BATHSEHBA’S INTERCESSION

- Theme: The intercession of Bathsheba on behalf of her son, Solomon, to King David.1

- Keywords: Bathsheba, David, Solomon, Christian iconography, Middle Ages, Old Testament

- Summary : The biblical reference of Bathsheba’s intercession on behalf of her son, Solomon, to King David appears in 1 Kings 1:15-31. After Nathan talks to Bathsheba, she goes to see King David. King David is now an old man who is being taken care of by the young Abishag the Shunammite. Bathsheba kneels in front of him and she mentions the treachery of his older son Adonijah and reminds him of his promise to make Solomon his successor.

- Attributes and types of representation : This story does not have one specific type of iconography. In some examples Bathsheba appears before David standing or kneeling. A very old David can either appear on his throne or in a bed. In some instances, David and Bathsheba appear by themselves, but in other cases they appear with Abishag, Nathan and other figures from the court. In addition, a young Solomon is also represented being anointed or crowned.

- Primary sources: The story of Bathsheba intercession on behalf of her son, Solomon, to King David appears in the Old Testament and it is narrated as follows:

- I Kings 1: 15-31: So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. Bathsheba bowed low and knelt before the king. “What is it you want?” the king asked. She said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the Lord your God: ‘Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals.” While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. And they told the king, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground. Nathan said, “Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?” Then King David said,

1 This iconography does not appear in Louis Réau’s study of Christian iconography from the Old Testament written in 1956. Neither did Colum Hourihane, in his book King David in the Index of Christian Art , mentions this iconography. Furthermore, very few researchers have paid any attention to the iconography of Bathsheba’s intercession. A full study of this iconography can be found in Mónica A. Walker Vadillo’s dissertation, “Bathsheba as Queen Mother in Medieval Manuscripts,” not yet published. “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.” Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said, “May my lord King David live forever!” (From Bible Gateway, http://www.biblegateway.com , last accessed 20 th of May, 2010).

- Other sources, non-written sources : There are no non-written sources that could have influenced the creation of this iconography. This episode is not related to any liturgical event that could have had an impact on its development.

- Geographical and chronological framework: The representation of Bathsheba’s intercession on behalf of Solomon to King David was first represented in a Syrian manuscript from the 9 th century, the Sacra Parallela . 2 Three centuries separates this example from the next one. Nevertheless, this absence of iconographic examples does not mean that they did not exist, but that they have been destroyed or that they have not been identified yet. The next example appeared in the 12th century in a Bible in Champagne, France. From this moment on, the iconography of Bathsheba’s intercession will expand throughout the center of medieval Europe. In the 13th century this iconography can be found in a Psalter and Book of Hours for Queen Elisabeth of France, in a Parisian moralizing Bible and in two English Bibles, one of them known as the Lothian Bible, that were created in Oxford. Later on in the 14 th century this iconography can also be found in Germany, where it appeared in a Book of Hours and a Historiated Bible; Austria, where it appeared in a manuscript known as the Concordantiae Caritatis ; England, where it appeared in the Psalter of Queen Mary; and in several Historiated Bibles from France. In the 15 th century, this iconography continued to appear in Historiated Bibles, Books of Hours and one Speculum Historiale , all of them created in France. Furthermore, in the 16 th century there were a great number of xylographic examples in Germany and Switzerland.

- Artistic media and techniques : This iconography seems to be specific to manuscript illumination. No examples have been identified in sculpture, the sumptuary arts or textiles.

- Precedents, transformations and projection : The image of King David seated on his throne listening to Bathsheba’s petition can be related to Greco-Roman images of dialogue between a standing figure and a seated one. 3 Not only is she represented standing in front of David’s throne, but also standing in front of King David’s bed. Even though this iconography appeared in numerous examples, it was not the only iconographic model for Bathsheba’s intercession. In some examples Bathsheba is accompanied by the prophet Nathan following the narrative in 1 Kings 1: 24-27. These two figures are usually represented facing King David who is seated on his throne, or standing in front of the old king’s bed. In other cases the young Abishag the Shunammite is also represented as it is written in 1 Kings 1:15, although she only appeared when a very old King David is in bed. In addition, courtiers were also included in some cases. In other examples, Solomon is represented next to Bathsheba while he is being anointed or crowned. In this way, the result of Bathsheba’s intercession is visually present in this iconography. All these

2 Kurt Weitzmann (1979), The Miniatures of the Sacra Parallela: Parisinus Graecus 923 , Princeton, Princeton University Press, pp. 87-88. 3 Hugo Buchthal (1938), The Miniatures of the Paris Psalter: A Study in Middle Byzantine Painting , London, p. 27. different iconographic possibilities for the intercession of Bathsheba did not have a lineal development and any of the different models could appears at any given time and at any given location.

