“And You Shall Tell Your Son on this Day”: Visual Didactics in Medieval Illustrated Haggadot
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Katrin Kogman-Appel
Abstract
The present paper addresses the visual strategies of the illustration cycles in several medieval Passover haggadot from Central Europe. The haggadah, the text recited at the seder, the ritual meal that commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, is not just a liturgical book, but is rather a multilayered object that accompanies the readers/viewers during their participation in the ceremony. It guides them through the steps of the ritual meal, explaining the meaning of the prescribed foodstuff. Apart from commemorating the biblical events of liberation by means of the ritual meal, one is obligated to retell the story in order to teach it and to pass it on to future generations. Herein I analyze three different visual strategies employed by medieval illuminators in designing their image cycles: the use of visual markers that indicate particular moments during the ceremony and specific actions to be performed; illustrations that add an instructive dimension to the basic visual information; and elaborate narrative pictorials that underscore the act of retelling the biblical story.
Abstract
The present paper addresses the visual strategies of the illustration cycles in several medieval Passover haggadot from Central Europe. The haggadah, the text recited at the seder, the ritual meal that commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, is not just a liturgical book, but is rather a multilayered object that accompanies the readers/viewers during their participation in the ceremony. It guides them through the steps of the ritual meal, explaining the meaning of the prescribed foodstuff. Apart from commemorating the biblical events of liberation by means of the ritual meal, one is obligated to retell the story in order to teach it and to pass it on to future generations. Herein I analyze three different visual strategies employed by medieval illuminators in designing their image cycles: the use of visual markers that indicate particular moments during the ceremony and specific actions to be performed; illustrations that add an instructive dimension to the basic visual information; and elaborate narrative pictorials that underscore the act of retelling the biblical story.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Vorwort V
- Inhaltsverzeichnis VII
- Prodesse et delectare – An Introduction 1
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Sektion 1: Wissen und Macht / Knowledge and Power
- The Knowledge of Knights and Power of Kings in Twelfth Century England 15
- Secret Knowledge for Political and Social Harmony. The ‘Secretum secretorum’ between the Middle East and Europe 39
- A ‘Mirror of the Gentry’: Vernacular Versions of the ‘Secretum Secretorum’ in Medieval Wales and England 57
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Sektion 2: Performanz und Bildhaftigkeit / Performativity and Imagery
- Performing Didacticism in Early Middle High German Poetry, Poet, Audience and Creed in Armer Hartmann’s ‘Rede von deme heiligen gelouben 85
- Probleme der Bilderkennung und des Text-Bild-Verhältnisses am Beispiel des ‚Welschen Gastes‘ Thomasins von Zerclaere 102
- “And You Shall Tell Your Son on this Day”: Visual Didactics in Medieval Illustrated Haggadot 138
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Sektion 3: Formen und Funktionen/ Forms and Functions
- Fragments of Didacticism: The Early Middle High German ‘Rittersitte’ and ‘Der heimliche Bote’ 177
- Insegnare in versi nell’Italia settentrionale 210
- Darf man einen gesunden Zahn ziehen? Ein juristisches Lehrgedicht des Simon von Couvin (ca. 1325–1367) 233
- Quotation, Form, and Didacticism: The ‘Breviari d’Amor’, ‘Der Renner’, and the ‘Vita nova’ 261
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Sektion 4: Modelle and Rezeption / Models and Reception
- ‘Recognitions’ as a Scientific Text: Spanish and Italian Readers in the High Middle Ages 285
- Poeta doctus / poeta doctor: Didaxe und Eros in CB 88 306
- Il ‘De conflictu vitiorum et virtutum’ di Giovanni Genesio Quaglia. Una psicomachia del Trecento e le sue fonti 336
- Una bella roba. Novellare als neues Erzählkonzept in Boccaccios ‚Decameron‘ 355
- Die Aufwertung der alten germanischen Heldenepik im 16. Jahrhundert zwischen delectare und prodesse am Beispiel des ‚Liedes vom Hürnen Seyfried‘ 389
- Authors and Works 401
- Manuscripts 405
- People and Places 407
- Autorenverzeichnis 411
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Vorwort V
- Inhaltsverzeichnis VII
- Prodesse et delectare – An Introduction 1
-
Sektion 1: Wissen und Macht / Knowledge and Power
- The Knowledge of Knights and Power of Kings in Twelfth Century England 15
- Secret Knowledge for Political and Social Harmony. The ‘Secretum secretorum’ between the Middle East and Europe 39
- A ‘Mirror of the Gentry’: Vernacular Versions of the ‘Secretum Secretorum’ in Medieval Wales and England 57
-
Sektion 2: Performanz und Bildhaftigkeit / Performativity and Imagery
- Performing Didacticism in Early Middle High German Poetry, Poet, Audience and Creed in Armer Hartmann’s ‘Rede von deme heiligen gelouben 85
- Probleme der Bilderkennung und des Text-Bild-Verhältnisses am Beispiel des ‚Welschen Gastes‘ Thomasins von Zerclaere 102
- “And You Shall Tell Your Son on this Day”: Visual Didactics in Medieval Illustrated Haggadot 138
-
Sektion 3: Formen und Funktionen/ Forms and Functions
- Fragments of Didacticism: The Early Middle High German ‘Rittersitte’ and ‘Der heimliche Bote’ 177
- Insegnare in versi nell’Italia settentrionale 210
- Darf man einen gesunden Zahn ziehen? Ein juristisches Lehrgedicht des Simon von Couvin (ca. 1325–1367) 233
- Quotation, Form, and Didacticism: The ‘Breviari d’Amor’, ‘Der Renner’, and the ‘Vita nova’ 261
-
Sektion 4: Modelle and Rezeption / Models and Reception
- ‘Recognitions’ as a Scientific Text: Spanish and Italian Readers in the High Middle Ages 285
- Poeta doctus / poeta doctor: Didaxe und Eros in CB 88 306
- Il ‘De conflictu vitiorum et virtutum’ di Giovanni Genesio Quaglia. Una psicomachia del Trecento e le sue fonti 336
- Una bella roba. Novellare als neues Erzählkonzept in Boccaccios ‚Decameron‘ 355
- Die Aufwertung der alten germanischen Heldenepik im 16. Jahrhundert zwischen delectare und prodesse am Beispiel des ‚Liedes vom Hürnen Seyfried‘ 389
- Authors and Works 401
- Manuscripts 405
- People and Places 407
- Autorenverzeichnis 411
