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From Word into Image: The Visualization of Ulcer in Byzantine Illustrated Manuscripts of

the Book of Job


Author(s): MARIA EVANGELATOU
Source: Gesta, Vol. 48, No. 1 (2009), pp. 19-36
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the International Center of
Medieval Art
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/29764894
Accessed: 14-12-2018 18:31 UTC

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From Word into Image: The Visualization of Ulcer in
Byzantine Illustrated Manuscripts of the Book of Job*
MARIA EVANGELATOU
University of California, Santa Cruz

Abstract of miniatures in the illustrated Byzantine manuscripts: naked


or with just a loincloth around his waist, his body marked by
A striking iconographic motif in the Byzantine illustrated red or black dots signifying the sores and wavy white lines
manuscripts of the book of Job is the three-headed monster representing the worms living on his flesh.11 The repetition of
that attacks Job at the moment he is inflicted by a disease
these marks, miniature after miniature, emphasizes Job's
sent by the devil. This study proposes that the monster was
modeled after the letter E of the word ""E^Kog" (ulcer, sores), constant suffering, but the gravity and aggressiveness of the
which is mentioned in the relevant biblical passage (Job 2:7). disease are most prominently depicted when it strikes Job for
In other words, the monster represents the disease in the the first time. In this scene, the illustrators had the opportu?
shape of an illustrated initial, an initial, moreover, that does nity to present more vividly than in any other miniature the
not introduce a text but actively participates in the narrative
monstrous character of the plague, and they consequently
scene. This unique case of word-image relationship will be
discussed in light of Byzantine perceptions of the nature of underscored the great suffering as well as the admirable pa?
the devil and his actions in the story of Job. It will also be tience and virtue of the man. The oldest surviving miniature
tentatively related to the increasing use of illustrated initials of this event, in the Vatican Job (Vatican City, Biblioteca
in Byzantine manuscripts from the ninth century onward. Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 749, usually dated to the first
half of the ninth century),12 employs a very eloquent motif,
seen also in some later manuscripts (Figs. 1-3): Job is attacked
In the Byzantine period, after the Psalms, the book of by a monstrous creature that is composed of a dragon (top),
Job was the most popular Old Testament text.1 Extensively a lion (middle), and a snake (bottom). The three beasts spring
cited and commented on by the fathers of the Church, it was from the same body, and they all face Job with open mouths,
reproduced in numerous copies, both with and without com? spitting what seems to be blood or fire (red lines) and poi?
mentary.2 Fifteen of the surviving Byzantine codices with sonous liquid (white drops).13
commentary are also richly illuminated.3 Five of them contain This monstrous creature has often been related in the lit?
a shorter cycle of miniatures (roughly between 30 to 50),4 erature to the Chimera, the ancient mythical beast in the form
while ten are illustrated with a much more extensive corpus of a lion, with a snake for tail, and a goat's head emerging from
(up to approximately 230 miniatures).5 Unfortunately, much its back. The Chimera was a familiar theme in Late Antique
of this material remains unpublished, and the miniatures that visual culture and could have influenced the visual concep?
are published are usually discussed divorced from their tex? tion and perception of the three-headed monster represented
tual context.6 This study is limited to the already published in connection with Job 2:7.14 However, the identity and exact
material, with the hope that others will carry the investigation meaning of this monster are revealed only when its peculiar
further. shape is examined in the context of the biblical passage it illus?
One of the most dramatic and critical moments in the trates. The bodies of the three animals are combined in such
book of Job is the event when, according to the Septuagint a way as to form a large Greek letter E. The reference must
(2:7), the devil "s7taiGev t?v Tco? 8?lksi Tiovrpcp djro ttoScov be to the word "EAKEI" (nominative "EAKOC"), the ulcer
eooc, KxepaXf^" (struck Job with a dreadful/evil ulcer from the (sores) with which the devil struck Job.15 In the Vatican Job,
feet to the head). This disease covered Job's body with pain? the relevant passage appears right above the miniature in
ful, oozing sores that festered with worms.7 It was the worst large, slanting uncial script: "KAI EIIECEN TON l/QB
of all the plagues with which the devil challenged Job's faith EAKEI riONH/PQ / AIIO IIOAQN MEXPI / KE<DAAHC"
in God.8 It tortured him for long days and nights and reduced (and struck Job with a dreadful/evil ulcer from the feet to the
him to a miserable outcast, suffering on a pile of dung outside head). The same passage is paraphrased in the caption below
the city walls, suffocated by the stench of his own body to the the image in smaller, upright uncial script: "EN?A EIIECEN
point that he was even unable to eat.9 This disease would con? O AIABOAOC TQ IQB EAKEI ITONHPQ" (Where the devil
dition Job's state in the largest part of the biblical story.10 It struck Job with a dreadful/evil ulcer). The word "EAKOC"
would also determine his appearance in the greatest number (ulcer, sores) appears a third time, in the commentary that

GESTA 48/1 ? The International Center of Medieval Art 2009 19

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!>
OWMIUO"
\{ i '|MMIITU? 1UTIIVl iVI IKAI Ti\H I ffil vc , # ._ivm
aih:mcm p f ciiii\U\uc/i*'i v\\u>mviv;kai jti AAK

\ 01 j a 1101c m ai w* i ? iv. A v \0

( |MiMjn\?-|i.VO,V'}" c
MivVAiuniiv^r ima
J III f IdX WtiKlffyl
i; AI -(IM l ^1^1;

FIGURE 1. /e>? attacked by a monster representing the disease sent by the devil (Job 2:7), Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr
fol. 25 (photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, by permission).

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FIGURE 2a. Job attacked by a monster representing the disease sent by the FIGURE 2b. Job attacked by a monster representing the disease sent by the
devil (Job 2:7), Patmos, Library of the Monastery of Saint John the Theolo? devil (Job 2:7), Patmos, Library of the Monastery of Saint John the Theolo?
gian, MS 171, p. 51 (photo: Library of the Monastery of Saint John, by per? gian, MS 171, p. 51 (photo: Library of the Monastery of Saint John, by per?
mission. After G. Jacopi, "Le Miniature dei Codici di Patmo," pi. XVIII). mission). Present state of the miniature.
State of the miniature ca. 1930.

FIGURE 3. Job attacked by a monster representing the disease sent by the devil (Job 2:7), Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 1231, fol. 64v
(photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, by permission).

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accompanies the biblical passage, at the upper part of the page on the ground (compare Fig. 1 with Figs. 2 and 3, 8 and 9).
(again written in smaller, upright uncial script). This text It is possible that in the Vatican miniature the painter chose
offers further clues for the conception of the miniature and to combine elements that were intended to demonstrate the
the three-headed form of the ulcer: progress of the affliction and therefore amalgamate in one
image successive moments of the story mentioned in the
OAYMniOA(QPOY) commentary: the disease initially befell Job when he was still
META THN TQN KTHMATQN KAI TQN OIKETQN living in town, but because of it he became an outcast, ex?
KAI TQN nAIAQN A/OAIPECIN' TOTE TO THC pelled to the countryside. The bench might allude to the
AQBHC EAKOC O AIABOAOC EITHTArEN' QC urban setting where the disease was first manifested, while
API/MEIC MEN PEEIN IXQPAC EK TOY CQMA the landscape emphasizes Job's misfortune by pointing to his
TOC KAI ETI AAKNONTAC- AITO/PIAN AE EINAI place of exile.18 In addition, the open mouths and sharp teeth
nANTEAH TON TE ANATKAIQN KAI TON NO of the three-headed monster not only underscore the aggres?
COKO/MOYNTON- KAI THC MEN ?OAEQC QC siveness of the disease, but they also seem about to bite Job,
AEAQBHMENOC EEQ KAOHCTOV TH AE XEIPI echoing the words of the commentary that state that the fluids
TOYC MYAQNTAC IXQPAC OYX YnEAEXETO oozing from his sores were "ETI AAKNONTAC" (stinging
INA MH KAI MAA/AON AnOKNAIOITO, AAA' 0/ [literally biting] even more).19 Moreover, the fact that each
CTPAKQ TOYTOYC AnE/SEEN' one of the three heads attacks a different part of Job's body
reflects the reference in the biblical text of sores covering
[After taking away his riches and his servants and his him from head to toe. This is even more vividly visualized
children, the devil brought upon Job a harmful ulcer, in two later manuscripts in which the three-headed beast
so that his body was oozing pungent fluids that were approaches Job's body in such a way as to attack him with its
stinging (literally, biting) even more; and he had total poisonous, fiery breath from the top of his head to the bottom
lack of necessary sustenance and nursing assistance, and of his feet.
he was expelled from the city as diseased; and in order In MS 171 of the Monastery of Saint John the Theo?
to avoid further itching, he would not wipe the oozing logian at Patmos, the upper head of the beast attacks Job's
fluids with his hands but would scratch them with a head, the lower head of the beast attacks his feet, and the
sherd of broken pottery.] head in the middle targets his torso (Figs. 2a and 2b).20 In MS
Vat. gr. 1231, the two upper beastly heads target Job's body
The last comment on the page explains the word "nOin the same way as in the Patmos manuscript (Fig. 3). The
NHPQ," which is used in the biblical text to describe the lower head attacks not Job's feet but his waist; however, the
ulcer: "nAPOEYTO/NQC ANATNQOT INA / CHMENH three-headed monster surrounds him from head to toe to
TO EnAXOEC / KAI EninONON" (Read "very intensely," denote that his entire body is afflicted.21 In both these manu?
so that [the word] signifies the gravity and pain [of the scripts the beastly heads also display gaping mouths with
disease]). sharp teeth, and their bodies are combined and shaped in such
The miniature is obviously influenced by the commen? a way as clearly to form the letter E. It is worth noting that the
tary, since it includes elements not mentioned in the biblical Patmos codex includes above the miniature the exact same
text excerpted on the page, which refers only to the fact that commentary as in MS Vat. gr. 749, with reference to the ulcer
the devil struck Job with a painful ulcer from head to toe. Job and the "biting," oozing fluids.22 The two later manuscripts
is represented in a landscape, therefore outside the city (as in? differ from the Vatican miniature by omitting Job's wife and
dicated in the commentary), and he is accompanied by his depicting the devil, who strikes Job from the viewer's right,
grieving wife who is not offering him any assistance or food together with the representation of the monstrous disease on
but is lamenting his state (Fig. 1). In his right hand, Job prob? the left. The dramatic effect of the three-headed monster's
ably held a pottery sherd to wipe the oozing fluids from his attack on Job becomes even more apparent if we compare it
sores, but the miniature is too damaged in this area to be cer? with the representation of the same moment in manuscripts
tain.16 Neither the biblical passage nor the commentary that that show only the devil striking Job. In these cases, even
appears on this page mentions the pile of dung and the worms though the visual narration follows the biblical text more lit?
devouring Job's flesh, and indeed neither is represented in erally, it does not have the powerful visual impact of the
this miniature, although they appear in all other depictions of three-headed monster iconography.23
Job from the next folio onward.17 In the illustration of Job 2:7 The choice of specific animal heads to depict the mon?
where the man's affliction is first represented, he is seated on strous ulcer is significant. In MS Vat. gr. 749 the head in the
what looks to be a bench, which at first might seem incon? middle is clearly that of a lion, while the other two can be
gruous in the out of doors. By contrast, in illustrations of this loosely described as dragon heads?the lower one being closer
passage in other manuscripts where Job appears in a land? to a serpent.24 The same animals appear also in MS Patm.
scape, he is shown seated on a rock or the pile of dung or even 171.25 In MS Vat. gr. 1231, all three heads and bodies are

