to constant humiliation, rejection, mockery, and vilification, which in turn ended in most cases in pogroms and waves of expulsions. This applies partic- ularly to the times of ecclesiastic anti-Judaism. But even during the darkest chapters in church history objections can be found, either in form of words or in pictures. Today we will have a closer look at the latter. In a first discourse we will look at three presentations, which rose objections against anti-Judaism—on the occasion of pogroms against the Jews and their expulsion. They phrased their objection in an almost absurd way by turning great Old Testa- ment characters into people of their own time, supplying them with a Jewish hat. After the turn of the millennium, the pointed hat or the Phrygian cap 1 had become the distinguishing attribute of the Jews, stigmatizing them publicly. Now, ecclesias- tical employers or their craftspeople respectively used this attribute like a riposte to voice their protest against this social discrimination. They put the reviled hat on biblical characters, thus transforming it to a badge of honor and reminding the spectators that all of our ancestors in faith were Jews. Fig. 1: The so-called windows of the prophets in the Cathedral of Augsburg: Jonah, Daniel, Hosea, David and Moses. The source of the pictures can be found on page 6. © Bruno Alber, Munich, 2020 1 CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO In the Cathedral of Augsburg (fig. 1) the windows of the prophets contain five pre- sentations, which impressively illustrate this phenomenon. They are located high above in the Southern clearstory. They show in the Hebrew reading order (sic!) from right to left Moses, David, Hosea, Daniel and Jonah. Let us dwell for a mo- ment on the Daniel window (fig. 2). Like the other glass-windows it does not show the prophet in an antique-like gar- ment but dressed like a nobleman from the first part of the 12th century: calf-length tunic and cloak, stockings and cuffed shoes—and wearing the Jewish felt hat. The others are dressed in a similar way, with the exception of King David. He wears a crown, similar to the German imperial crown. These presentations only make sense in light of the shock of the pogroms against the Jews during the time of the crusades (1st crusade from autumn 1096 till July 15, 1099) 2. They support the findings of modern research, which dates the time of origin for these windows in Augs- burg in the first half of the 12th century.3 They are the oldest and best-preserved glass-windows in the Occident. Some researchers interpret the quota- tion from the book of Daniel also as a reference to the political upheavals in Augsburg in 1132. In the course of the enthronement of King Lothar II of Sup- plinburg (1075–1137) large parts of the city were destroyed and the cathedral severely damaged. Daniel, who is depicted from the front, is holding an S-shaped banner in his left hand, his right hand pointing toward it. The complete half-verse, quoted ac- cording to the Vulgate is saying: „ET OS- TENDE FACIEM TUAM SUPER SANC- Fig. 2: Prophet Daniel. Glass-window from the Cathe- TUARIUM TUUM, QUOD DESERTUM dral in Augsburg, 1st half of the 12th century. EST, PROPTER TEMET IPSUM“ (= for 2 © Bruno Alber, Munich, 2020 CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO your own sake, O Lord, let your face shine upon your desolate sanctuary) (Dan 9,17b). The employers of that time wanted to make clear: the edification of the Church will only succeed by living the message as a result of the correct interpreting and understanding the Scriptures of Israel and not by persecuting the Jews. The second example is similar—though even more to the point: The Fécamp Bi- ble (fig. 3) takes us to France to the long time period between the first crusade and the final expulsion of all the Jews from the French heartland in 1306. The period is characterized by several at- tempts by local kings to remedy their chronically ailing state treasury by mak- ing use of Jewish property—like other European rulers. The Jews after all were their serfs. Thus, expulsion (after having transferred all assets) alternated with the call to return (combined with spe- cial taxes). 