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ALLEGORICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE
SYNAGOGUE IN A TWELFTH CENTURY
ILLUMINATED MS. OF HILDEGARD OF
BINGEN
By Charles Singer, Oxford.
The general subject of the representation of the
Synagogue in mediaeval art has been well reviewed by
Hildenfinger,^ and by Cahier and Martin.^ In the following
pages we propose only to discuss certain miniatures and
the accompanying text of a particular manuscript which has
not been previously explored from this standpoint. We
may begin our review by placing the reader in possession
of a few facts concerning the authoress of the work.
Hildegard was born at Bockelheim in 1099, and died
at Rupertsberg, opposite Bingen, in 11 80. At the age of
eight she was placed in the hands of Jutta, a female recluse
who had taken up her dwelling on the Mount of St. Disibode,
a few miles from Bingen and on the banks of the Nahe.
Jutta gradually collected around her a number of other
pious women, and thus formed a nunnery under the Bene-
dictine rule. On the death of Jutta in 11 36, Hildegard
took the office of prioress, but in 1147 she and some of
her nuns migrated down the Nahe to Rupertsberg, where
a second convent was established.
Hildegard was a woman of extraordinarily strong and
^ P. Hildenfinger, ' La Figure de la Synagogue dans Part du moyen age, *
Revue des Etudes Juives^ XLVU, 187.
2 C. Cahier and A. Martin in Melanges d^ Archeologte, d'^Histoire et de
Litterature . . . sur . . , moyen age, vol. II, Paris, 1 851, pp. 50-9, and also
Monographie de la CathSdrale de Bourges, Paris, 1841-44.
VOL. V. 267 T
268 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
original character. The freedom and the terms with which
she denounced the great ones of the earth, even the
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa himself, as well as the
character of some of her visions, and much of the setting
of her life, recall the Hebrew prophets. Typical is her last
public act. Having allowed burial in her own convent
cemetery to a youth whose stormy life had ended in
what she regarded as reconciliation with the Church,
Hildegard defied Pope and Bishops, and incurred for many
months the ban of the Church rather than allow the
desecration of the grave, or admit either the youth's death
in sin or her own error.
Hildegard is distinguished in the field of science by
common sense, and a respect for what in modern parlance
we should term ' hygiene '. Her Physica comprises a collec-
tion of the scanty scientific knowledge of the twelfth century,
and is of special medical interest as containing a description
of the nature and uses of herbs. The Liber Simplicis
Hominis contains scattered throughout its chapters valuable
glimpses of physiological conceptions prevalent in Germany
at the period. Another work, the De Causis et Curis
Morborum^ to which her name is attached, appears to us
to be spurious, and probably collected early in the thir-
teenth century. In the domain of art she also claims a
place, especially by her church music and by her mystery
play. But the chief interest in Hildegard will always centre
round her visions, mainly embodied in two long works, the
Liber Divinorum Operum Simplicis Hominis, dnid above all in
the Scivias, a name interpreted by her as Scite vias Domini.
The faith and creed of Hildegard were naturally those
of a pious churchwoman of her age. But the especial and
personal character of her religion was expressed in her
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 269
visions. The general background of these visions is clearly
borrowed from Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the Apocalypse, and
indeed with that latter work they have much in common
both in form and feeling. Hildegard's writings contain
many beautiful and moving passages, and it is unfortunate
for the purpose of this essay that the literary value of those
sections with which we are here concerned is comparatively
small.^
The Wiesbaden MS.