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dragonlike, while in the other two examples the central body illustrating. Even if medical terminology gave him the idea to
is that of a lion, not a reptile. "Lion," "snake," and "dragon" use animal heads, he chose only those that were commonly
were commonly used in the Bible and in patristic literature as associated with the devil and, as his agents, would emphasize
metonyms for the devil,26 and they are mentioned as such in the origin of Job's affliction. In other words, the possible role
a commentary by Didymos the Blind on the book of Job, of medical terminology in the initial conception and later per?
although not in relation to Job 2:7 but to 3:8.27 It is logical to ception of this visualization of ulcer can be neither excluded
illustrate with "devilish" animals the ulcer caused by the nor proven and therefore remains an intriguing hypothesis. It
devil, but the biblical text offers yet another reason for this seems much more plausible that the miniaturist was guided
connection: it calls the disease "Ttovrpo," which is another by the biblical and patristic use of lions, snakes, and dragons
word regularly used in patristic literature, including commen? as metonyms or agents of the devil and chose those animal
taries on the book of Job, to describe the devil.28 Even if heads to represent the monstrous, devil-sent disease. This
"Ttovnpo" can also have the meaning of "painful"29?and this supposition is reinforced by the fact that the two serpentlike
is how it is interpreted in the commentary included in MSS components of the ulcer, and especially the top one, can be
Vat. gr. 749 and Patm. 171?Byzantine readers would have more easily described as dragonlike than snakelike and there?
also interpreted it as "devilish/evil," inflicted by the novnp?c;, fore more closely related to the biblical and patristic use of
the father of all Trovnpia.30 the dragon than to the medical term Ophiasis, the "snakelike"
At this point it is worth noting that in the Vatican and skin disease.
Patmos codices the word "EAKEi" (with ulcer/sores) of Job 2:7 Another peculiar element of the iconography of Job 2:7
is accompanied by the synonym "EAEOANTI" (nominative that appears only in MS Vat. gr. 749 also could be interpreted
"EAEOAC"), written in smaller uncial script right below the in light of the specific use of vocabulary in patristic literature:
line of the biblical passage that includes the word "EAKEI."31 this is the rectangular area at the lower left that seems to rep?
In medical, lexicographical, and patristic sources, the disease resent water. According to Massimo Bernab?, this detail may
known as "8Xeq>a<;" (elephant) or "e^ecpavxiaoic/e^scpav signify the sea from which the monster comes, an idea that
xiaaji?c;" (elephantiasis/elephantiasmos) was considered the could be related to the reference of Revelation 13:1-2 to a
worst skin ailment, deriving its name from the fact that it multiheaded beast appearing out of the water.35 Indeed, this
causes the skin to thicken and look like that of elephants.32 In could have been a source of inspiration, but other explana?
those sources, elephantiasis was often related to leprosy and tions are also possible. One of the names used in biblical and
other similar diseases. For example, the seventh-century pa? patristic literature to describe the devil (also in Job 3:8) is
triarch of Jerusalem Sophronios mentions that the affliction "kt|to^," which was usually understood as a marine monster,
"elephantiasis or elephant" is called thus because it is as se? like the one that swallowed Jonah.36 Moreover, in the Byz?
vere as the elephant is large. He adds that this was the disease antine period the sea was increasingly perceived as a hostile
that befell Job and relates it to leprosy and to the regulation realm related to evil.37 In addition, the adversities and temp?
of the Mosaic law according to which people so afflicted are tations of life were often described in patristic literature as
ostracized from the community (Leviticus 13:46).33 What is sea storms and menacing waves,38 and such metaphors are
significant for our discussion is that "EAE?>AC" (elephant), often employed in patristic commentaries on the book of Job
the synonym used in these two Job codices for "EAKOC" to describe his misfortunes or the passions and difficulties
(ulcer/sores), also starts with the letter epsilon and therefore that beset humans in general.39 A combination of the above
perfectly fits the depiction of the disease that attacks Job as factors could have inspired the depiction of the ulcer coming
an E-shaped monster. out of the sea, and since this disease caused liquid to flow
Also worthy of mention is that certain Late Antique constantly from Job's wounds, its emergence from the element
medical sources relate elephantiasis to two other skin dis? of water might have made additional sense to the painter and
eases, "Xsovxiaaiq" and "6(piaoi<;" (leontiasis, "lionlike," and viewers of the miniature.
Ophiasis, "serpentlike"). Sometimes these two are described The peculiar shape of the three-headed beast in combi?
as phases of the same ailment, which includes leprosy and nation with the reference in the text to the "EAKOC" attack?
culminates in the stage of elephantiasis.34 Could this connec? ing Job suggests that it was patterned after the initial letter E.
tion have contributed to the conception of a monster with The clarity with which this shape is repeated with slight vari?
lion- and serpentlike heads as the visualization of the disease ations in different codices indicates that it was understood to
that inflicts Job with a horrible skin ailment, just in its first refer to the "EAKOC" (compare Figs. 1-3). In fact, the small
stage of development? If the miniaturist's inspiration was variations in the shape of the letter reinforce the impression
indeed medical terminology, then the obvious question is that the miniaturists were aware of the meaning of the form
why he did not add an elephant's head to the monster to they were copying, and for this reason they produced clearly
illustrate the elephantiasis mentioned on the folio, preferring recognizable E-like shapes even if they did not slavishly imitate
only the lion and snake heads, even though the related leon? their models. A further indication in support of this interpre?
tiasis and Ophiasis terms do not appear on the page he was tation is the fact that other three-headed beasts appear in the

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FIGURE 4. Various animals (Job 4:10-11), Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 1231, fol. 116 (photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, by
permission).

illustration of MS Vat. gr. 1231, but never in the E-shaped animal that the seminaked boy rides is very similar to the lion
formation adopted for the disease attacking Job (compare head of the E-monster. The upper animal head of the initial A
Figs. 3 and 4).40 This indicates that the shape of the monster has pointed ears and a face similar to the lion and the dragon,
illustrating Job 2:7 was considered appropriate only for that but instead of a snout, it has the beak of a bird of prey. The
part of the text and no other. use of an illustrated initial in the Vatican codex, at a time when
A final argument in support of the hypothesis that this such initials were not yet widespread in Byzantine manu?
three-headed monster is an illustrated initial E is the appear? scripts,42 indicates that the miniaturist was aware of the pos?
ance of another illustrated initial, this time in its normal func? sibilities offered by this way of treating letters. Appreciation
tion as a letter introducing a text. MS Vat. gr. 749 preserves of the newly discovered potential of illustrated initials could
a prominent illustrated A at the very beginning of the biblical have resulted in experimentation, which led to the invention
text (Fig. 5).41 The three animal heads that are central to the of the E-shaped ulcer.
composition of this letter are reminiscent of the heads of the It is possible, however, that Vaticanus 749 was not the
E-shaped beast in the illustration of Job 2:7 (compare Figs. 5 first illustrated book of Job in Byzantium;43 we have no way
and 1). The head at the lower right of the A is very similar to of knowing if the E-shaped monster was introduced in the
the upper dragon head of the E-monster, while the head of the iconographic tradition of Job in a manuscript with illustrated

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0/\VfctlllOr\.CA>|>^ AI AU * /

II X^f ahavcrnc,<w p av *v w aV ?n?p?p ^av/V


??^rlUruASC /n^-twn y! iaJn hmV t>**fA$TAi^?ti nf ? wif* n an,a/>a
H?VwVt tf/ttf:***** YA*C * y <a ?A p A b f^c tv c f y c f K j o c <b/.* n * Y T*^
- J-^<>N/Nnri?nf ps fy^^^ , '| ;hn^^^
f RfAICTf a?y?

n 0 A aiaw * i <AT<? A f ^THS


'rovArioviuiAi n iov
. 'royvpvcor/rdKi
^fA?1

TO ANCN^NMJ 4*H^
6 NX" ATttAjyY MT ? A5>
i <41 to yxP Mf ?Af n< vy
m I 0 /to ta)> tMAfAKlA

V nojie i r^iAHM $ y no m i ac Toy


Ttf m n tT^ayma* tok ;?

FIGURE 5. Initial A, Job and his wife (Job 1:1), Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 749, fol. 6 (photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana,
by permission).