- Typology and related themes: Augustine of Hippo wrote in his work The City of God that Solomon was the prefiguration of Christ. 4 Not only was Solomon seen as the type of Christ, but Bathsheba was also seen as the prefiguration of the Virgin Mary. Just like Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon, so did the Virgin Mary gave birth to Christ. Christ performed his first miracle at the wedding feast of Canaan when he turned the water into wine after his mother asked him to, Solomon ascended to the throne of Israel and Judah after Bathsheba interceded on his behalf to his father King David. 5 Therefore, Bathsheba’s role as intercessor on behalf of her son would be seen as the prefiguration of the Virgin Mary as intercessor of Humanity. It is important to mention that the there are only two typological manuscripts, the Concordantiae Caritatis and a moralizing Bible. The iconography of Bathsheba’s intercession on behalf of Solomon can also be related to the intercession of Esther on behalf of her people to King Asuerus, which is also seen as a prefiguration of the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

- Images:

- Bathsheba’s intercession. Sacra Parallela , 9th century, Siria. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Parisinus Graecus 923, fol. 323r.

- Bathsheba’s intercession next to Nathan. Bible, ca. 1170-1180, Champán, France. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. Lat. 16745, fol. 48v.

- Bathsheba’s intercession. Book of Hours, ca. 1204-1219, Bamberg, Germany. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, Ms. 739, fol. 18r.

- Bathsheba’s intercession. Lothian Bible, ca. 1220, Oxford, England. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, Ms. 791, fol. 93r.

- Bathsheba’s intercession next to Nathan. Historiated Bible of Guiard des Moulins, 14 th century, Paris, France. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. Français 8, fol. 147r.

- Bathsheba’s intercession, Solomon anointed. Historiated Bible of Petrus Comestor, 1372, France. The Hague, Museum Mermanno Westreenianum, KB, Ms. 10 B 23, fol. 153r.

- Bathsheba’s intercession. Book of Hours, ca. 1480-1485, Lyon, France. Besançon, Bibliothèque municipale, Ms. 148, fol. 162v.

- Bathsheba’s intercession next to Nathan and Solomon. Speculum Historiale by Vicentius Bellovacensis (trans. Jean de Vignay), c. 1463, Paris, France. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. Français 50, fol. 76r.

4 Agustín de Hipona, De Civitate Dei (Madrid: Homo Legens, 2006), XVII, 9. In this chapter, Augustine of Hippo also mentions that Christ was a descendant of David through his mother, the Virgin Mary.

5 Lydwine Saulnier-Pernuit (1993), Les Trois Couronnements: Tapisserie du Trésor de la cathédrale de Sens . Belgium, Mame, p. 94-95.

- Bathsheba’s intercession y Solomon anointed. Historiated Bible, 1430, Utrech, Alemania. La Haya, Museum Mermanno Westreenianum, KB, Ms. 78 D 38 I, fol. 192v.

- Bathsheba’s intercession y coronación de Salomón. Book of Hours, 15 th century, France. Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, Ms. Vit. 24-3, fol. 192.

- Bibliography :

- AGUSTÍN de Hipona (413-426): De Civitate Dei [Consultada la edición de Homo Legens, (2006), Madrid].

- BUCHTHAL, Hugo (1938), The Miniatures of the Paris Psalter: A Study in Middle Byzantine Painting , London.

- RUDLOFF STANTON, Anne (1997), “From Eve to Bathsheba and Beyond: Motherhood in the Queen Mary Psalter,” en Women and the Book: Assessing the Visual Evidence, Jane H.M. Taylor y Lesley Smith [coord.], London, The British Library y the University of Toronto Press, pp. 172-189.

- RUDLOFF STANTON, Ann (2001), The Queen Mary Psalter: A Study of Affect and Audience , Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society.

- SAULNIER-PERNUIT, Lydwine (1993), Les Trois Couronnements: Tapisserie du Trésor de la cathédrale de Sens , Bélgica, Mame.

- WEITZMANN, Kurt (1979), The Miniatures of the Sacra Parallela, Parisinus Graecus 923, Princeton, Princeton University Press.

- Author and e-mail: Mónica Ann Walker Vadillo, [email protected]