Manuscripts of Hildegard's various works are numerous,
but the most interesting is perhaps the magnificently
illuminated Parchment of the Scivias, which now reposes
in the Nassauische Landesbibliothek at Wiesbaden. This
beautiful volume of 235 folios contains numerous miniatures
of the highest interest for the history of twelfth-century
art. These have been recently studied by the late Dom
Louis Baillet,^ of the Benedictine monastery of Osterhoot,
and to his courtesy and learning the present writer owes
a debt of gratitude. Baillet, after prolonged study, came
to the conclusion that the manuscript was written in or
near Bingen in the twelfth century, and probably towards
the end of that period. Its miniatures help the reader
greatly in the interpretation of the visions, and illustrate
3 A large and tedious literature has arisen around Hildegard and her
works. The best recent lives of her are by Joseph May, Miinchen, 191 1,
and J. P. Schmelzeis, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1879. No critical edition of
her writings has appeared. Many of her works, edited however mainly
from inferior MSS., are to be found in vol. 197 of J. P. Migne's Patrologia
Latina. A selection of her miscellaneous writings has been well edited
by Cardinal J. B. Pitra in his Analeda Hildegardis Opera^ Rome, 1882. A
Bibliography, fairly complete up to its date, has been provided by A. von
der Linde in his Katalog der Wiesbadener Handschriften^ Wiesbaden, 1877.
* Louis Baillet, * Les Miniatures du Scivias de Sainte Hildegarde ', in the
Monuments et Memoires publies par V Academic des Inscriptions et BelleS'
LetireSj tome XIX, Paris, 1912.
T 2,
270 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
them often in the minutest and most unexpected details.
In view of this and of the extreme difficulty of under-
standing many of the visions without these illustrations,
the f)resent writer has little doubt that this particular
manuscript was supervised by Hildegard herself. As
she originally set down the Scivias in 1141, there would
have been plenty of time for the preparation of this
remarkable manuscript before her death in 11 80. There
are illuminations accompanying all the visions, and at least
three of them bear on our subject.
Hildegard herself could not fail to have been well
acquainted with the Jews. Benjamin of Tudela, who visited
Bingen between the years 11 60 and 11 73, and therefore
during Hildegard's residence there, tells us that a congre-
gation existed in the town at that time. Benjamin's visit,
indeed, may well have taken place while our manuscript
was actually in preparation. The Vision of the Synagogue
is thus presumably in some degree a polemic against the
local Jewish community.
The Vision of the Synagogue (see Fig. i)
In the various printed editions of the Scivias the text
of this vision is exceedingly corrupt. We therefore give
here the text in full, opening out the contractions but
otherwise transcribing it :
I. De Synagoga matre incar- (fol. ^^ r.)
nationis DOMINI, filii del
II. Verba salemonis.
III. Verba Ysaiae prophetae.
IV. De diuerso colore Synagoge.
V. de cecitate eius et quod in
corde abraham, in pectore
'-'C CIV : _ qucnitn
ccrdc u\hvAl\m\ m pcchnc
mov$a^ Tnumn-f ctufrrii
' m^u^u ur TTifTtf Ki
: H n r arcuUtm i n ai prte $\
FIG. I. THE VISION OF THE SYNAGOGUE
270
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 271
Moyses. in uentre eius reli-
qui prophetae. quod significet.
VI. Quod magna ut turris. ha-
bens circulum in capite, si-
milem aurorae.
VII. Uerba ezechielis. Item
VIII. Comparatio de samsone, et de
saul et de dauid ad eandem
Quinta Visio Prime (fol. 35 v., col. a)
partis Incipit.
POST HAEC
uidi uelut quan-
dam muliebrem
imaginem, a uer-
tice usque ad umbili-
cum pallidam, et ab
umbilico usque ad pedes
nigram, et in pedibus san-
guineam, circa pedes
suos candidissimam et pu-
rissimam nubem habentem.
Oculos autem non habebat.
manus uero suas sub ascellas
suas posuerat. stans iuxta al-
tare quod est ante oculos dei :
sed ipsum non tangebat. Et in cor-
de ipsius stabat abraham, et in pe-
ctore eius Moyses. Ac in uentre ip-
sius reliqui prophetae. singuli signa su-
a demonstrantes. et pulchritudinem
Ecclesiae ammirantes. Ipsa uero tante
magnitudinis apparuit. uelut ali-
272 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
qua turns alicuius ciuitatis est : ha-
bens in capite suo quasi circulum si-
milem aurorae. Audivique iterum uo-
cem de celo dicentem michi. Antique
populo austeritatem legis deus imposuit
cum habrahe circumcisionem indi-
xit. quam postea in gratiam suaui- (fol. 35 v., col. b)
tatis conuertit per filium suum
ueritatem evangelii credentibus de-
dit : ubi lugo legis sauciatos. oleo
misericordiae delinivit. De Sinagoga
matre incarnationis filii dei
I. Quapropter uides uelut quandam
muliebrem imaginem a uer-
tice usque ad umbili-
cum pallidam : quae est Synagoga ma-
ter incarnationis filii dei existens.