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FIGURE 6. Initial M, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. FIGURE 7. Initial E, Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, MS gr. 654,
1666, fol. 136v (photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, by permission). fol. 45 (photo: Bibliotheque nationale de France, by permission).

initials, such as MS Vat. gr. 749, or not.44 What can be deduced


with a degree of certainty is that in the Vatican codex both the
miniaturists and the readers were paying attention to the func?
tion of illustrated initials and were therefore predisposed to
recognize the three-headed monster in Job 2:7 as a letter
shaped form referring to the "EAKOC" mentioned in the text.
It is worth noting that according to some scholars the use of
illustrated initials was introduced in Byzantium from the
West via Greek manuscripts produced in Italy.45 The earliest
surviving Byzantine manuscript of Job that employs illus?
trated initials both at the beginning of its text and within the
narrative scene of Job 2:7, MS Vat. gr. 749, has often been
considered to be of Italian provenance.46 In fact, the dragon
and snake heads of the E-shaped monster and the lower dragon
head of the initial A in this codex are comparable (although
different in detail) to the dragon and snake heads of the initial
M in MS Vat. gr. 1666 (Fig. 6).47 This manuscript contains a
Greek translation of Pope Gregory Fs Dialogues, is thought
to have been produced in Rome, and is considered the earliest
surviving Greek manuscript to contain zoomorphic initials
inspired by Western models (and not just initials decorated with FIGURE 7a. A monster representing the disease sent by the devil to attack
animal forms, as is the case with the Vienna Dioskorides).48 Job, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 749, fol. 25, detail
Even more similar to the E-shaped monster discussed here is of Fig. I (photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, by permission).
an initial E in the tenth-century MS gr. 654 (Paris, Biblio?
theque nationale de France), which is also thought to be of
Italian provenance (Fig. 7):49 there the letter is made up of however, that neither of these theories, the Western origins of
the combined bodies of one lion and two reptiles, with the the use of illustrated initials in Byzantine manuscripts or the
difference that the lion is at the top rather than the middle of Italian provenance of Vaticanus 749, is certain50 and thus
the letter and seems to be fighting with the reptiles coiled cannot play a central role in our approach to the theme under
around its body that form the lower two extremities of the discussion.
letter E (compare Figs. 7 and 7a). Even if Parisinus 654 post? More meaningful for the present discussion is an attentive
dates Vaticanus 749, the motif of its initial E could have been examination of the Vatican initial A in its textual context and
in circulation much earlier. In any case, it testifies to the fact in comparison with the initial E representing the ulcer in the
that this tripartite combination of animal bodies was easily same codex. The theme of putti riding various creatures was
recognizable as an illustrated epsilon. It should be noted, very familiar in Late Antique visual culture and could have

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inspired the creation of this elaborate initial A.51 However, The intensity with which the boy riding the beasts in the
the specific iconographic details of this letter seem to have initial A looks at Olympiodoros' commentary while pointing
been chosen to draw attention to the meaning of the relevant at the biblical passage makes it seem as if his actions are di?
biblical passage as interpreted in the accompanying commen? rectly related to the message of the scripture and its exegesis.
tary: the seminaked boy riding the lionlike creature is looking If the creatures that he dominates symbolize the evil against
intently at the commentary above his head while pointing which Job was distinguished, then the initial E with the three
emphatically with his right index finger at the biblical text headed monster attacking Job makes even more sense. Here,
in front of him. His glance and gesture link the scriptural similar creatures symbolize the same evil, launched by the
passage to its exegesis. Even more significantly, the whole devil himself against the righteous man he wishes to corrupt.
initial might function as a visual interpretation of the biblical In the initial A, a human figure dominates the beasts, while in
passage, based on the relevant exegetical commentary. The the initial E, the human is subjugated but not defeated by
patristic comments written on the page, under the names of them. In a sense, the initials encompass the moral of Job's
Olympiodoros at the top and John Chrysostom just below, story, for they visualize its two poles: the viciousness of evil
stress that Job 1:1 presents its protagonist as an exception? and the triumph of virtue. As a reversal of the E-shaped motif
ally righteous man in a land of notorious vice and impiety. seen in Job 2:7, the initial A in Job 1:1 seems to foretell in
Chrysostom comments that the story begins with the word symbolic form Job's final victory against the devil's machi?
"'AvBpomo^," which emphasizes that Job was a "human being," nations and, as a result, to emphasize further his admirable
in other words, a virtuous man as opposed to animal-like, virtue, which is the main theme of the commentary on this
vicious sinners. In addition, both commentators point out that page. The miniature at the lower part of the page might have
Job's land is called Ausitis (Uz), a place renowned for its cor? the same meaning: the image of Job enthroned, surrounded
ruption. His virtue, therefore, is all the more striking in the by his riches, might refer not only to the beginning but also
context of the sinfulness of his compatriots. In fact, Olym? to the end of the story, presenting the man as an icon of virtue
piodoros specifically writes that, according to nature, Job was and recipient of God-sent rewards.
one of many, that is, a human like others, but, according to his A prominent feature of the initial A discussed here is
virtue, he was "taller" [Y^HAOTEPOC] or superior to most.52 the nudity of the young boy: clad lightly in a wind-blown
The illustrated initial may well have been intended to visualize mantle that leaves most of his body uncovered, he recalls, as
these observations by showing a human figure riding and remarked above, images of putti riding fantastical or real
therefore controlling and dominating wild beasts, which in creatures in Late Antique images. Since nudity is usually
the culture of Christian Byzantium were often used as symbols negatively charged in Christian culture,56 one wonders if its
of irrationality and unlawfulness.53 In fact, the human figure appearance here is compatible with our interpretation of the
in this initial is higher than all three beasts, a detail that re? human figure as a reference to Job's moral superiority, or if,
calls Olympiodoros' comment about Job's being "taller" than instead, this seminaked boy should be seen as complementary
most other men because of his virtue. rather than antithetical to the wild beasts, as an additional ref?
Relevant to this interpretation is a motif common in erence to the evil in the land of Uz, where Job alone shines as
many hagiographic texts, according to which wild animals a beacon of virtue. The gesture and glance of the boy indicate
are tamed by holiness: they refuse to devour holy men or that the meaning of the initial is related to the biblical text
women thrown in their midst, or they behave like meek pets and the relevant commentary, but beyond that, it is not easy
and helpers in the company of saints.54 In these stories the to pinpoint an exact and uncontestable interpretation. Indeed,
beasts stand for the tamed wildness of nature that emphasizes Bernab? thinks that both the tricephalous monster forming
both the unbridled evilness of the men who attack the saints the initial A and the lightly clad boy riding it are represen?
and the moral superiority of the holy figures, who through the tations of the devil attacking the word '"AvGpcojroc;" (human
power of their virtue triumph over physical strength and fe? being) of Job 1:1, to visualize Satan's assault on Job.57 How?
rociousness. At the other end of the spectrum stand accounts ever, the boy does not have the black skin with which the
in which wild animals appear as agents of the devil or symbols devil and his demons are always depicted in other miniatures
of sin and must be confronted, repelled, dominated, or exter? of the codex.58 In addition, while the beasts look ferocious
minated.55 The operative concept in both cases is the contrast and menacing, the boy is calm and composed, and his glance
between virtuous humanity and irrational animality, whose and gesture indicate that he is more interested in the exegesis
sinister predisposition might be tamed and transformed or re? of the biblical text than in the destruction of Job. Moreover,
main in need of forceful control. This theme of the domina? both the beasts and the boy are part of the word '"Av9po)7io<;"
tion over beasts as an allusion to the triumph of good over (since they form its initial A), so their action must have a
evil could be the intended message of the initial A (Fig. 5). deeper significance than a simple attack on the human being,
Indeed, the beasts look aggressive, having a menacing snout/ for that would also be an attack on themselves. Perhaps what
beak, a roaring mouth, or a prominent red tongue, similar to they visualize is the internal struggle that the devil incites in
the beastly heads of the initial E (Fig. 1). Job and in every human being, between the vices that the devil

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himself spurns (represented by the ferocious beasts) and the confrontation of good and evil takes place. No wonder, then,
virtues of the human heart (represented by the boy who sym? that the exposed skin of the beast-riding boy and the devil or
bolizes Job's final triumph over the devil's machinations and his demons is also used to signal the same confrontation.
draws the reader's attention to the commentary that extols The visual and conceptual analogies that link the two
Job as an exemplary human being). illustrated initials in the Vatican codex (Figs. 1 and 5) suggest
In fact, I believe that the structural correspondence be? that these two letter forms were conceived as complementary,
tween the two initials of Vat. gr. 749 (Figs. 1 and 5) indi? mutually enhancing and clarifying each other's significance.
cate that the most plausible interpretation of the lightly clad The interpretation of the three-headed monster as an initial E
boy is the positive one. In the composition comprising the is based on solid ground, since it reflects the form and mean?
initial E, Job is also lightly clad, with his exposed body ing of the word "EAKOC" that the beast represents. In con?
covered with sores, as he succumbs to the physical attack of trast, the interpretation of the initial A is admittedly more
the devil-sent beasts. Nonetheless, he retains his moral strength tentative, since it is based on a symbolic rather than a formal
and purity. In the initial A, the equally lightly clad male figure, reading. However, the clearly identified function of the initial
this time youthful, dominates similar beasts, and his exposed E, its analogies to the initial A, and the peculiar features of
body is unblemished and fresh, untouched by any afflictions the latter make the symbolic interpretation of the A, at the
that contact with monstrous figures could provoke. This an? very least, plausible. The subtle visual links between the two
tithesis could be a reference to the purity of virtue that will letter forms suggest that the miniaturist was using them to
eventually redeem Job and restore him to his original status, convey a specific message.
fully visualized in the miniature below the initial A. The ex? Was the illustrator carefully and consciously copying the
posed body of the virtuous man attacked by disease in con? two initials from an earlier model, or was he their inventor?
nection with Job 2:7 (Fig. 1) emphasizes his suffering and The sophisticated and eloquent interplay between the initials
material deprivation and therefore his moral strength in the might indicate that what we see here is the result of a creative
face of adversity. His nakedness therefore becomes analogous rather than simply a reproductive process?if not for both
to that of martyrs and desert ascetics, where the humiliation letters, at least for the initial A. The iconographic tradition
of exposure is turned on its head and becomes a sign of faith that was followed in later codices offers some evidence in
and greatness.59 At the same time, the youth of the boy in the support of this hypothesis. Although some of the manuscripts
initial A that introduces Job 1:1 might also point toward an preserve the ingenious and more obvious function of the ini?
intended positive meaning in his lack of clothing: the nudity tial E, no other surviving manuscript retains the elaborate
of this figure might be a sign of innocence, unlike the nudity initial A of Vaticanus 749, which therefore seems an ad hoc
of a healthy and attractive adult (unlike Job), which can be a creation.63 The unique depiction of water at the lower left of
sign of sexuality and therefore sinfulness.60 Since the initial the Vatican miniature for Job 2:7 (Fig. 1) could also suggest
A does not illustrate a specific event from Job's life but is in? that its miniaturist was a creative painter with a particular in?
stead a symbolic image, its meaning is constructed through terest in scriptural and visual exegesis.
correspondences with and differences from the narrative of The possibility that Vaticanus 749, the earliest surviving
the initial E. In this way, the miniaturist signals the comple? illustrated book of Job, was also the first to include both the
mentary message of the two initials and at the same time their initial A and the E-shaped representation of ulcer cannot be
different character, symbolic as opposed to narrative. excluded, but since we do not have adequate evidence to dis?
It is perhaps significant that in the Vatican codex the cuss what might have predated this manuscript, we have no
only other figures that are represented as lightly clad as this way of proving whether the Vatican manuscript's illustrated
unblemished youth and the disease-ridden Job are the devil letters were dependent on earlier models or not. It is more
and his demons. Like Job, they wear only a loincloth, but meaningful to trace the development of the E-shaped monster
unlike the virtuous man and the beast-riding boy, their skin is in manuscripts that postdate the Vatican Job. According to
pitch black.61 The similarities and differences between these Bernab?, MS Patmiacus 171, of the late ninth or early tenth
three categories of figures suggest that here the meaning of century, is closer than any other to Vaticanus 749.64 All later
bodily exposure is not a priori negative but depends on context codices that include the E-shaped monster, or a variation
and the use of additional visual signs:62 the condition of the in which the letter shape is no longer recognizable, depend
skin specifies the positive or negative meaning of lightly clad directly or indirectly on the iconographic tradition of Pat?
figures (white unblemished or afflicted skin versus dark skin). miacus 171.65 The use of a model does not, however, neces?
This emphasis on the appearance of skin would have made sarily mean that the miniatures based on it are just copies. It
sense to Byzantine viewers in a story in which skin disease has already been noted that the miniaturists of Patmiacus 171
plays such a central role. Just as the ailment afflicts Job's body and Vaticanus 1231 made insightful alterations to the icono?
but is unable to blemish his soul, the devil is defeated through graphic tradition of the E-shaped monster, as the differences
his own machinations and the virtuous man is exalted through between the miniatures reproduced in Figures 1-3 demonstrate.
his suffering. Job's skin becomes the territory on which the As the following analysis will indicate, even when the afflic

