The search for Jesus
by Mary exists in the so-called Biblia Pauperum or “Bible of the
Poor.” The origins of this book are unknown but by the late middle
ages, there are many examples of it. Reflecting a widespread method
of interpreting the Bible by means of typology, in the Bible of the
Poor persons, objects and episodes from the Old Testament are seen to
prefigure aspects of Christ’s ministry. The book is a bookblock
with pictures and text produced by impressions from carved wooden
blocks. Between 1460-90, the bookblock was a transitional form of
publication leading to book printing by moveable type. Whether the
book was really designed to educate the poor or whether it was
intended to instruct clergy in their preaching is uncertain. However,
printing undoubtedly facilitated spread of the book.
Three panels on a
single page depict scenes thought to be typologically interrelated.
In one example we see Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene in the
garden in the central panel. This is an interpretation of John 20.
Christ holds a garden implement in a garden setting. In the panel to
the left we see the King of Babylon visiting Daniel the morning after
Daniel had been cast into the lion’s den. Discovering Daniel to be
alive brought the king great joy. The Latin above the panel
continues: “Indeed the king prefigures Mary Magdalene when she went
to the tomb. After she saw the Lord, she also rejoiced exceedingly
because he rose from the dead.”
The central panel shows Jesus and Mary Magdalene
encountering each other in the garden of John 20. Jesus is identified
by the cruciform nimbus. The same figure occurs in the panel on the
right in which the bride of the Song of Songs has wrapped her arms
around Jesus while the scroll above her head (medieval equivalent of
bubble speak) shows her speaking the words of the bride in Song of
Songs 3: “Tenui eum nec dimittam: I held him and I will not let him
go.” The inscriptions under the panel, “The beloved bride now
enjoys the much sought spouse” and “Showing yourself O Christ you
console the holy Mary” indicate that the scene is their encounter in the garden.
2 comments:
This is interesting... I see her statement as one that reassures us that she did not simply stand back and watch her husband be murdered, but healed by her hand.
I believe this story to mean that Mary Magdalene would not simply watch an individual, especially someone she loved so dearly, to be brutally murdered. Her grace was in healing a wound whenever it was necessary and most desired.
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