et ab initio surgentium filiorum suorum
usque ad fortitudinem eorum secreta dei in
obumbratione praeuidens. sed ea non pie-
niter aperiens. ilia autem rutilans
aurora que aperte loquitur non existens,
sed earn in multa ammiratione a lon-
ge intuens. et sic in canticis canticorum
de ipsa dicens. Verba Salemonis
II. Que est ista quae ascendit per deser-
tum deliciis affluens, et innixa
super dilectum suum. Quod
dicitur. Quae est hec noua nupta, que
in plurimis bonis operibus se eleuat per
deserta paganorum, legalia praecepta sapi-
entiae dei deserentium. et idola ado-
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 273
rantium, ascendens ad superna desi-
deria deliciis donorum spiritus sancti habun-
dans, ac sic studio anhelans et
se ponens supra sponsum suum, scilicet fi-
lium dei. Haec enim est quae a filio dei
dotata. in praeclaris uirtutibus iuget. (fol. 36 r., col. a)
et in riuulis scriptorum habundat :
Sed et eadem Synagoga, de filiis eius-
dem nouae sponsae per multam ammi-
rationem in seruo meo Ysaia propheta.
Isyas sic dicit. Verba Isaie prophet ae.
III. Qui sunt hi ut nubes uo-
lant, et quasi columbae ad fene-
stras suas. Quod dicitur.
Qui sunt isti qui in mentibus suis se abstrahen-
tes de terrenis ac carnalibus concu-
piscentiis. pleno desiderio et plena
deuotione ad superna uolant. et co-
lumbina simplicitate absque amari-
tudine fellis. sensus corporis sui mu-
niunt et munimentum firmissime
petrae quae unigenitus dei est. multo
ardore bonarum uirtutum appetuntur.
Hii enim sunt, qui propter supernum amo-
rem terrena regna conculcant. et cele-
stia querunt. Hec Synagoga ammi-
rabatur de Ecclesia, quoniam se his uirtuti-
bus ita munitata (?) non cognouit sicut
illam praeuidit. quia Ecclesia angelicis
praesidiis circumdata est ne earn diabo-
lus dilaniet et deiciat. cum Synago-
ga adeo deserta in uiciis iaceat.
274 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
IV. de diuerso colore Sinagoge.
Quapropter uides etiam ipsam ab
umbilico usque ad pedes nigram
quod est a fortitudine (fol. 361'., col. b)
suae dilatationis usque ad consummati-
onem suae extensionis in praeuaricatio-
ne legis et in transgressione testamen-
ti patrum suorum sordidam : quia mul-
tis modis divina praecepta neglexit, et
voluptatem carnis suae secuta est. Et in
pedibus sanguinea, circa pedes suos
candidissimam et purissimam nubem
habet. quoniam in consummatione sua
prophetam prophetarum occidit, ubi et ipsa
lapsa corruit. in eadem tamen consum-
matione lucidissima et perspicacissima
fide in mentibus credentium surgente :
quia ubi sinagoga consummationem
accepit. Ecclesia surrexit : cum apostolica
doctrina post mortem filii dei se per
totum orbem terrarum dilatauit. De
Cecitate eitis qui quod in corde eius abra-
ham. in pectore moises, in tmitre eius
reliqui prophet ae quod significent,
V. Sed eadem imago oculos non habet.
manus uero suas sub ascellas su-
as ponit. quia sinagoga in veram lucem
non aspexit cum unigenitum dei in despe-
ctu habuit. unde et opera iusticiae sub te-
dio pigriciae suae torporem a se non proici-
ens tegit. sed ea velut non sint negligenter
abscondit : stans juxta altare quod est
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 275
ante oculos dei, sed ipsum non tangit. quoniam le-
gem del quam divino praecepto. et divina
inspectione accepit. exterius quidem (fol. ^6 v.,
nouit. sed earn interius non tetigit. quia col. a)
earn potius abhorruit quam dilige-
ret. sacrificia et incensum devotarum
orationum deo offerre negligens. Sed
in corde ipsius stat abraham. quoniam ini-
cium circumcisionis in sinagoga ips-
se fuit : et in pectore eius moyses.
