Synopses & Reviews
Pontius Pilate is one of the Bible's best-known villains--but up until the tenth century, artistic imagery appears to have consistently portrayed him as a benevolent Christian and holy symbol of baptism. For the first time, Pontius Pilate, Anti-Semitism, and the Passion in Medieval Art provides a complete look at the shifting visual and textual representations of Pilate throughout early Christian and medieval art. Colum Hourihane examines neglected and sometimes sympathetic portrayals, and shows how negative characterizations of Pilate, which were developed for political and religious purposes, reveal the anti-Semitism of the medieval period.
Hourihane indicates that in some artistic renderings, Pilate may have been a symbol of good, and in many, a figure of jurisprudence. Eastern traditions treated Pilate as a saint with his own feast day, but Western accounts from the tenth century changed him from a Roman to a Jew. Pilate became a vessel for anti-Semitism--his image acquired grotesque facial and physical characteristics, and his role in Christ's Passion grew to mythic proportions. By the fifteenth century, however, representations of Pilate came full circle to depict an aged and empathetic administrator.
Combining a wealth of previously unpublished sources with explorations of art historical developments, Pontius Pilate, Anti-Semitism, and the Passion in Medieval Art puts forth for the first time an encyclopedic portrait of a complex legend.
Review
I have to admit to being delighted by this latest offering from the director of the Index of Christian Art at Princeton. The path along which Colum Hourihane leads us is copiously illustrated . . . and accompanied by scrupulously detailed notes. -- Christopher Colven, Art Newspaper The book . . . is splendidly produced and illustrated. -- Choice Pontius Pilate, Anti-Semitism, and the Passion in Medieval Art is likely to stimulate discussion . . . for some time to come, so broad is its reach and bounteous its sources. It is a significant accomplishment to begin to bring order to this enormous mass of material; that Hourihane has also produced such a wide-ranging and beautifully illustrated volume is cause for considerable gratitude. -- Sarah Lipton, Medieval Review There is much here to interest the art historian, the medievalist, the church historian, the researcher in the history of anti-Semitism, and the student of the development and transmission of myths and legends. -- Sarah Lawson, Art Book Hourihane has given an admirable, thorough and balanced account of the representation of this enigmatic man, and his book is beautifully produced. -- Paul Binski, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Review
"I have to admit to being delighted by this latest offering from the director of the Index of Christian Art at Princeton. The path along which Colum Hourihane leads us is copiously illustrated . . . and accompanied by scrupulously detailed notes."--Christopher Colven, Art Newspaper
Review
"The book . . . is splendidly produced and illustrated."--Choice
Review
"Pontius Pilate, Anti-Semitism, and the Passion in Medieval Art is likely to stimulate discussion . . . for some time to come, so broad is its reach and bounteous its sources. It is a significant accomplishment to begin to bring order to this enormous mass of material; that Hourihane has also produced such a wide-ranging and beautifully illustrated volume is cause for considerable gratitude."--Sarah Lipton, Medieval Review
Review
"There is much here to interest the art historian, the medievalist, the church historian, the researcher in the history of anti-Semitism, and the student of the development and transmission of myths and legends."--Sarah Lawson, Art Book
Review
"Hourihane has given an admirable, thorough and balanced account of the representation of this enigmatic man, and his book is beautifully produced."--Paul Binski, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Review
"[T]his book is a multifaceted treatment of the iconography of Pontius Pilate and provides a useful compilation of textual and visual representations of his role in the Passion."--Vivian B. Mann, Speculuma Journal of Medieval Studies
Review
The book . . . is splendidly produced and illustrated. Art Newspaper
Synopsis
"This textual and visual barometer of Pontius Pilate reveals a highly complex picture of a mysterious figure. The chronological span of the book is breathtaking."
--Dorothy Verkerk, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill"The figure of Pilate has long fascinated the public. The book discusses the historical and traditional textual presentations of Pilate, and includes art from Christian antiquity through to the end of the Middle Ages. The scholarship is sound and extensive."--Robin M. Jensen, Vanderbilt University
"This is a major contribution to the growing examinations of anti-Jewish representations in medieval and early modern art and literature. The author's lively and engaging consideration of the sources, both pictorial and literary, is careful and thorough."--Debra Higgs Strickland, University of Glasgow
Synopsis
Pontius Pilate is one of the Bible's best-known villains--but up until the tenth century, artistic imagery appears to have consistently portrayed him as a benevolent Christian and holy symbol of baptism. For the first time,
Pontius Pilate, Anti-Semitism, and the Passion in Medieval Art provides a complete look at the shifting visual and textual representations of Pilate throughout early Christian and medieval art. Colum Hourihane examines neglected and sometimes sympathetic portrayals, and shows how negative characterizations of Pilate, which were developed for political and religious purposes, reveal the anti-Semitism of the medieval period.
Hourihane indicates that in some artistic renderings, Pilate may have been a symbol of good, and in many, a figure of jurisprudence. Eastern traditions treated Pilate as a saint with his own feast day, but Western accounts from the tenth century changed him from a Roman to a Jew. Pilate became a vessel for anti-Semitism--his image acquired grotesque facial and physical characteristics, and his role in Christ's Passion grew to mythic proportions. By the fifteenth century, however, representations of Pilate came full circle to depict an aged and empathetic administrator.
