"What is That to Us?": The Eucharistic Liturgy and the Enemies of Christ in the Beam of the Passion

• Published in: Studies in iconography 2020-01, Vol.41, p.104
• Main Authors: Freidenreich, David M, Plesch, Véronique
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Iconography; Jesus Christ; Jewish people; Liturgy; Muslims; Religious icons
• ISSN: 0148-1029

The Beam of the Passion, a painted pine beam created in early thirteenth-century Iberia for display above the eucharistic altar, unexpectedly depicts Judas's second encounter with the priests in its central Crucifixion scene. Even more surprisingly, the priests and ciders of first-century Jerusalem look like stereotypical African Muslims. Prior scholarship emphasizes the Beam's depictions of Muslims as Christ's enemies, but this work is not ultimately about Muslims. Rather, "Moorish" figures-like the Jewish figures they displace-play an instrumental role in an effort to bolster faith in Christ and the Eucharist. In this respect, the Beam's anomalous iconography illustrates a common dynamic within medieval anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim rhetoric, whose true focus is often a fellow Christian. The full significance of the Crucifixions Moorish figures and their dismissive quid ad nos becomes apparent through analysis of the Beam in its entirety within its architectural, liturgical, and political contexts.