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tion was visualized in later manuscripts in forms that are no
longer recognizable as E-shaped references to the name of the
disease ("EXkocJ, the new miniatures were reinterpretations
rather than degenerations of the older models.
Although we can be reasonably certain that the three
headed monster illustrating Job 2:7 was invented as an ini?
tial E, the surviving material demonstrates that it was not
always perceived as such. In some later Byzantine manu?
scripts, the letter form is altered in such a way as to suggest
that the miniaturist did not recognize the formal significance
of the theme he was copying, or that he intentionally ignored
it in favor of other priorities. For example, in MS Barocci
201, dated to the late twelfth to early thirteenth century, the
E-shaped monster is reversed, attacking Job from the right
side of the scene rather than from the left (Fig. 8).66 Because
of this, its form is no longer reminiscent of the letter E but of
the number 3. The different disposition of the animals incor?
porated in this figuration further disintegrates the letter shape:
the three beastly heads do not correspond to the three extrem?
ities of the monster, since the upper head has been replaced FIGURE 8. Job attacked by a monster representing the disease sent by the
devil (Job 2:7), Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Barroci 201, fol. 32v (photo:
by the devil himself. Consequently, one of the animal heads
Bodleian Library, by permission).
appears between the lion and the dragon forms of the middle
and lower extremities of the monster. Moreover, the serpentine
body of the lion-head extremity is coiled around Job's body,
making the shape of this monster even less like the clear E A slightly different iconography is employed in the
forms seen in the miniatures discussed above (Figs. 1-3). The twelfth- or thirteenth-century MS 590 of the Vatopedi
visual reference to the word "''EXkoc/' (ulcer) through the shape Monastery on Mount Athos (Fig. 9).68 Although it is a copy
of the initial E is now lost, but the miniaturist has resorted to of Patmiacus 171,69 which represents the disease in a clear E
other eloquent iconographic elements that relate the attacking shaped form (Fig. 2), the Vatopedi codex does not retain this
monster to the painful sores sent by the devil. Not only is the motif. The devil is incorporated into the beastly form, which
devil himself intertwined with the monstrous form of the looks like a circle menacingly surrounding Job. Only two
disease he causes, but the three beastly heads are actually bit? animal heads appear on the monstrous body, one biting Job's
ing Job from head to toe, vividly portraying the extent of the head and the other his feet, vividly illustrating the biblical
affliction over his whole body. The lion bites his head, while reference to sores from head to toe. However, unlike MS
the two dragonlike beasts bite his hand and feet. In addition, Barocci 201, where Job is lying on the ground (Fig. 8), here
Job is shown on the ground, in a semireclining position, he is seated upright on a rock (or the pile of dung). This
rather than seated upright, and this detail further emphasizes feature might have been intended to emphasize his stoic en?
his physical ailment. Despite the fact that the miniature lacks durance. His rigid posture, in combination with the artifi?
the ingenious use of the initial E, it is no less successful in cially round shape of the monster, creates a visual effect that
conveying the message of the relevant biblical passage and in is more solemn and less dramatic than the one of the Barocci
impressing on the viewer a powerful image of Job's suffering codex.70 Still, in comparison to the earlier E-shaped forms
at the devil's hands. In fact, it might be said that the replace? seen in Figures 1-3, the Vatopedi miniature is a more vivid
ment of the artificially E-shaped monster with an active beast, and gripping illustration of a vicious attack, and the circular
biting and coiling, results in a more ferocious attack, which form of the multiheaded monster visualizes more clearly than
illustrates even more vividly the vicious nature of the devil any other depiction the intensity of the disease that engulfs
sent disease. The possibility exists that this transformation of Job from head to toe, exactly as described in the biblical text.
the rigid E-shaped monster into a more organic form was the Once more, this departure from the E-shaped monster ico?
miniaturist's driving intent: he might have recognized the lit? nography could have been a conscious choice rather than the
eral reference to ""EXkoc/' (ulcer) in the E-shaped monster of result of misunderstanding a letter-formed model.
his model, but he radically adjusted it to produce a more dra? In fact, it is worth noting that the new arrangement seen
matic effect. In other words, his depiction of the monstrous in the Vatopedi codex (Fig. 9), with Job in the middle of a
disease could have resulted from a conscious desire to create composite monster that encircles and attacks him, and which
a more vivid narrative, rather than from a failure to recognize includes the projecting body of the devil on the left, looks
the letter reference of the E-shaped monster.67 suggestively similar to the lowercase Greek letter pi (n, tt): in

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its cursive medieval form, used in this manuscript, it appears ^\^y-^A>^?')-r?.r-.^-.A-.- -
like a lowercase co with a horizontal hasta above it, projecting
to the left (w). This similarity between the ulcer-monster and
the letter nr could be mere coincidence, but it so happens that
in the last line of text right above this miniature there appear
two words starting with pi that refer exactly to the nature of
the ulcer that struck Job: "novrjpo) (sic): tirapo^UTovcoc,."71
The words belong to the commentary of Olympiodoros, who
interprets the term "Ttovnpq)" (used in the biblical text to char?
acterize the ulcer) as "Trapo^uTovcoc," in other words, as a very
intense, painful affliction. It has already been mentioned
that a Byzantine reader could have also understood the word
"TTovnpo" as synonymous with the devil and evil, and indeed
in this miniature the devil is merged into the depiction of the
ulcer-monster that attacks Job.72 If the new, ur-like shape of
the monster was a conscious reference of the painter to the
words "rcovrip?" and "rcapo^uTovo," we have to consider why
he opted for the new solution. Was it because he wanted to
emphasize the role of the devil and the nature of the affliction,
so instead of a monster that through its E shape refers simply FIGURE 9. attacked by a monster representing the disease s
devil (Job 2:7), Mount Athos, Vatopedi Monastery, MS 590, fol. 1
to the word "ulcer," he painted a monster that through its tb
Ekdotike Athenon, by permission).
shape alludes to the words "devil" and "intense/painful"? As
mentioned above, the circular all-engulfing form of this ulcer
monster indeed emphasizes the viciousness and intensity of conscious or unconscious abandonment of the lette
the affliction that struck Job. However, it seems to me that the form demonstrates the iconographic limitations of ill
tut explanation presupposes the painter was aware of the letter initials when they are taken out of their textual cont
significance of the E-shaped monster in his model and he serted in narrative scenes, they are far removed from
made a very sophisticated choice of visual reinterpretation. vant textual references, and, consequently, the relation
Obviously, it is impossible to prove that was the case, but word and image becomes more elusive. At the sam
since in all his other miniatures he stayed very close to his their rigid letter forms might work against the expres
model, it is reasonable to wonder why his ulcer-monster is so of the visual narrative. It is not surprising, therefore,
different, yet perfectly meaningful and vividly illustrative of innovative and inventive use of an initial letter as pro
the story's message.73 At the same time, it is logical to ask if in a narrative scene, attested in the illustration of
the readers of the Vatopedi codex would have recognized the seems to have been a unique case in the surviving c
tiy-shaped reference in this representation of the monster, Byzantine imagery. Yet, historiated initials at the b
especially if they had never seen and identified the E-shaped of texts became popular in Byzantine manuscripts,
version of the ulcer in other Job manuscripts. The peculiar often functioned as visual comments on the passages t
shape of the monster in the Vatopedi codex and its axial prox? troduced.75 In those cases, the proximity of word and
imity to the similar cursive w of "nyapo^uxovcoq" and the red n ensured a fruitful cooperation between the two and p
of "novfjpco" that attracts the eye74 raise the possibility that at miniaturists to experiment and continuously explore n
least some readers could have made the connection (regardless sibilities. The E-shaped form of "EA,ko<; might have
of whether the artist had intentionally or accidentally created result of experimentation at a time when the potential
it); but once more this is an unprovable hypothesis. trated initials was just beginning to attract attention
Admittedly, this interpretation of the disease's transfor? enthusiastic exploration of new possibilities was car
mation in the Vatopedi miniature remains hypothetical, and territory that eventually would prove unsuitable for
the opposite scenario is also equally plausible. Perhaps, even development. Whatever the exact context of this u
in both cases (Figs. 8 and 9), the miniaturists did not recog? vention, the E-shaped visualization of ulcer in the illu
nize the E-shaped monsters of their models as literal illustra? manuscripts of Job remains eloquent testimony to the
tions of the "EkKoq that struck Job and therefore felt free to of Byzantine culture in the various aspects of word-im
experiment with different forms, which retained only traces lationships and to the ability of Byzantine miniaturists
of the E-shaped images but created more dramatic narratives. duce images of great sophistication that invite and rew
The point remains, however, that in either interpretation, the attentive viewer.