quia in praecordia hominum divinam le£;-em
tile attulit. ac in uentre ipsius reliqui
prophetae. id est in institucione ilia quae
ipsi diuinitus tradita fuerat. inspec-
tores diuinorum praeceptorum singuli sig-
na sua demonstrantes et pulchritudi-
nem Ecclesiae amirantes. quoniam ipsi mi-
racula prophetiae suae in mirabilibus sig-
nis ostenderunt. et speciositatem gene-
rositatis nouae sponsae in multa ammi-
ratione attendunt. Qtiod magna
ut ttirris. habens circidtim in capite.
Ipsa uero tantae similem anrore, VI.
magnitudinis apparet. uelut aliqua
turns alicuius ciuitatis est : quia ma-
gnitudinem diuinorum praeceptorum sus-
cipiens. municionem et defensionem
nobilis et electae ciuitatis pronunciauit
quasi
habens in capite suo circulum similem
aurore. quia etiam in ortu suo mi-
raculum incarnationis unigeniti dei
persignauit et claras uirtutes ac mi-
276 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
steria que secuntur praemonstrauit.
Nam Ipsa uelut in primo mane coro- (fol. ^6 v.,
nata fuit. cum diuina praecepta acce- col. b)
pit ! designans adam qui primum
uissionem dei percepit. sed postea in trans-
gressione sua in mortem cecidit. Sic
et iudei fecerunt. qui divinam legem
primitus susceperunt. sed deinde fili-
um dei in incredulitate sua abiece-
runt. Sed et sicut homo per mortem uni-
geniti dei circa nouissimum tempus de
perditione mortis ereptus est. * ita et Sy-
nagoga ante nouissimum tempus de
perdicione mortis ereptus est.* ita et si-
nagoga ante nouissimum diem per di-
uinam clementiam exercitata. incre-
dulitatem deferet. et ad cognitionem
dei ueraciter perueniet Quid est hoc ?
Nonne aurora ante solem ascendit ?
Sed aurora recidit. et claritas solis per-
manet. Quid est hoc? Uetus testamen-
tum recessit. et ueritas euuangelium per-
manet. quia quae antiqui in legali-
bus obseruationibus carnaliter obser-
uabant. Haec nouus populus in nouo te-
stamento spiritaliter exercet. quoniam
quod illi in carne ostenderunt. hoc
isti in spiritu perficiunt. Nam circumcisio
non periit. quia inbaptismum transla-
ta est. quoniam ut illi in uno membro sig-
*-* In ]y[s. this passage is lined through.
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 277
nati sunt, sic et isti in omnibus membris
suis. Unde antiqua praecepta non perie-
runt. quia in meliorem statum trans-
lata sunt, cum etiam in nouissi- (fol. 37 r.. col. a)
mo tempore, sinagoga ad Ecclesiam
se fideliter transferret. Nam o Sy-
nagoga cum in multis iniquitatibus
errares. ita quod cum baal et cum ce-
teris his similibus te poUueres. con-
suetudinem legis turpissimis mori-
bus scindens et nuda in peccatis tuis
iacens ! feci ut ezecbiel seruus meus
loquitur dicens. Verba ezechielis
EXPANDI amictum meum super VII.
te. et operui ignominiam tuam :
et iuravi tibi. et ingressus sum
pactum tecum. Quod dicitur. Ego.
filius altissimi, in uoluntate patris
mei extendi incarnationem meam.
