| The Gospels of Sainte-Croix of Poitiers, a Carolingian manuscript of ca. 800, contains a remarkable image. Well known, but never studied in depth, it is an early and unique version of the important image type known now as the Maiestas Domini, or Christ in Majesty. Due to the traditional focus upon "types" and copying in scholarship treating medieval manuscripts, this singular image has been neglected or even discounted as a provincial peculiarity. However, my research has uncovered close ties between this manuscript and the court of Charlemagne, making possible a new interpretation of the miniature. I argue that the manuscript was created at the Corbie scriptorium under the guidance of Charlemagne's first cousin, Adalhard, and that its patron and owner was one of the king's most trusted officials, Bishop Jesse of Amiens.;Although the manuscript as a whole is addressed, it is the image, and its significance within the Carolingian world, that is the primary focus of this dissertation. The miniature contains a heretofore unrecognized double iconography, for while at first appearing to represent solely Christ as God reigning in heaven, an inscription, as well as visual cues, guide the viewer to recognize the presence also of the cross of the crucifixion superimposed over the enthronement. Therefore through pious contemplation, Christ's dual nature is revealed: he is simultaneously on the cross and in heaven, inseparably human and divine.;No other image conveys Christ's humanity and divinity in this unique and inventive way. Works of textual exegesis from a variety of patristic sources, which sought to explain the complexities of God through words, have been interpreted and represented in the miniature. The result is a bold and ingenious image that conveys key concepts about Christ, in his roles as both man and God, in ever deepening layers. The insistence on the unity of Christ's human and divine natures in this image is directly related to theological concepts and controversies that were vigorously debated and refuted by leading scholars at the court of Charlemagne in the late eighth century. This remarkable image is a reflection of, and a contribution to, that debate. |
