Exodus and Easter vigil in the Ashburnham Pentateuch

The Ashburnham Pentateuch (Paris, Bibl. Nat. M nouv. acq. lat. 2334)(1) convincingly dated to the late sixth century(2) occupies a pivotal place between Late antique and Carolingian illuminated manuscripts. Originally, there were sixty-nine illustrated folios distributed completely through the codex,(3) generally corresponding to their appropriate place in the text(4) The surviving illustrated folios include a frontispiece and eighteen folios containing composed of several elements and densely illustrated Genesis and Exodus round of yearss In addition, six folios have lists of chapter titles for Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which are arranged within three arches below an embracing arch, much like canon-table decoration. greatest in quantity of the illustrated folios are compos of several representations arranged haphazardly in two or three registers; folio 9r contains the single show of the Deluge, while folios 21r 30r and 127v combine illustration and body A highly sophisticated color palette of dark amethystine orange, dark green, pink, and purple along with an impressive amount of detail in the rendering of clothing, architecture, and domestic implements, distinguishes the Ashburnham Pentateuch from other early medieval manuscripts. Equally curious are the sum of two units sets of inscriptions which accompany almost each figure and scene: inscriptions derived from the Vulgate body were painted over ink inscriptions derived from the Vetus Latina, the pre-Vulgate body of the Bible.(5) Although the Ashburnham Pentateuch has been considered a provincial produce its complex iconography and artistic quality throw back a vigorously innovative and aesthetically rigorous milieu.

The manuscript, with its rich pictorial revolution of times is a rare survivor in early medieval manuscripts; its exceptional character, however, has caused it to be treated as an iconographic curiosity, studied apart from, rather than integrated into the broader research of early medieval art. The numerous publications upon the manuscript have focused primarily upon two issues: the place of origin, and the inclusion of iconographic simple bodys that may derive from illustrated Jewish narrative revolution of times in the Late Antique period.(6) The lack of consensus regarding the origin of the manuscript and the focus upon Jewish elements within the illustrations have diverted scholarly attention from what is, in fact, the essentially Christian character of the illuminations. An examination of three bring under rules in the Exodus cycle - the Crossing of the R Sea, Mose Reading the Covenant, and the Tabernacle - reveals that the miniatures are not barely simple illustrations of Hebrew Scripture. upon the contrary, the Ashburnham Pentateuch is enriched by dint of liturgical and typological references specifically related to contemporary in lent ceremonies. Rather than pairing or juxtaposing spectacles from the Old Testament with those from the New(7) the miniatures incorporate visual respects to contemporary liturgical ceremonies, catechismal instruction, and homilies. by dint of inserting these visual cues into illustrations of the of advanced age Testament narrative, the manuscript transmits the typological meaning of the Exodus for a Christian community. The importance of typology to the house of god cannot be overestimated since it was the fundamental manner of instructing catechumens in scriptural interpretation and house of worship teachings.(8) The illustrations function not as subordinate to the narrative, on the other hand as powerful pictorial expressions of essential Christian teachings that enhance and enrich the audience's understanding of the body Jewish history is reinterpreted and transformed into an experience that speaks directly to a contemporary Christian audience.(9)

The Crossing of the R Sea occupies the lower two-thirds of folio 68r while the upper third portrays the male Israelites murmuring against Mose and Aaron as the women and children match out from their tents [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. The Crossing illustrates Exodus 14:26-28 where Mose shut ups the waters of the R Sea behind the fleeing Israelites:(10)

Then the Lord said to Mose "Stretch on the outside your hand over the sea, and allow the water flow back above the Egyptians, their chariots and their cavalry." for a like reason Moses stretched out his hand above the sea, and at daybreak the water go [i]or[/i] come backed to its accustomed place; on the other hand the Egyptians were in flight as it advanced, and the Lord swept them without into the sea. The water flowed back and overspreaded all Pharaoh's army, the chariots and the cavalry, which had squeezeed the pursuit into the sea. Not single man was left alive.(11)

The depiction of the Crossing is dominated by means of the green waters of the R Sea, which are filled with drowning soldiers, chariots, and horses.(12) The ink inscription in the left margin reads: hic que in fugere et non potet upon a peninsula of dry land, Mose Aaron, and the Israelites tread on the heels of the pillar of cloud (columna nubis),(13) which is depicted in the right margin as a large candle held in sum of two units hands issuing from a white collection of vapor The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire are briefly described in the true copy of Exodus 13:21: "the Lord went before them, by dint of day a pillar of collection of vapor to guide them on their journey, by means of night a pillar of fire to give them light." Mose raises a twig in his right hand to command the closing of the waters of the R Sea, while Aaron gesturings and the Israelites look toward the candle. The artist illustrates the body closely, but when he draw nears to the strange image of the pillar of mist he departs from the body and pictorial tradition.