Researcher’s Relics is a section of this Newsletter with a more visual focus. Here, we delve into the heart of a manuscript, exploring its pages as if they were “relics,” to revel in their visual content and marvel at their uniqueness. This is a space to savor slowly and carefully, uncovering hidden treasures stored in libraries—treasures I have come across during my research.
The Speculum Humanae Salvationis is an anonymous book written by an Italian author in the 14th century. This kind of encyclopedia had a significant impact in later centuries, largely due to its richly illustrated visual program accompanying the text. It’s a very special type of book because it follows the typological interpretation of history. This means that history is interpreted symbolically. In the Christian context, the Old Testament is understood as prefiguring the events of the New Testament (“The New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament”, Saint Augustine).
Let’s see how this works with the example of Jonah. According to the Old Testament, Jonah spent three days in the belly of a fish (type), while the antitype in the New Testament would be the three days Jesus spent in the tomb before his resurrection. Thus, Jonah’s story becomes a symbol of death and resurrection, darkness and light. I know, sometimes this can feel quite trippy, but that’s where the beauty lies (speaking of trippy, I highly recommend the @medieval.psychedelia page).
What interests us here is that this type of book brings together disparate visual references: biblical images coexist with illustrations from bestiaries, chronicles, historical narratives, legends, and hagiographic texts, among other sources. The Speculum Humanae Salvationis is an invaluable visual document because it juxtaposes all these visions from diverse origins. It’s a great opportunity to discover the most extraordinary iconographies.
At some point, I’d love to show you how this dialogue between types and antitypes works within the context of a book. It’s a very particular way of visualizing images, and in some ways, it’s quite close to a cinematic experience. But today, I’d simply like to share a few isolated images. I’m sure they won’t disappoint you.
In keeping with the logic of our Researcher’s Relics, I’ll stick to describing the content of the images without offering further interpretations.
The manuscript in question is Marseille, Bibliothèque municipale, Ms. 89 (a 15th-century copy).
Happy New Year! María
Creation of EveThe temptationThe expulsion from ParadiseCain and AbelThe Tree of Jesse (Christ’s Genealogy)The Dream of Astyages: "After forty years of reign, the Median king Cyaxares died, and his son Astyages succeeded him on the throne. Astyages had a daughter named Mandane. He dreamt that she urinated so much that it flooded all of Ecbatana and all of Asia. Worried by this dream, he ensured that she would not marry a Mede and instead gave her in marriage to Cambyses, a Persian man of noble lineage, peaceful character, and moderate status. Astyages dreamt again and saw a vine growing from the center of his daughter’s body, spreading its shadow over all of Asia. Alarmed, he summoned Mandane back home, and when she gave birth, he handed the newborn to his relative Harpagus with instructions to kill him. Harpagus, torn between fear and pity, entrusted the baby to a herdsman named Mithradates, ordering him to carry out the killing." Herodotus (485–425 BCE)The Pharaoh's Dream: "Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream. It seemed to him that he was standing by the river, and out of the river came seven cows, beautiful in appearance and very fat, grazing in the meadow. Then, seven other cows came up from the river, ugly and thin, and they stood beside the beautiful, fat cows on the riverbank. The ugly and thin cows devoured the seven beautiful and fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep again and had a second dream: seven ears of grain, full and healthy, were growing on a single stalk. After them sprouted seven other ears, thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven full and healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up, and behold, it was a dream. In the morning, Pharaoh's spirit was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him." Genesis 41Aaron's living rodThe golden table offered to ApolloThe Magi and the StarThe Vision of Ara CoeliThe Ark of the Covenant, which, according to Exodus, contained the tablets with the Ten CommandmentsThe Virgin with the ChildThe Virgin Conquers the Devil and Instruments of the PassionNebuchadnezzar’s Dream appears in the biblical book of Daniel. The text recounts how the king of Babylon has a dream that no one is able to interpret except Daniel: "In your dream, Your Majesty, you saw a huge statue, enormous and dazzling, standing before you, and its appearance was terrifying. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth." Daniel 2Noah drunk and his sons: "Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. One day, he drank some of its wine, and he became drunk, lying uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and went outside to tell his brothers. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it across their shoulders, and walked backward to cover their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked." Genesis 9:24The philistines gouge out Samson’s eyes after Delilah’s betrayalJob tormented by SatanNebuchadnezzar’s second dream: The Great Tree: "While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed: I saw a tree in the middle of the earth. Its height was enormous. The tree grew large and strong, and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shelter under it, and the birds of the air lived in its branches; from it, every creature was fed. n my vision, I saw a holy messenger coming down from heaven. He called out loudly: ‘Cut down the tree, trim off its branches, strip off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. Let it be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let it live among the animals and plants of the earth. Let its mind be changed from that of a human to that of an animal, and let it remain that way for seven years." Daniel 4Extra-biblical narrative: Evil-Merodach dismembering the body of NebuchadnezzarEhud killing EglonDrawn from medieval bestiaries, the ostrich is said to free its offspring with the blood of a worm. This allegorical image symbolizes the Passion of Christ, where the shedding of blood brings liberation and redemption, reflecting the theological theme of sacrificial love.Judith and HolofernesJael and SiseraTomyris and CyrusThe descent into HellJonahElijah ascends to heaven in a chariot of fireThe Woman Clothed with the SunAbel-Bet-Maaca and the head of Sheba (Shéba)Hur humiliated by the HebrewsThe Virgin interceding before Christ by showing her breastA depiction of Hell A warning against idolatry. Daniel, Bel, and the Dragon of the Babylonians is a narrative found in the deuterocanonical versions of the Book of DanielThe vengeance of GideonThe punishment of the inhabitants of Rabba (Book of Samuel)The Resurrection of the DeadThe Bosom of GodThe vision of a hermit: Christ carrying the cross. A theme present in hagiographic narrativesThe deathDiabolical temptations in the face of death: Against Faith
Diabolical temptations in the face of death: Despair
Diabolical temptations in the face of death: Impatience
Diabolical temptations in the face of death: Pride
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