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NOTES

* This article was written during a postdoctoral fellowship at the Pon? Giobbe, includes a large number of miniatures, often with the relevant
tifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, and was revised during text reproduced. Another useful publication, with a number of full-page
a postdoctoral fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, reproductions in color, is Huber, Hiob. For bibliographic information
Harvard University. I warmly thank both institutes for supporting my on each Job manuscript, see Bernab?, Giobbe, 9-11. S. Papadaki
work. I would also like to thank Prof. John Osborne for his valuable ?kland, Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts of the Book of Job: A Pre?
comments and suggestions, Dr. Patricia Skotti for providing me with liminary Study of the Miniature Illustrations; Its Origin and Develop?
some material, and Alyssa Connolly for suggesting improvements of the ment (Turnhout, 2009), appeared too late to be considered in this study.
text. I am also grateful to the two external readers of Gesta for their in?
7. Job 2:8-9 (only the Septuagint translation of Job 2:9 mentions the worms
sightful observations, and I am particularly indebted to the editor and the
in Job's festering wounds).
copy editor for their hard work on the improvement of the article. It goes
without saying that all shortcomings are entirely my responsibility. 8. In Job 2:4-5 the devil declares that if Job experiences severe bodily
suffering (and not just the loss of his riches, servants, and children), he
1. See M. Bernab?, he Miniature per i Manoscritti Greci del Libro di will certainly curse God.
Giobbe (Florence, 2004), 5.
9. Only the Septuagint translation of Job 2:8 mentions that he was seated
2. Ibid., 5, 8, with reference to A. Rahlfs, Verzeichnis der griechischen on a pile of dung outside the city walls, while the Hebrew text and the
Handschriften des Alten Testaments (Berlin, 1914), 410-20. Rahlfs other versions mention that he was seated in ashes and do not refer to
mentions more than forty Byzantine codices of various books of the the city (Bernab?, Giobbe, 66). In 6:7 of the Septuagint translation,
Septuagint that include Job and more than sixty Byzantine codices in Job says, "?p?uov yap ?p? t& orcd liou coaTiep ooufjv \zovto<^" John
which Job alone or together with other Septuagint texts is accompanied Chrysostom interprets this as Job's inability to eat because of the
by commentaries in the form of catenae. stench of his body, which was as repulsive as the foul breath of the lion
3. Listed in Bernab?, Giobbe, 9-11 (these fifteen illustrated manuscripts (Fragmenta in beatum Job, 6, in Migne, PG 64, 592D-593B).
belong to the more than sixty Byzantine codices with catenae on Job and
10. We are explicitly told of his recovery only in 42:10.
other Septuagint texts listed by Rahlfs, Verzeichnis der griechischen
11. For example, in Hutter, Corpus, vol. 2, most miniatures from fig. 160
Handschriften). Bernab?, 11-13, mentions ten other manuscripts (rang?
onward; in Bernab?, Giobbe, esp. the characteristic representations in
ing from fragments of the book of Job to collections of Old Testament
Vat. gr. 749, figs. 78, 82, 85, 92, 97, 99-115; Huber, Hiob, figs. 71, 74,
books, Psalters, and other kinds of texts) that include illustrations of
76-79, 111-12, 114, 141-42, 145-46, 150-51, 153, 155-57, 169-70,
the story of Job, but not the scene examined here.
178-79, 182-97, 200-204, 208-13.
4. Bernab?, Giobbe, studies in particular this short cycle ("il ciclo breve"),
12. Bernab?, Giobbe, 146-54, with references to other views on the subject.
found in Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 749
Discussion of the dating of this manuscript is related to its provenance
(now preserving 54 miniatures); Patmos, Library of the Monastery of
and its possible connection with two other richly illustrated Byzantine
Saint John the Theologian, MS 171 (now preserving ca. 30 miniatures);
manuscripts of the ninth century, Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France,
Venice, Biblioteca Marciana, MS gr. 538; Mount Sinai, Monastery of
MS gr. 923 (Sacra Parallela) and Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, MS
Saint Catherine, MS gr. 3; and Mount Athos, Vatopedi Monastery, MS
gr. 49-50 (Homilies of Gregory Nazianzenus), the attribution and inter?
590. See esp. Bernab?, Giobbe, 15-16, 141-58.
relation of which are also hotly debated. For an overview of the rele?
5. See Bernab?, Giobbe, 16, where the large number of miniatures con? vant scholarly literature, see L. Brubaker, Byzantium in the Iconoclast
tained in these ten codices is exemplified by the cases of Oxford, Bod? Era (ca. 680-850): The Sources; An Annotated Survey (Aldershot,
leian Library, MS Barocci 201 (retaining 231 miniatures) and Vatican 2001), 43, 49-50, 52; and O. Oretskaia, "A Stylistic Tendency in Ninth
City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 751 (222 miniatures). Other Century Art of the Byzantine World," Zograf 29 (2002-3), 5-18, esp.
manuscripts that belong to the "ciclo lungo" (long cycle) have consid? nn. 2-3.
erably fewer miniatures, e.g., Jerusalem, Patriarchal Library, MS Taphou
13. Fol. 25. Discussed in Bernab?, Giobbe, 63-64, fig. 73. For a full-page
5 (117) and Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 1231
reproduction in color, see Huber, Hiob, 108, fig. 69.
(145). See P. Huber, Hiob: Dulder oder Rebell? Byzantinische Minia?
turen zum Buch Hiob in Patmos, Rom, Venedig, Sinai, Jerusalem und 14. See the discussion in Bernab?, Giobbe, 63 nn. 68-69; also Huber, Hiob,
Athos (D?sseldorf, 1986), 208. Bernab?, Giobbe, 16, mentions that the 109. See also Bernab?, Giobbe, 62, for a reference to multiheaded
miniatures illustrating the narrative prologue of the book of Job (chaps. creatures inspired by the book of Revelation and included in depic?
1-2, to which the scene discussed here belongs) are the same in both tions of the Last Judgment.
the short and the long cycle. See also K. Wessel, "Hiob," in Reallexikon
15. Whenever the Greek quotations are from manuscripts written in uncial
zur byzantinischen Kunst, 3 (Stuttgart, 1978), 132-52, esp. 131-32, for script, like Vat. gr. 749, I give them in uppercase, but for technical
a list of Byzantine illuminated manuscripts of Job and the number of reasons I omit the accents. Whenever I refer to biblical quotations in
miniatures in each (some of the information is outdated). general (not from a specific uncial manuscript), discuss the meaning of
6. For example, most or all of the miniatures of the following thirteenth Greek words, or refer to manuscripts written in minuscule, I give the
century codices, which belong to the "ciclo lungo," are unpublished: Greek quotations in lowercase. Unless mentioned otherwise, the trans?
lations are mine.
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, MS gr. 134, Vatican City, Bi?
blioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 751, and MS Palat. 230 (Bernab?, 16. The scratching with the pottery sherd and Job's expulsion from the city
Giobbe, 10, 16). Several of the miniatures in the thirteenth-century MS are mentioned not only in the commentary of Job 2:7 but also in the
Taphou 5, also of the "long cycle," are unpublished (including the illus? following line of the Septuagint text (2:8), which, however, appears on
tration for Job 2:7), although Huber, Hiob, 193-241, includes several the next page in MS Vat. gr. 749 (fol. 25v, Bernab?, Giobbe, fig. 77).
miniatures of this codex and emphasizes its similarities with the more
17. Fol. 26 onward (Bernab?, Giobbe, figs. 78ff.).
extensively published MS Vat. gr. 1231. All the miniatures of MS
18. This synoptic construction of visual narrative is not uncommon in
Barocci 201 are published, yet very few or no lines of the relevant text
accompany them. I. Hutter, Corpus der byzantinischen Miniaturenhand? Christian imagery. For example, a characteristic case is the Crucifixion
schriften, 5 vols. (Stuttgart, 1977-97), 2:36-54, figs. 138-363. Bernab?, image in the Rabbula Gospels (dated 586), where successive moments