4 In the end, in 1306 king Philipp IV (his reign lasted from 1285–1314) tried again to make money by wresting their prop- erty from two unloved minorities: first the Jewish communities 5 and then the Order of the Knights Templar. In both cases the foulest of accusations were used. Since state and Church were too Fig. 3: Initial “L” with “tree [or root] of Jesse”, Fécamp-Bible, Paris, 3rd quarter of 13th century. closely intertwined, nothing endangered this abuse of power. The criticism of these criminal machinations was all the more sharply expressed by the initial illuminations of the Fécamp Bible. The Bible was named after the famous Abbey of Fécamp (Normandy), from which area the manuscript stems. It does not only contain an extensive explanation of the Hebrew names but also dresses Yishai (=Jesse) with a Jewish hat, in order to call the problem “radically” (radix Jesse) by its name. If the root—symbolized by the sleeping Yishai, father of king David—and all © Bruno Alber, Munich, 2020 3 CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO other ancestors were Jews, then also the offspring. Yishai’s Jewish hat testifies that Jesus is a Jew. A courageous combination. The third example (fig. 4) continues consequently along these lines. There the Jew- ish hat appears on Jesus himself—on the risen Christ. The story behind it can be reconstructed easily. It is placed in England during the third cru- sade (1189–1192), more precisely in York in the year 1190.6 The mon- ey needed to finance this mil- itary expedition was not only tak- en from special taxes but most- ly from Jewish money lenders and had to be re- paid. As we have learned from the previous exam- ple, there existed other ways and Fig. 4: Christ with two disciples at supper in Emmaus, detail from the Leiden means to circum- Psalter (see fig. 5). vent the straight path: Soon the wildest horror tales against the Jews circulated, even charges of ritual murder. But it did not stop there. The riots against the Jews in Lynn, Norwich, and Stanford in spring 1190 culmi- nated in the massacre of York in the night from March 16 to March 17 (the Shab- bat HaGadol, the Great Sabbath before Passover). All resident Jews, although they could initially flee to the royal fortress Clifford’s Tower, were murdered by the mob 4 © Bruno Alber, Munich, 2020 CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO Abb. 5: Easter cycle, double page from the Leiden Psalter (also called Psalter of Louis the Saint), between 1190 and 1200, left: the three women at the empty tomb with angel; beneath: Christ in the underworld ; right: “Noli-me-tangere” scene and supper in Emmaus, beneath: the risen Lord and Thomas. and their property confiscated.7 The king was abroad, and the nobility (including the bishop) were at loggerheads. This pogrom provided an occasion for the courageous archbishop of York, Geof- frey Plantagenet (1152–1212), a half-brother to King Richard the Lionheart, to inter- vene at least in an iconographic way. Though he could not inhibit the murderers he ordered his illuminating artist to choose this visual imagery. Even 800 years later the spectator may observe the determination of the bishop, ordering his artist to portray the supper at Emmaus in the Easter event in exactly that way and in no other (fig. 5). Even the insinuated architecture—of the heavenly Jerusalem— may be seen as a reference to the fortress in York. And the pleats of the tablecloth flicker like the fires of the pogrom. A sign of mourning in recognition of those ap- proximately 150 Jews who found their death then.8 And as a beacon: whoever kills Jews, kills the risen Lord. © Bruno Alber, Munich, 2020 5 CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO CATTEDRA PER LA TEOLOGIA DEL POPOLO DI DIO On the whole, this protest was too isolated and too weak in order to turn around the destiny of the Jews. 9 In 1290, one hundred years later, all of them were evict- ed from England and only in 1655 negotiations started between Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) and Rabbi Samuel Menasseh ben Israel (1604–1657) discussing the re- settlement of Jews in Great Britain. In 1664 these negotiations were completed successfully. Image sources: Fig. 1 and 2: picture by Hans Bernhard, 2010, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode, Fig. 3: The British Library, BL, Yates Thomas Ms. 1, f. 419v. Detailed record for Yates Thompson 1 Fig. 4 and 5: Leiden University Libraries, Ms. BPL 76A, fol. 26v-27r, England (York?), http://hdl.handle.
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