o sinagoga super te. id est pro salute tu-
a, auferens peccata tua, que in mul-
tis obliuionibus operata es. et firmaui
tibi remedium saluationis. ita quod
itinera federis mei ad salutem tuam
manifestaui cum ueram fidem per
apostolicam doctrinam tibi aperui qua-
tenus (?) praecepta mea obseruares. uelut
mulier potestati mariti sui subiace-
re debet. Nam asperitatem exterio-
ris legis a te abstuli, et suauitatem
spiritualis doctrinae tibi dedi. ac
omnia Hysteria mea in spiritualibiis
278 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
doctrinis per metipsum tibi
ostendi. Sed tu me iustum deseruisti.
et diabolo te iunxisti. Comparatur (fol. 37 r., col. b)
de Samsone. et de Saul, et
de Dmdd, ad eandem rem,
Sed tu o homo intellige. scili-
cet ut samsonem uxor ipsius
deseruit, ita quod lumine suo priua-
tus est : sic et sinagoga filium dei dese-
ruit cum eum obdurata spreuit. et cum
doctrinam illius abiecit. Sed postquam
deinde capilli eius iam renati sunt
ita quod ecclesia dei confortata est.
idem filius dei in fortitudine sua
Synagogam deiecit. et natos illius ex-
heredauit. cum etiam per paganos
deum ignorantes. in zelo dei contriti
sunt. Ipsa enim multis erroribus to-
cius confusionis et scismatis se subie-
cerat. et cum preuaricationibus tocius
iniquitatis se poUuerat. Sed etiam quem-
admodum dauid uxorem suam quam
sibi primitus desponsauerat. et quae cum
alio uiro se polluerat tandem reuoca-
uit. ita etiam et filius dei Synagogam
que sibi primum in incarnatione sua
conuincta erat. sed gratiam baptismi
deserens diabolum secuta fuerat.
tandem circa nouissimum tempus
recipiet : ubi ipsa errores infideli-
tatis suae deferens, ad lumen veri-
tatis redibit. Nam diabolus Syna-
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 279
gogam in cecitate illius rapuerat (fol. '^'^ v., col. a)
et earn infidelitatem in multis erroribus
tradiderat : nee hoc usque ad filiam perdi-
cionis facere cessabit. qui dum in ex-
altatione superbiae suae ceciderit velut
saul in monte gelboe interfectus ex-
spirauit. qui dauid de terra sua fuga-
uerat. sicut etiam filius iniquitatis
filium meum in electis suis Expellere
tentabit. tunc idem filius meus an-
ticristo deiecto. Synagogam ad ueram
fidem reuocabit. sicut et dauid pri-
mam uxorem suam post mortem saulis
recepit : Cum in nouissimo tempore
homines ilium per quern decepti fue-
rant, uictum uiderint. et ad uiam
salutis cum multa festinatione re-
current. Non autem decuit ut ue-
ritas euangelii umbram legis praenun-
ciaret. quoniam decet ut carnalia praecurrant
et spiritalia subsequantur. quia etiam
seruus dominum suum uenturum praedi-
cit. et non dominus seruum in seruicio prae-
currit. Ita et sinagoga in umbra sig-
nificationis praecucurrit. et Ecclesia in lu-
mine ueritatis subsecuta est. Unde
quicumque scientiam in spiritu sancto et pen-
nas in fide habet. iste admonitio-
nem meam non transcendat. Sed earn
in gustu animae suae amplectendo
percipiat.
28o the jewish quarterly review
Translation of the Vision of the Synagogue
* I saw the appearance of a woman, light in colour from
the head to the lap and black from the lap downward, but
her feet were bloodstained, and a brilliant shining cloud
was round about them. She was sightless, and her hands
were folded under her armpits. And she stood hard by
the altar which is before the eyes of God, yet she touched
it not. In her heart stood Abraham, and in her bosom
Moses, and in her belly were the other prophets, bearing
each his own emblem, and all adoring the beauty of the
Church. She appeared tall as a citadel, and round her
head a wreath like to the dawn.