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of Christ's Passion are combined in one image. He is alive on the cross 20:16, while in the apocryphal Testament of Job (27:1), the lion stands
wearing his purple robe while at the same time three men throw lots for the devil. For the comparison of the devil or demons to lions, see
for that same robe spread among them at the bottom of the cross, and also Th. M. Provatakis, Ho Diavolos eis ten Byzantinen Technen (Thes
another figure pierces Christ's side with the spear (something that salonike, 1980), 236 n. 349.
according to the Gospels happens after his death). See C. Cecchelli, 27. Fragmenta in Job, chap. 3, in Migne, PG 39, 1129D. The words men?
G. Fulani, and M. Salmi, The Rabbula Gospels Facsimile Edition of tioned are "avxiKsifisvoc;," "Ttovip?c;," "^sow," "SpctKcov," ' ocpu;," "Orjpiov,"
the Miniatures of the Syriac Manuscript Flut. I, 56 (Lausanne, 1959), "Kfjxoc;."
fol. 13. Concerning the iconographic tradition of Job: a bench appears
in the same scene in MS Sinait. gr. 3, fol. 25v, where the background
28. Lampe, Patristic Lexicon, 1120-1121, "7rovip?c;," definitions 2-6. The
most relevant translations for the meaning of this word in the text of
also suggests Job is outside his house and city, in a landscape with
Job are (in numerical order): wretched/dreadful (2), wicked/morally
vegetation (Bernab?, Giobbe, 64, fig. 74). According to Bernab? (64
evil (3), devil (4), or evil (5). For some examples in patristic commen?
65, 133), the bench might have been based on depictions of philoso?
taries, see Didymos, Fragmenta in Job, chap. 1, 3, in Migne, PG 39,
phers, who may have provided the model for Job's pose and clothing
in this scene. 112IB, 1129D; John Chrysostom, Fragmenta in beatum Job, 1, in
Migne, PG 64, 529B, 533B, D, 536C-D; and Olympiodoros, In bea?
19. Bernab?, Giobbe, 133-34, notes that the miniature cycle of Job could tum Job, 1, in Migne, PG 93, 28B.
have been created for a manuscript either with or without commentary.
29. H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, new ed. rev. and
No conclusive evidence proves one or the other scenario. Even though
aug. H. S. Jones and R. McKenzie (Oxford, 1996), 1447, "7rovrjp6^," in
he mentions a few cases in which the miniatures of the existing manu?
sec. 1.2.
scripts are influenced by the commentary, he points out that most of the
miniatures depend exclusively on the biblical text, and that it is therefore 30. Lampe, A Patristic Lexicon, 1120, "Tiovnpia" definitions A-B: wicked?
possible they were created for a manuscript without a commentary. An ness, evil, malice; evil deed or thought.
obvious argument refuting this conclusion is that the existing codices 31. Both words are in the dative. The word "EAEOANTI" is clearly visible
with commentary Bernab? examined include a miniature for almost in Huber, Hiob, figs. 24 and 69. In the reproduction of the Patmos codex
every line of the biblical text (accompanied by many more lines of in ibid., fig. 24, it seems that the words "EAKEI" and "EAEOANTI"
commentary) for Job 1-2 (ibid., 133). An equally densely illustrated are linked by two identical red reference signs.
codex with only the biblical text would appear quite extravagant, like
a book of miniatures with the scripture reduced to captionlike propor? 32. For example, Pseudo-Galen (after the second century), Introductio seu
Medicus, Claudii Galeni Opera Omnia, ed. C. G. K?hn (Leipzig, 1821
tions. The miniature cycle as we know it today must have been created
30; repr. Hildesheim, 1965), 14:756, lines 15-16: "f) 5s s^scpavxiaau;
for a codex with commentary, the existence of which might have in?
to ndQoc, soxe t? ?voua ?n? ouoioxrrroc; xfjc; 7ip6<; x?v sAi(pavxa."
fluenced the illustration more extensively than has been recognized.
Since I have not studied this question, I cannot say anything further. I 33. See the fifteenth miracle in Sophronios, Narratio Miraculorum Sanc?
will only mention one more example of the possible influence of the torum Cyri et Joannis, ed. N. Fernandez Marcos, Manuales y anejos de
commentary on another miniature of MS Vat. gr. 749 below. "Emerita," 31 (Madrid, 1975), 243-400. For references in medical
sources, see the examples in n. 34 below. For lexicographical ex?
20. This part of the codex was illustrated about the late ninth and early
amples, see the entry by Hesychios (fifth to sixth century), in Hesychii
tenth century (Bernab?, Giobbe, 144-45). Today the miniature in ques?
Alexandrini Lexicon, ed. K. Latte, 2 vols. (Copenhagen, 1953/1966),
tion is barely legible because of extensive flaking (compare Figs. 2a
2:66: "s^scpavxiaaic;' si5o<; ^S7tpac;"
and 2b). For a good colorplate of the miniature as it was preserved
about 1930, see G. Jacopi, "Le Miniature dei Codici di Patmo," Clara 34. For example, Pseudo-Galen, Claudii Galeni Opera Omnia 14.756, line
Rhodos, 6-7 (1932-33), pi. XVIII (here reproduced in black and white). 15 and 14.757, line 18, esp. 757, lines 5-7: "xivsc; 5s xcov Ttataxioxspeov
For a colorplate of the miniature as it survives today, see Huber, Hiob, sic; s?, SiaipoCai xo 7id8o<; a?x? [xfjv sXscpavxiaaiv], sic; s?vs(pavx(aoiv,
fig. 24. Jisovxiaaiv, oqnaaiv, >tsjrpav Kai ataojisKiav Kai ^cb?rjv." See also
Oribasios (fourth century), Collectiones Medicae, in Oribasii Collec
21. Huber, Hiob, fig. 166. The manuscript is dated to the thirteenth cen?
tionum Medicarum Reliquiae, ed. J. Raeder, Corpus Medicorum Grae
tury, and its iconography is very close to that of MS Taphou 5, also of
the thirteenth century. See ibid., 193-241, for the many similarities be?
corum, 6.2.1 (Leipzig, 1931), Book 45, chaps. 27-28, esp. chap. 28,
sec. 2, for a reference to ^sovxiaatc; as the first stage of sAscpavxiaaic;.
tween the two manuscripts. Unfortunately, Huber does not reproduce
the illustration of Job 2:7 included in MS Taphou 5.
Also Galen (second century), De Sanitate Tuenda Libri VI, in Galeni
de Sanitate Tuenda Libri VI, ed. K. Koch, Corpus Medicorum Grae
22. Compare figs. 24 and 69 in ibid. corum, 5.4.2 (Leipzig, 1923), 244:1, for a reference to the diseases
23. This observation is also made by Bernab?, Giobbe, 62. Only the devil tXeyac, and oqriaaic; together with other skin ailments; Kyranides (be?
appears striking Job in MS Sinait. 3, fol. 25v, and MS Marc. gr. 538, fore the first or second century), in Die Kyraniden, ed. D. V. Kaimakes
fol. 22v (Bernab?, Giobbe, 64-65, figs. 74 and 75); also on page 47 of (Meisenheim am Glan, 1976), Book 2, sec. 46, mentions an animal
the sixteenth-century Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud. gr. 86, Hutter, that cures, among other illnesses, "s^scpavxidoeic; Kai ocpidasu;."
Corpus, 2:55, fig. 385. 35. Bernab?, Giobbe, 62.
24. Bernab?, Giobbe, 64. 36. Liddell and Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, 949, "Kfjxoc;." Cf. Jonah
25. Ibid., 63. 2:1, 11. See also n. 27 above; and Olympiodoros, In beatum Job, 3, in
Migne, PG 93, 60A (commenting on the Kfycoc; in Job 3:8 as a refer?
26. For example, see 1 Peter 5:8 ("Your enemy the devil prowls around like
ence to the devil).
a roaring lion looking for someone to devour"; quoted by Didymos,
Fragmenta in Job, chap. 1, in Migne, PG 39, 1121B) and Revelation 12:9 37. This was one of the topics discussed by I. Kalavrezou in a paper entitled
("The great dragon was hurled down?that ancient serpent called the "Images of the Sea in Byzantium," presented in a symposium in honor
devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray"). See also G. W. H. of Helene Ahrweiler, Poros, Greece, July 2004.1 thank Prof. Kalavrezou
Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexicon (Oxford, 1989), 386, "5pdKcov," def? for providing me with this reference. For more detailed references to
inition 2; 989, "o(pi<;," definitions 1-3. Bernab?, Giobbe, 63, mentions primary and secondary sources that demonstrate the Byzantine percep?
that the dragon and the snake are considered devilish creatures in Job tion of the sea as a hostile realm, see n. 38 below.

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38. See, for example, the interpretation of the calming of the sea in Psalm century); this could explain how such a letter concept, rendered in two
88:10 as the subjugation of either evil spirits, passions, or teachers of different ways, appears in two manuscripts that are not directly related.
arrogance by Eusebios, Commentaria in Psalmos, 88, in Migne, PG Since this initial A introduces the word '"AvBpcoTio^" (human being), its
23, 1088A-D; Didymos, Expositio in Psalmos, 88, in Migne, PG 39, illustration with a human figure makes perfect sense and could have
1489A-B; and Theodoret, Interpretatio in psalmos, 88, in Migne, PG been invented for an illustrated book of Job even before MS Vat. gr. 749
80, 1581A-B. For an extensive examination of the use of sea-storm was produced?although this latter manuscript might have been the first
metaphors in Byzantine patristic literature, see M. Evangelatou, "The to include an illustrated initial in which the human figure is combined
Illustration of the Ninth-Century Byzantine Marginal Psalters: Layers with animal forms. See below for further discussion on the initial A in
of Meaning and Their Sources" (Dissertation, University of London, the Vatican codex.
2003), 127-30. Metaphors of endangered ships and threatening storms
45. See esp. Osborne, "Painted Initials," 76-80; and Brubaker, "Introduc?
were extensively used by Byzantine authors to denote perilous situations
tion of Painted Initials," 36-45.
in personal, state, and church affairs. See A. Kazhdan and S. Franklin,
Studies on Byzantine Literature of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries 46. See Bernab?, Giobbe, 146-54, with further literature. MS Patm. 171 has
(Cambridge, 1984), 263-66; and C. Galatariotou, "Travel and Percep? also been considered of Italian origin. It has been further suggested,
tion in Byzantium," DOP, 43 (1993), 221-41, esp. 231. however, that the first part of the book (including Job 2:7) was illus?
trated in Constantinople, and only the second part (which includes
39. Didymos, Fragmenta in Job, chap. 1, 9, in Migne, PG 39, 1128C,
illustrated initials) was illustrated later in Italy (ibid., 142, 144-45).
1144C; John Chrysostom, Fragmenta in beatum Job, Proemium, 1, 2,
7, in Migne, PG 64, 507B, 540C, 569BC, 597B. 47. See Osborne, "Painted Initials," 77, 78, fig. 4. The comparison between
the animal heads of the initial M in MS Vat. gr. 1666 and the initial A
40. See Huber, Hiob, figs. 174-75 (similar to fig. 176, fol. 58 of MS
in MS Vat. gr. 749 (with no reference to the E-shaped monster of Job 2:7)
Taphou 5). These miniatures illustrate Job 4:10-11, on fols. 115v and
was first made by Andre Grabar. He noted that the putto and dragon
116 of MS Vat. gr. 1231.
heads seen in the initial A of MS Vat. gr. 749 were common in the
41. Fol. 6, Bernab?, Giobbe, 22, fig. 1, mentions the similarities between decoration of initials and vignettes of Western manuscripts and consid?
the initial A and the three-headed monster of Job 2:7, both of which he ered this an indication that the Vatican codex was produced in a Greek
interprets as visualizations of the devil. Four painters are thought to scriptorium in Italy. See Grabar, Les manuscripts grecs enlumines de
have contributed to the illustration of the Vatican Job, but the first part provenance italienne (IXe-XIe siecle) (Paris, 1972), 18. It is especially
of the codex up to fol. 30 was painted by the same miniaturist who the dragon head biting the lower part of the diagonal stem in the initial
created the initial A and the E-shaped monster (Bernab?, Giobbe, 149). A of the Vatican codex (Fig. 5) that recalls very similar forms in Western
MS Patm. 171 (late ninth to early tenth century) is also known to have manuscripts and Greek codices produced in Italy. See, for example, the
initials decorated with animal forms, but they appear in the second images reproduced in ibid., figs. 89, 110, 112, 117, 122, 262, 338, 341.
part of the codex, which was illustrated in the eleventh century. See
48. According to its colophon, MS Vat. gr. 1666 is dated to the year 800.
K. Weitzmann, Die byzantinische Buchmalerei des 9. und 10. Jahr?
For all the above, including a reference to the Vienna Dioskorides
hunderts (Berlin, 1935; rpt. with Addenda und Appendix, Vienna,
(?sterreichisches Nationalbibliothek, MS. med. gr. 1), see Osborne,
1996), 51, figs. 328, 330 (which reproduce pp. 226 and 197 of the
"Painted Initials," 77-79; and Brubaker, "Introduction of Painted Ini?
manuscript). Weitzmann observes that these initials were not made by
tials," 43.
the same hand that wrote the first part of the codex (where the E
shaped monster appears and where the initials are very simple). The 49. The miniature is published in Grabar, Les manuscripts grecs, 49, fig. 174.
scholarly literature does not clarify, however, whether the illustrated For an overview of the scholarly literature concerning the provenance
initials in the second part of the codex are contemporary with the first of this codex, and arguments in favor of a Constantinopolitan attribu?
phase of the production of the manuscript or with the eleventh-century tion, see K. Krause, Die illustrierten Homilien des Johannes Chrysos
illustration of the second part of the codex. For example, although tomos in Byzanz (Wiesbaden, 2004), 160.
C. Nordenfalk, Die sp?tantiken Zierbuchstaben: Die B?cherornamentik
50. See Bernab?, Giobbe, 143, 147-48, with reference to further literature
der Sp?tantike (Stockholm, 1970), 151, 196, figs. 37a, 58b, examines
on both these questions. Osborne, "Painted Initials," 80, mentions the
the same initials published by Weitzmann, the only dating he mentions
initial A of MS Vat. gr. 749 as a possible indication of the manuscript's
for the production of the codex is the ninth century. Because of this
Italian provenance, but given the uncertainty of this occidental attribu?
uncertainty, and because I have not examined the manuscript in person,
tion, he cautiously avoids dwelling on the issue.
I do not include these initials in the present discussion.
51. For example, see the putti and other figures riding marine creatures in
42. See the discussion by J. Osborne, "The Use of Painted Initials by Greek
Late Antique mosaics published in H. Maguire, "Epigrams, Art, and
and Latin Scriptoria in Carolingian Rome," Gesta, 29 (1990), 76-85;
the 'Macedonian Renaissance,'" DOP, 48 (1994), 105-15, figs. 4-8,
and L. Brubaker, "The Introduction of Painted Initials in Byzantium,"
and fig. 2, for similar representations of boys riding marine creatures
Scriptorium, 45 (1991), 22-46.
on a middle Byzantine ivory casket now at the Walters Art Museum,
43. See Bernab?, Giobbe, 16-17, 127-36, for a discussion on the possible Baltimore. The mantle flowing behind the boy on the initial A of the
origins of the cycle. Vatican codex seems to take the place of wings that appear in repre?
sentations of Late Antique putti.
44. MS Marc. gr. 538, produced in 904/5, probably in Constantinople, does
not include the E-shaped monster in the illustration of Job 2:7 but does 52. The Vatican comments are slightly different from those published in
include an elaborate initial A introducing Job 1:1. However, this letter Migne, PG 93, 20A-B (Olympiodoros) and PG 24, 509A-B (Chrysos
form includes only a human figure, without any beastly heads like those tom), so I transcribe them here: "OAYMniOAQPOY AIAKONOY / H
in the initial A in MS Vat. gr. 749 (Bernab?, Giobbe, 22-23, 157). XQPA H AYCITIC XQPA HN TOY HCAY- AIIO TAP HCAY,
Since the Marcian codex does not depend on the Vatican one (Bernab?, AYCITIC EKKAH0H- / HTOI AnO AYC ENOC TQN YIQN HCAY
Giobbe, 135-39, 157-58), the evidence offered above might suggest BOYAETAI AE EinEIN OION ANAPA / HNEHCEN EIC EYCE
that an initial A partly formed by or decorated with a human figure en? BEIAN H TOY BEBHAOY KAI A0ECMOY XQPA- AYTH AE / H
tered the Byzantine iconographic tradition for the book of Job at least AYCITIC EN OPIOIC IOYAAIAC KAI APABIAC QC EYCEBIOC
by the time the Vatican manuscript was created (first half of the ninth OACKQN OYTQ / TON APICTAION EN TQ nEPI IOYAAIQN

