The 'Holy Women' in the Liturgy and Art of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Twelfth Century Jerusalem, in: The Uses of the Bible in Crusader Sources, ed. E. Lapina and N. Morton (Brill, 2017), pp. 455-475 (original) (raw)
The 'Holy Women' in the Liturgy and Art of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Twelfth Century Jerusalem. Forthcoming in: The Uses of the Bible in Crusader Sources, ed. E. Lapina and N. Morton (Brill, 2017) Examines the liturgical allusions to, and visual depictions of the spice-bearing women - also known as the Holy Women or the Three Marys - in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in twelfth century Jerusalem. The examination of the liturgy of the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem draws its evidence from the breviary (ordinal) of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a manuscript of the early thirteenth century describing the twelfth century offices and festivities. This manuscript is known as the Barletta ordinal, and it is examined in conjunction with similar texts from Jerusalem. Focus is placed on the Easter liturgy with its several mentions of the special sacrificial role of the Holy Women as the first pilgrims to the sepulchre, and first witnesses of the Resurrection. The theme of the 'Visit to the Sepulchre' (Visitatio Sepulchri) seems to have gained further prominence as it was chosen by the early Latin patriarchs of Jerusalem as their signum, and was depicted on artefacts such as pilgrims' flasks. The liturgical choices, as well as the artistic ones are meaningful as they highlight a biblical theme possibly of special import for the first crusaders in their new capital city. This theme was replaced shortly after with the non-biblical scene of the Anastasis type, a meaningful change in itself. The paper also argues for continuity in the significance accorded to the theme of the Holy Women in the liturgy and artefacts from pre-crusade times in Jerusalem. The article will include illustrations.
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