And I heard a voice from heaven speaking to me,
saying : God placed the burden of His law on His ancient
people when He ordained the circumcision unto Abraham,
but in after days by the grace of His mercy He changed
this when, through His son, He gave the truth of His gospel
to those who believed on Him. Thus did He anoint with
the oil of His mercy the chafing wounds caused by the
yoke of His law.
(i) Concerning the Synagogue as mother of the Son of
God in the flesh.
This figure which thou seest as a woman, pale from
head to lap, is the Synagogue, the true mother of the
incarnate Son of God, And from the first when her sons
arose with such strength as was in them, she hath seen
the secrets of God, but darkly and not in their fullness.
Yet is she not that rosy dawn which was clearly prophesied,
but she perceiveth it from afar. With great wonder she
speaketh thus of herself in the Song of Songs : [8. 5]
{2f) " Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 281
overflowing with delights and leaning on her beloved."
It is this new bride who raiseth herself by the multitude
of her good works in the desert of unbelief, where men
desiring laws rather than God's wisdom, do but worship
idols. But, rising to noble desire, and overflowing with the
joys of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and filled with zeal,
she leaneth on her spouse, the Son of God. For she is
His portion, and she is joined to Him in shining virtues,
and she overfloweth with the rich springs of the Word.
(3) And in great wonder concerning the offspring of
that union, the Synagogue speaketh thus by the mouth of
Isaiah, my servant (Isa. 60. 8) : " Who are these that fly as
a cloud and as a dove to their windows.'' Who are those,
that is, who abandoning earthly thoughts and carnal desires
turn their whole yearning and devotion to heaven, and with
the simplicity of doves and with no earthly bitterness they
seek the fortress of the true rock, the only begotten Son,
and aspire to good deeds with burning ardour. These are
they who despise the kingdom of this world because of
their love for the heavenly.
This Synagogue marvelleth concerning the Church thus
armed with virtues, and findeth her not as she had foreseen.
For the church is girt by guardian angels lest the devil
injure her or cast her down, while the Synagogue lieth in
sin, forsaken of God.
(4) Of the varied colour of the Synagogue.
She is black from lap to feet. This implieth that she
is defiled in all her wide borders by her violation of the
law and her transgression of the testament of her fathers,
for she neglected the divine precepts to follow after the
lusts of the flesh.
There is blood about her feet, yet are they surrounded
282 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
by a most pure and shining cloud. This is because in her
consummation she slew the prophet of prophets, and with
that crime she fell. But in that very act did the true faith
arise in the souls of those who believed, for when the
Synagogue accepted her consummation the Church arose,
and after the death of the Son she spread herself by her
apostolic doctrine throughout the world.
(5) Concerning the blindness of the figure.
The figure is sightless and hath folded arms, because
the Synagogue seeth not the true light but holdeth the
Only Begotten in contempt, and because, not putting away
her torpor, she covereth her just works under the pall of
her sloth and concealeth them as though they were not.
And she standeth by the altar but touch^th it not, for
that she accepteth the Law of God in precept and theory
and knoweth it from without ; vet she attaineth not to its
inward meaning, for, neglecting the true sacrifice of prayer,
she rejecteth rather than pursueth it.
But Abraham is in her heart, for [through him] circum-
cision was first in the Synagogue ; and Moses is in her
bosom, for he brought the divine law to men's hearts ; and
the other prophets are in her belly, for that [law] descendeth
by grace divine through her. These searchers after the
divine precepts all display their proper emblems and adore
the beauty of the Church, because they themselves, in the
miracles of their prophecy, foretold her wonders, and they
waited adoring the glory of the new espousal.
(6) She is tall as a tower and hath a circlet like the
dawn round her head.
She appeareth tall as a citadel because, containing the
might of the divine precepts, she advertiseth the provision
and defence of the chosen city.
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 283
She hath around her head a circlet like the dawn,
because in her origin she predesignated the miracle of the
Incarnation and foretold those shining virtues and mysteries
which followed. For she was, as it were, crowned by that
first dawn when she accepted the divine precepts after the
manner of Adam who first saw God. But afterwards she
died in her sin, for so the Jews have done who did receive
the first divine law, but then thrust away the Son in their
unbelief, for man was delivered from perdition in the new
age by the death of the Only Begotten One.