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EKAABEIN. THN XQPA(N) / TOY CHQN OHCIN- HTIC / total lack of order in the chaotic realm of the devil. See the insightful
EBPAICTI AOYC KAAEITAI. / KATA OYCIN MEN EIC TQN / comments by B. Zeitler, "Ostentatio genitalium: Displays of Nudity in
nOAAQN- KATA APETHN / AE riOAAQN YTHAOTEPOC. / TOY Byzantium," in Desire and Denial in Byzantium: Papers from the Thirty
ATIOY IDANNOY/ TOY XPYCOCTOMOY/ OPA nPQTON ETKH first Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, University of Sussex,
MION7 AN(0PQn)OC HN- OY TAP AH MI/KPON ETKQMION Brighton, March 1997, ed. L. James (Aldershot, 1999), 185-201.
TOY/TO TO AN(0Pnn)ON EINAI ?>HCI / EN XQPA TH AYCI 57. Bernab?, Giobbe, 22.
TIAI. / KAI TOYTO MET A ETKQ/MION- TO TAP EN APABIA /
EINAI EN0A nANTEC AIE/O0APMENOL EN0A OYAEN / Y?O 58. See n. 61 below for a list of these depictions. The depiction of the devil
AEITMA HN EYNOMIAC. TOY/TO HN TO 0AYMACTON." and his demons with dark skin is particularly frequent in Byzantine
images (and texts). See, for example, Provatakis, Ho Diavolos, 52 for?
53. It has already been noted that the devil was often compared to wild and ward and many of the images reproduced in his volume.
dangerous beasts, such as lions, snakes, and dragons (see nn. 26 and 27
59. The perception of nakedness as a sign of humiliation or poverty led to
above). Impious people, and especially heretics, were very frequently
its use in scenes of Christian martyrdom or ascetic self-deprivation.
compared to wild animals (especially wolves and lions) in patristic lit?
The involuntary nakedness of martyrs or the voluntary nakedness of
erature, following biblical quotations such as Matthew 7:15, John 10:11
ascetics who expose their emaciated bodies to the natural elements and
16 and 27-28, Acts 20:28-29, and 1 Peter 5:8. For some examples, see
hardships of desert life is the opposite of sexual nudity; it therefore
Theodoret, Interpretatio in psalmos, 21, 34, in Migne, PG 80, 1017C
transforms the negative connotations of lack of clothing into a positive
(Psalm 21:22), 1116A-B (Psalm 34:17); Acts of the Second Ecumenical
sign of moral superiority. It is significant that the lower part of martyred
Council, in Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amplissima Collectio, ed.
and ascetic bodies in Byzantine visual culture is usually covered or
G. D. Mansi, 58 vols. (Venice, 1759-98; rpt. Paris and Leipzig, 1901
sexless (with no indication of genitalia: their usual omission in Byzantine
27), 3:532B, 581E; Acts of the Third Ecumenical Council, in ibid.,
4:1020C, 1029D-1032A, 1037B, 1093B, 1096C, 1098D; Acts of the depictions of naked bodies indicates the negative association of sex?
Fourth Ecumenical Council, in ibid., 7:805BC; Acts of the Sixth Ecu? uality; see Zeitler, "Ostentatio genitalium,'' 186, 188f.). Job is always
represented with a loincloth or naked and sexless in scenes of his
menical Council, in ibid., 11:717B, 721 A, 733C. All the above psalm
bodily suffering. See M. Evangelatou, "The Exegetical Initials of
commentary passages mention "lions," and most of the council passages,
Codex Parisinus graecus 41: Word and Image in a Twelfth-Century
"wolves." For more textual references, see Evangelatou, "Ninth-Century
Greek Psalter," Word and Image, 24/2 (2008), 199-218, esp. 202, 206
Psalters," 58-59, and 51-63 for a broader discussion of wild beasts as
7 nn. 42, 79. It is exactly because the primary significance of bodily
symbols of evil in Byzantine culture, with special reference to depictions
exposure in Christian culture is negative that in contexts of the suffering
of David killing the lion and the bear (1 Kings 17:34-35) in illustrated
Psalters. and humiliation of virtuous figures it can become positive. The same
applies, I believe, in the case of Christ's nakedness in scenes of his
54. Compare Daniel 6:17-25. The prophet unharmed in the lions' den is Baptism and Crucifixion: it is a sign of God's willingness to assume
the biblical model for such stories like that of Pantoleon/Panteleemon, human flesh and be humbled and humiliated in it for the salvation of
in front of whom wild beasts bowed in the arena. See Oxford Dictionary the world. For a different view that emphasizes only the positive aspect
of Byzantium (Oxford, 1991), 3:1573. Characteristic stories of lions of Christ's nakedness, see H. Maguire and E. Maguire, Other Icons:
acting like helpers and protectors of saints are those of St. Paul the Art and Power in Byzantine Secular Culture (Princeton, 2006), 97-105
Hermit and St. Malchus. For more examples, see A. G. Elliott, Roads and 106-9 and 118 for references to the negative and shameful aspects
to Paradise: Reading the Lives of the Early Saints (Hanover, NH, 1987), of lack of clothing in Byzantine culture.
144-67, esp. 148-50, 164, for cases where humans persecuting the
60. See, for example, the discussion of nude figures in the illustrated ini?
saints are condemned for being worse than the wild animals who rec?
tials of a twelfth-century Byzantine Psalter, in Evangelatou, "Parisinus
ognize and respect sainthood. Elliott observes that like the "helpful
graecus 41," 206-7, 211. The two adult men depicted naked in full frontal
beasts" of folklore, lions that renounce their natural bestiality to serve
view (figs. 4 and 5), in one case with the genitalia clearly exposed, are
holy figures whose sanctity they recognize are a common motif in the
cases of involuntary lack of clothing in the context of poverty and
Lives of the desert monks. Another relevant example is that of St.
Gerasimos. For a discussion of the textual and visual references in the martyrdom. The two young boys depicted naked in a side view (no
genitalia represented, figs. 8 and 9) are probably voluntary instances of
Byzantine tradition, see A. Tsitouridou, Ho zografikos diakosmos tou
lack of clothing alluding to the celebration surrounding Christ's tri?
Hagiou Nikolaou Orphanou ste Thessalonike. Symbole ste melete tes
umphal Entry into Jerusalem. Compare the twelfth-century Byzantine
palaiologeias zografikes kata ton proimo 14o aiona (Thessalonike,
mosaic of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, Sicily, where a child and
1986), 176-79, pis. 70-71. See also D. Salter, Holy and Noble Beasts:
not an adult is depicted naked, having undressed to spread his clothes
Encounters with Animals in Medieval Literature (Woodbridge, 2001),
on Christ's path. See P. Toesca, La Cappella Palatina di Palermo: I
in particular chap. 1, "St Jerome and the Lion," 11-24, esp. 16-21, where
Mosaici (Milan, 1955), pi. XVII. In all these cases (the initial A of the
he discusses, among other topics, the concept of the desert wilderness
Vatican Job, the initials of Paris, gr. 41, and the Palatine mosaic), it is
as a return to nature and God, away from the corruption of urban life
probably significant that the naked figure is a boy and not a girl, since
(compare Elliott, Roads to Paradise, 151, 157, 165, who mentions a re?
in Christian culture female nudity is more frequently seen as sexual
turn to paradise). In this sense, I would argue that the meek behavior of
and therefore negative than male nudity, following in the misogynistic
lions that recognize the holiness of the desert fathers highlights by
footsteps of the Genesis narrative of the temptress Eve. In addition, that
contrast the beastly sinfulness of the city.
the naked child in the Vatican initial A is a boy reinforces the cross
55. For which see nn. 26, 27, and 53 above. references with the initial E next to the lightly clad figure of Job.

