Survivals and Revivals of the Menorah in Medieval and Early Modern European Synagogues
-
Ilia Rodov
Abstract
The Menorah was perhaps the most distinct ancient Jewish symbol: its early depictions are found on artefacts dated to the 1st century BCE. The Menorah, often accompanied by the images of shofar, lulav, and etrog, was a ubiquitous ornament in Jewish sepulchral and synagogue art during the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods. The prevailing mark of Jewish identity during the centuries of ancient Jewish history and a common motif in the illuminations of medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Temple MenorahJerusalemSolomon’s TempleSeven-branched candelabrum had a considerably lesser impact on medieval synagogue decoration.
The Menorah’s comeback in synagogues is attested to in the early 16th-century Jewish quarter of RomeRome, a short walk from the legendary ancient Menorah relief on the Arch of TitusRomeArch of Titus. Later in Poland, images of the Menorah returned to synagogue decoration as a powerful amuletic device. Over the course of time, the Menorah became a distinctive sign of Judaism and a common decoration of synagogue arks. The MenorahJerusalemSolomon’s TempleSeven-branched candelabrum was included in sets of images of Temple implements, usually together with the Table of Showbread and altar, on either inner or outer sides of doors and on synagogue walls. As a symbol, it enhanced parallels between the synagogue and its ark and the TabernacleTabernacle in the wilderness of the Temple in JerusalemJerusalemSolomon’s Temple. This chapter explores the Menorah paintings and reliefs in medieval and early modern European synagogues.
Abstract
The Menorah was perhaps the most distinct ancient Jewish symbol: its early depictions are found on artefacts dated to the 1st century BCE. The Menorah, often accompanied by the images of shofar, lulav, and etrog, was a ubiquitous ornament in Jewish sepulchral and synagogue art during the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods. The prevailing mark of Jewish identity during the centuries of ancient Jewish history and a common motif in the illuminations of medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Temple MenorahJerusalemSolomon’s TempleSeven-branched candelabrum had a considerably lesser impact on medieval synagogue decoration.
The Menorah’s comeback in synagogues is attested to in the early 16th-century Jewish quarter of RomeRome, a short walk from the legendary ancient Menorah relief on the Arch of TitusRomeArch of Titus. Later in Poland, images of the Menorah returned to synagogue decoration as a powerful amuletic device. Over the course of time, the Menorah became a distinctive sign of Judaism and a common decoration of synagogue arks. The MenorahJerusalemSolomon’s TempleSeven-branched candelabrum was included in sets of images of Temple implements, usually together with the Table of Showbread and altar, on either inner or outer sides of doors and on synagogue walls. As a symbol, it enhanced parallels between the synagogue and its ark and the TabernacleTabernacle in the wilderness of the Temple in JerusalemJerusalemSolomon’s Temple. This chapter explores the Menorah paintings and reliefs in medieval and early modern European synagogues.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- List of Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
I. Tabernacle and Temple
- Das Schicksal des siebenarmigen Leuchters aus dem Jerusalemer Tempel im mittelalterlichen Rom 3
- Priest, Temple, Jewishness, Redemption? 37
- Articulating the geometricalia of Scripture 79
- Vasari and Giambullari on the Menorah, the Tabernacle, and Bezalel 97
- Die Menora in Raffaels Vertreibung des Heliodor und Garofalos Vertreibung der Wechsler aus dem Tempel 143
-
II. Image and Exegesis
- tres gradus fidelium in ecclesia 169
- Jewish and Christian Re-Imagining of the Seven-branched Lampstand in the Postilla litteralis of Nicholas of Lyra (d. 1349) 217
- Der siebenarmige Leuchter im Speculum humanae salvationis 243
- The Sanctuary’s Implements 271
- “A Secret Particularly Obscure” 307
-
III. Patronage and Memoria
- Aniane and Fulda 341
- Seven-branched Candelabra in Medieval England 365
- Marienwohlde oder Mölln? 415
- Siebenarmige Leuchter im 16. Jahrhundert 443
-
IV. Context and (Re-)Use
- Der siebenarmige Leuchter im Heiligtum von Mentorella (Vulturella) in Latium 475
- „Madonna del Albero, dandole tal cognome quella gran pianta“ 503
- Der siebenarmige Leuchter in der Marienkirche in Frankfurt an der Oder 543
- „den store liusestaken af bronz med dess Siu lampor“ 577
- Survivals and Revivals of the Menorah in Medieval and Early Modern European Synagogues 613
- Figures and Charts 653
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- List of Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
I. Tabernacle and Temple
- Das Schicksal des siebenarmigen Leuchters aus dem Jerusalemer Tempel im mittelalterlichen Rom 3
- Priest, Temple, Jewishness, Redemption? 37
- Articulating the geometricalia of Scripture 79
- Vasari and Giambullari on the Menorah, the Tabernacle, and Bezalel 97
- Die Menora in Raffaels Vertreibung des Heliodor und Garofalos Vertreibung der Wechsler aus dem Tempel 143
-
II. Image and Exegesis
- tres gradus fidelium in ecclesia 169
- Jewish and Christian Re-Imagining of the Seven-branched Lampstand in the Postilla litteralis of Nicholas of Lyra (d. 1349) 217
- Der siebenarmige Leuchter im Speculum humanae salvationis 243
- The Sanctuary’s Implements 271
- “A Secret Particularly Obscure” 307
-
III. Patronage and Memoria
- Aniane and Fulda 341
- Seven-branched Candelabra in Medieval England 365
- Marienwohlde oder Mölln? 415
- Siebenarmige Leuchter im 16. Jahrhundert 443
-
IV. Context and (Re-)Use
- Der siebenarmige Leuchter im Heiligtum von Mentorella (Vulturella) in Latium 475
- „Madonna del Albero, dandole tal cognome quella gran pianta“ 503
- Der siebenarmige Leuchter in der Marienkirche in Frankfurt an der Oder 543
- „den store liusestaken af bronz med dess Siu lampor“ 577
- Survivals and Revivals of the Menorah in Medieval and Early Modern European Synagogues 613
- Figures and Charts 653