Thus the Synagogue, disciplined by divine mercy, did
indeed before the new day put away unbelief, and did in truth
attain to the knowledge of God. What portendeth this ?
Doth not the dawn appear before the sun ? But the dawn
fadeth and the light of day remaineth. What doth this
portend ? The old dispensation passeth, the new Evangel
remaineth. For the ancients observed the Law after the
flesh, but the new people worketh by the spirit according
to the new dispensation. . . . For circumcision was not
abrogated but was changed into baptism, for the one acts
on a single member alone, but the other on all the members.
And similarly the old laws have not perished but have been
changed into better ones.
Wherefore in the fulfilment of years the Synagogue
shall, believing, hand herself over to the church, for thou,
O Synagogue, wanderest in many iniquities and pollutest
thyself as though with Baal and his like, by cleaving to the
observance of the law with its evil customs and by lying
naked in thy sins.
(7) Do thou as commanded by my servant Ezekiel
[16. 8]: '* I spread my skirt over thee and covered thy
shame. Yea, I sware unto thee and entered into a covenant
U
284 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
with thee ", as though it were said, I, Son of the Most High,
do cover thee, O Synagogue, by the will of my father with
my Incarnation, that is for thy health, and I do bear the
sins which thou hast worked in darkness.
And 1 have assured for thee the means of salvation,
and have shown forth the path of my covenant when
I revealed to thee the true faith by apostolic doctrine, so
that thou shouldst observe my precepts, even as a w^oman
should submit herself to the rule of her husband.
For I removed from thee the severity of the outward
law, and gave thee the grace of spiritual doctrine, and
I revealed to thee through myself all the mysteries of my
spiritual doctrine, but thou hast forsaken me, thy lawful
spouse, and joined thyself to the devil.
(8) Comparison under the same head of Samson, Saul,
and David.
But understand this, O man! Just as when his wife
betrayed Samson, his light was put out, so hath the
Synagogue betrayed the Son of God, and unrepentantly
despised Him and rejected His doctrine. But later, when
His hair is grown again, as when the Church grew strong,
this same Son of God in His might cast down the Syna-
gogue and disinherited her children, so that the very
heathen, ignorant of God, were moved by His anger.
But she lay in the errors of utter confusion and schism
and defiled herself with the follies of sin. And so also
David espoused a wife whom he at length reclaimed when
she had defiled herself with another. Similarly the Son
was at first through His Incarnation wedded to the Syna-
gogue, but she, rejecting the grace of baptism, was lured by
the devil. But at length, in the new age He will receive
her when, abandoning her errors and unbelief, she will
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 285
return to the light of truth. For Satan ravished the
Synagogue in her blindness, and betrayed her in her
infidelity and error, and will not cease to act as a son of
perdition.
But in the exaltation of his pride he will perish as Saul
did, who drove David from his land, and was pierced
through and died on Mount Gilboa. So also the son of
iniquity will attempt to expel my Son ; but my Son, having
thrown down Antichrist, will call back the Synagogue to
the true faith, as David took back his wife after Saul's death.
And so in the new age men will witness the overthrow
of him by whom they were deceived and will rush to the
paths of salvation. For it was not fitting that the truth of
the Evangel should precede the gloom of the Law, but it
was more fitting that the carnal should precede and the
spiritual follow. For the servant predicteth the coming of
the master, but the master goeth not before the servant.
Thus the Synagogue came first in the shadow of symbolism,
and the church followed in the full light of truth.
Wherefore whoever hath the knowledge of the Holy
Spirit and the wings of faith in him, will not transgress my
warning but will embrace it with joyful soul.'
The Miniature of the Synagogue
The background is gold. The upper part of the figure
as far as the waist is a pale purple, the lower part is dark
blue or black. The feet are scarlet, and around them is
a silver area. Across the forehead runs the circlet, which
is gilt with a red tinge to signify the dawn. The eyes are
fast closed, and the countenance downcast, and the hands
folded impotently across the breast.