Combining a wealth of previously unpublished sources with explorations of art historical developments, Pontius Pilate, Anti-Semitism, and the Passion in Medieval Art puts forth for the first time an encyclopedic portrait of a complex legend.
Synopsis
"This textual and visual barometer of Pontius Pilate reveals a highly complex picture of a mysterious figure. The chronological span of the book is breathtaking."--Dorothy Verkerk, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
"The figure of Pilate has long fascinated the public. The book discusses the historical and traditional textual presentations of Pilate, and includes art from Christian antiquity through to the end of the Middle Ages. The scholarship is sound and extensive."--Robin M. Jensen, Vanderbilt University
"This is a major contribution to the growing examinations of anti-Jewish representations in medieval and early modern art and literature. The author's lively and engaging consideration of the sources, both pictorial and literary, is careful and thorough."--Debra Higgs Strickland, University of Glasgow
Synopsis
Pontius Pilate is one of the Bible's best-known villains--but up until the tenth century, artistic imagery appears to have consistently portrayed him as a benevolent Christian and holy symbol of baptism. For the first time,
Pontius Pilate, Anti-Semitism, and the Passion in Medieval Art provides a complete look at the shifting visual and textual representations of Pilate throughout early Christian and medieval art. Colum Hourihane examines neglected and sometimes sympathetic portrayals, and shows how negative characterizations of Pilate, which were developed for political and religious purposes, reveal the anti-Semitism of the medieval period.
Hourihane indicates that in some artistic renderings, Pilate may have been a symbol of good, and in many, a figure of jurisprudence. Eastern traditions treated Pilate as a saint with his own feast day, but Western accounts from the tenth century changed him from a Roman to a Jew. Pilate became a vessel for anti-Semitism--his image acquired grotesque facial and physical characteristics, and his role in Christ's Passion grew to mythic proportions. By the fifteenth century, however, representations of Pilate came full circle to depict an aged and empathetic administrator.
Combining a wealth of previously unpublished sources with explorations of art historical developments, Pontius Pilate, Anti-Semitism, and the Passion in Medieval Art puts forth for the first time an encyclopedic portrait of a complex legend.
Synopsis
"This textual and visual barometer of Pontius Pilate reveals a highly complex picture of a mysterious figure. The chronological span of the book is breathtaking."--Dorothy Verkerk, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
"The figure of Pilate has long fascinated the public. The book discusses the historical and traditional textual presentations of Pilate, and includes art from Christian antiquity through to the end of the Middle Ages. The scholarship is sound and extensive."--Robin M. Jensen, Vanderbilt University
"This is a major contribution to the growing examinations of anti-Jewish representations in medieval and early modern art and literature. The author's lively and engaging consideration of the sources, both pictorial and literary, is careful and thorough."--Debra Higgs Strickland, University of Glasgow
About the Author
Colum Hourihane is director of the Index of Christian Art in the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University. His books include "Gothic Art in Ireland, 1169-1550" and "The Processional Cross in Late Medieval England".
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: T he Historical Background
and the Role of the Prefect 6
Chapter 2: Primary Sources for the Study of Pilate 13
Philo of Alexandria 13
Josephus 16
The Bible 22
The Talmud and Midrash 23
Apocryphal Material 25
Chapter 3: E arly Christian Writings
and Archaeological Evidence 38
Literary Evidence 38
Archaeological Evidence 40
Chapter 4: P ilate as a Sy mbol of the Law 44
Chapter 5: P ilate in Early Christian Art
and Thought 52
The Washing of the Hands 68
Pilate and the Waters of Baptism 72
Pilate, the Christian 80
Conclusions 82
Chapter 6: P ilate and the Passion Sequence: The Sixth to the Eleventh Century 84
Ivories 86
Frescoes 93
Manuscripts 94
The Psalms and Pilate 104
Sculpture 111
Pilate's Wife 126
Chapter 7: T he Jewish Beginnings: Characterization in the Eleventh Century 143
Pilate as a Jew 146
The Praetorium 153
Chapter 8: T he Legal Perspective:
The Tw elfth Century 171
Pilate: The Jew and Disputational Literature 181
Identifying Separation 190
Extending His Involvement 199
Pilate and the Titulus 201
Joseph of Arimathea before Pilate 204
Pilate Asked to Guard the Sepulcher 208
Barabbas Released 21
The Legends 214
Strong or Weak and Guilt 215
Ecce Homo 220
Chapter 9: P ilate in the Expansion of the Passion:
The Thirteenth Century 227
Extending the Repertoire 238
Bible moralisée 245
The Trials 255
The Interrogation before Annas 259
The Trial before Caiaphas 263
The Trial before Herod Antipas 271
The Flagellation 272
Pilate and the Fate of the Jews 289
The Revisionist Image 293\
Chapter 10: T he Established Image in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries 296
Popularization 307
Manuscripts, Books, and Prints 308
Pilate and Judas 324
Panel Paintings 328
Pilate as an Instrument of the Passion 346
An Aged Man 349
Pilate and the Symbol of the Dog 357
Pilate's Textual and Visual Characterization 363
Conclusions 371
Appendix A: Images of Pilate in Early Christian and Late Antique Art 375
Appendix B: The Holy Resurrection 383
Notes 391
Index 451
Photography Credits 463
Contents YU ix