56. Adam's and Eve's shame for their nudity after the fall (Genesis 3:7 and 61. Fols. 12v, 13v, 16, 20, 23, 24v, Bernab?, Giobbe, figs. 22, 25, 28, 48,
10-11) is emblematic of the Judeo-Christian perception of the naked 64, 69. Although Job wears a himation when he is first attacked by the
body as a sign of guilt and sin. It is no coincidence that in medieval disease (Fig. 1 here), he is represented with a loincloth from then on?
representations of the Last Judgment, the just appear in paradise fully ward until he is cured (fol. 26 on, Bernab?, Giobbe, figs. 78f.). In the
dressed and hierarchically characterized by their clothing, while the Vatican codex, poor people working or fighting in the countryside (like
damned are often shown naked in hell, where the absence of clothing Job's herdsmen and those who kill them) are often depicted wearing an
refers to the sin of lust, moral deprivation in general, humiliation, and exomis, a short chiton that leaves one shoulder and at least half of the

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torso uncovered (fols. 17v, 19, Bernab?, Giobbe, figs. 36, 44). In one 69. S. Papadaki-?kland, "Ho kodikas Batopediou 590, hena antigrapho tou
case, the herdsmen appear to be wearing a cloth that falls from the lob tes Patmou," Deltion tes Christianikes Archaiologikes Hetaireias, 13
lower torso or the waist only to the knees. This is longer than the loin? (1985-86), 17-38.
cloth worn by the devil, demons, or Job himself; it could be an exomis
70. A composition similar to the miniature of MS Vatop. 590 discussed
unpinned on both sides, with the upper part tacked around the waist
here can be seen in the initial O of the eleventh-century MS 22 of the
(fol. 18v, Bernab?, Giobbe, fig. 40). In another case, it is difficult to be
Pantokrator Monastery on Mount Athos. On fol. 57, the standing figure
sure of the exact nature of the herdsmen's clothing, because one side of
of Job appears at the right part of the letter, the rest of which is made
their upper body is hidden, but they, too, might be wearing an exomis,
up of the bodies of a dragon and the devil, which attack Job at the head
since the cloth around their lower body is painted with a prominent
and the feet respectively. Here Job is depicted dressed and holding a
diagonal line that suggests fastening on the hidden shoulder (fol. 7,
cross. The message of this composition, in conjunction with the rele?
Bernab?, Giobbe, fig. 8). This is again different from the short loin?
vant text of John Chrysostom that this O introduces, is that, thanks to
cloth worn by the devil, demons, or Job, especially in the first thirty
his virtuousness, Job overcomes the attacks of the devil. See Krause, Die
folios of the manuscript that were all painted by the same miniaturist
illustrierten Homilien, 128-30, 137 (for the dating), fig. 172 (colorpl.),
who created the initials A and E (for which, see Bernab?, Giobbe, 149).
173 (black-and-white detail). It is possible (although not at all neces?
The semiexposed bodies of Job's herdsmen and their killers indicate
sary) that the painter of this initial was familiar with an illustration of
that the meaning of bodily exposure must be considered on the basis of
Job 2:7, in which a three-headed E-shaped monster or other similar con?
context and not fixed preconceptions.
figuration attacks the just man, and he skillfully adjusted this model to
62. Zeitler, "Ostentatio genitaliumr esp. 189, 192-93, fig. 17.7, observes fit a new function and emphasize a different aspect of Job's story.
that although nakedness usually has negative connotations in Byzantine
71. Although the word "novrpco" [sic] is written with a capital n, the
imagery, in certain contexts its significance might be positive, as a ref?
word "jiapo^uxovco^" is introduced by a lowercase medieval cursive n
erence to innocence. She mentions the characteristic example of the
that appears right above Job and looks conspicuously similar to the
naked chaste female blessed by St. Basil opposite the prurient and
composite monster engulfing the afflicted man, right down to the hori?
richly dressed female, on fol. 272 of MS Paris, gr. 923 (the codex of
zontal hasta of the letter projecting to the left, which corresponds to
the Sacra Parallela, which, according to some scholars, might have been
the figure of the devil whose body projects to the left as he strikes Job
produced in the same environment as the Vatican Job; see n. 12 above).
with what seems to be a black horizontal pole.
Although depicted frontally, this naked female lacks genitalia, a detail
that emphasizes the reference to innocence (absence of sexuality). The 72. See nn. 28-30 above.
same could be said of the lightly clad figure in the initial A of the Vatican
73. Perhaps more instances of subtle visual exegesis in the other minia?
Job, since he is depicted in profile with no genitalia in view.
tures created by this painter could sustain the possibility of the above
63. I have not found in the scholarly literature reference to another similar interpretation, but one reason it is not possible to investigate this question
initial A in any other manuscript of the book of Job. MS Marc. gr. 538 is the fact that very few of his miniatures are included in the codex and
retains an initial A in which only a human figure and no animals appear even fewer have been published. Although I have not found a similar
(see n. 44 above). MS Patm. 171, which is closer to the Vatican Job reference in the scholarly literature, I believe this painter is responsible
than any other surviving codex, is now lacking its first folios, which only for the miniatures that illustrate the first two chapters of the Vato
might have included an initial A introducing the text. However, since, pedi Job, and a different miniaturist painted the rest. The work of the
according to Bernab?, all later surviving codices with the E-shaped latter is characterized by an almost total lack of modeling, which results
monster derive from the iconographic tradition of the Patmos Job, if in very flat figures, and different facial types, to mention the most striking
the latter did not include the initial A, then the disappearance of this differences. Compare figs. 29-32 with figs. 33-46 in Christou et al.,
motif from the manuscript tradition might be explained. It should be Hoi thesauroi tou Hagiou Orous, 4 (the Ancient of Days of fig. 255,
noted that the Vatican Job was a much more expensive production than fol. 144, could be the work of a third painter). Papadaki-?kland, "Ho
the Patmos Job: the former was illustrated throughout, while the latter kodikas Batopediou 590," e.g., 26, 38, sees only one miniaturist at work,
was originally designed to include miniatures only in the first two and she considers him a mere copyist who lacks talent and competence,
chapters. So in the Patmos codex, a lower budget rather than lack of simply because his style is more abstract and far removed from the
appreciation for the meaning of the initial A might have led to the more naturalistic style of the Patmos Job, or because his compositions
omission of this nonnarrative element. For information on dating, dis? are simplified in relation to those of his model. In my opinion, these
tribution of miniatures, and relation between codices, see Bernab?, features are signs not of incompetence but of a different artistic person?
Giobbe, 129, 136, 141-54. ality and time period. See also the observations on p. 24 of her article,
64. See n. 63 above. which indicate the miniaturist was able to make rather meaningful
choices. On p. 34 she attributes the stylistic differences between the
65. See the stemma in Bernab?, Giobbe, 129. I am referring in particular two parts of the Vatopedi codex to the effort of the "copyist" to repro?
to MSS Vat. gr. 1231, Barocci 201, and Vatop. 590 (the last two duce the stylistic difference seen between the two parts of his model
discussed below). The codices that include only the devil striking Job, (rather than to two different painters, as I propose). One wonders why
instead of the E-shaped monster or a variation, belong to a different a copyist would have attempted to reproduce differences of style, but
branch of the iconographic tradition (Bernab?, Giobbe, 129, MSS not differences in the composition, such as the elaborate landscape seen
Sinait. gr. 3 and Marc. gr. 538). in the first part of the Patmos codex and missing in the second part
66. Fol. 32v, Hutter, Corpus, 2:36, 39, fig. 160. (where a different painter was at work). In the Vatopedi codex the land?
scape is missing from all the miniatures. In addition, there are stylistic
67. MS Barocci 201 belongs to the family of Job manuscripts with a longer
differences between the Ancient of Days and the angels on fol. 144 of
miniature cycle, not discussed in Bernab?'s monograph; according to
the Vatopedi codex (probably resulting from the collaboration of the
his stemma, they also derive from the iconographic tradition of MS
second painter with a third one), while the relevant miniature in the
Patm. 171. See Bernab?, Giobbe, 129.
Patmos codex is homogenous (see the images reproduced in Huber,
68. Colorplate in P. K. Christou, S. N. Kadas, and A. Kalamartze-Katsaros, Hiob, figs. 248-57). Papadaki-?kland does not discuss at all the Vato?
Hoi thesauroi tou Hagiou Orous, Eikonographemena cheirographa, pedi miniature of the ulcer-monster, which presents us with an original
4 vols. (Athens, 1973-91), 4: fig. 32. and meaningful composition, certainly the work of an attentive and

35

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resourceful miniaturist. In considering the possible meaning of this Vaticana). G. Galavaris, "The Problem of the Illustration of Liturgical
miniature, compare also the case discussed in n. 70 above. Texts and the Initial," in Byzantine East, Latin West: Art-historical
Studies in Honor of Kurt Weitzmann, ed. C. Moss and K. Kiefer (Prince?
74. The text is written in brown ink, but the first letter of each biblical verse
and each new comment are written in red. ton, 1995), 355-60, esp. 357-58, regarding initials of MS 1224 of the
Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai dated ca. 1300. Krause,
75. See Grabar, Les manuscripts grecs, esp. 60-62, regarding the initials of Die illustrierten Homilien, e.g., 107-13, 128-30, 141, 159. See also
the tenth-century MS Barb. gr. 285 (Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Evangelatou, "Parisinus graecus 41," 199-218.

36

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3

?.'. 11. A n i? n f ?: t J V Ui lt> k f: ' ?Uli? ? I in.tv'n; '

?x f a f * l C Tl" ?i } V< i < a ah Taj ?


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M i A AvV*M ? * CKT A Af^THS
^ i" n i aa VV m v>(' HMTf?:
?i ' >\.\l II1V KHAHIKIV
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i i n fr ? <W a/1j m tVy
tv TO ANfH.J'fm' 4" Wf~
f MXlV/ ATI I *\v IT ? A?.
i <a i t# Y'?;? m f rA*Vi< iv
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.<1>m/m f n 01/ ? m*?a < VA'N


Vn?Af i r ?i a m m # y m#m Mt Toy
V* mVri ?*-*yma< T#V::?

PLATE 2. (Evangelatou Figure 5) Initial A, Job and his wife (Job 1:1), Vati?
can City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS gr. 749, fol. 6 (photo: Biblioteca
Apostolica Vaticana, by permission).

PLATE 1. (Ramirez Figure 1) Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana,


MS Amiatino 1, Codex Amiatinus, 679-716, fol. 5, The prophet Ezra with a
book cupboard and scribal equipment (photo: by permission of the Ministem
per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali).

PLATE 4. (Evangelatou Figure 2a) Job attacked by a monster representing


the disease sent by the devil (Job 2:7), Patmos, Library of the Monastery of
PLATE 3. (Evangelatou Figure 9) Job attacked by a monster representing Saint John the Theologian, MS 171, p. 51 (photo: Library of the Monastery
the disease sent by the devil (Job 2:7), Mount Athos, Vatopedi Monastery, of Saint John, by permission. After G. Jacopi, "Le Miniature dei Codici di
MS 590, fol. 18v (photo: Ekdotike Athenon, by permission). Patmo," pi XVIII). State of the miniature ca. 1930.

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