U !2
286 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
On the bosom of the figure is Moses. He is clad in
a red cloak over a pale blue tunic. His countenance is
raised. On his head he wears the blue conical cap that
was the characteristic mark of the Jews in the Rhineland
of the twelfth century. His left hand is concealed, under
his cloak, but in his right he holds the two tables of the
Law, coloured dark red and arranged in their traditional
form. This is probably one of the earliest manuscript
representations of the double tables of the Law.^
Below the arms of the figure and placed in the * epi-
gastric ' region can be seen Abraham, holding the circum-
cisional knife in his right hand. In front of and somewhat
below him is presumably the figure of Aaron, distinguished
by his white head-dress, from the front of which are
suspended three small rings or jewels. The other prophets,
of whom ten are represented, have no head coverings. They
all look expectantly for the coming Messiah.
The Market-place (Fig. 2^)
The blue conical Jewish hat appears twice more in the
miniatures of the Wiesbaden MS., in Book II, Vision VII,
folio ii6 recto, and in Book III, Vision IV, folio 145 verso.
The former scene represents a market-place. We will not
detain the reader with Hildegard's allegorical interpretation,
which is of no specificdlly Jewish interest, but her descrip-
tion of the scene we give below ;
(Fig. 2) 'quasi forum ubi diuitiae hominum atque
deliciae seculares et mercatus diuersarum rerum apparue-
runt ; ubi etiam quidam homines multa celeritate currentes.
5 The facts in connexion with the representation of the Decalogue in
Art have been collected by Dr. Israel Abrahams in Studies in Jewish
Literature presented to Professor Kaufmann Kohler, See also Cahier and
Martin, loc, cit.
FIG. 3. THE COLUMN OF GOD'S WORD
286
SYNAGOGUE REPRESENTATION IN I2TH C. MS. — SINGER 287
nullum mercatum faciebant. quidam autem tepide euntes.
et venditioni et emptioni ibi insistebant' (fol. 15 r., col. b).
At the back of the picture are seen two merchants at
their stalls with the characteristic Jewish hats. They are
beckoning the two * tepide euntes ' purchasers, while upon
their stalls are spread a somewhat meagre selection of
* deliciae seculares ', among which gauntlets and girdles can
be distinguished. Lower down in the forum can be seen
a group of those 'quidam homines multa celeritate cur-
rentes ', urged to even more rapid movement by a monk
behind them.
It will be noted that, except for the hat, the costume
of the Jews is similar to that of the other frequenters of
the forum. There is no appearance of a special Jewish
cast of countenance. Nor does Hildegard anywhere refer
to the Jews as engaged in any form of finance, but only
in trade.
The Column of the Word of God (Fig. 3)
The next miniature that we here consider is an allegorical
representation of the tree or column of God's word (folio 145
verso, Book II, Vision IV, Fig. 3). On one side of the
column, poised in the angle of its branches, sit various
prophets. At the base is Abraham with the Jewish hat,
then Moses, then Joshua, and in the highest ring a fourth
figure in the typical hat exemplifying the remaining
prophets. On the other side of the trunk peep out the
heads of the apostles, martyrs, and virgins. On the summit,
shaped like a Corinthian capital, is perched the Dove,
surrounded by flames and bearing in its beak the true light
symbolized by a gilded moon-shaped object.
288 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
The remaining picture that concerns us here (Fig. 4) is
in the following folio (folio 146 recto, Fig. 4), where there
is a very spirited miniature of a benign female figure,
emblematic of the knowledge of God, surrounded by angels.
On her right, a group of her followers crowd in upon her,
while to her left her rebellious children dance out of the
picture (Book II, Vision IV). Among these rebels the
Jews are to be included, and the facial character of the
foremost of the three is perhaps an attempt on the part
of the artist to imply this. In any case the free drawing
and movement of these figures is sufficiently remarkable
in a twelfth-century MS. to justify the reproduction of
the miniature.
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tstttr qui fc *?mi* ^n ui lUMii Mm^^
FIG. 4. THE REBELLIOUS AND THE FAITHFUL
