7 The Reconquered Jerusalem Represented

Abstract

Several pewter pilgrimage ampullae whose iconography refers to Jerusalem have been preserved from the second half of the twelfth century. The custom of decorating objects with images referring to a site of pilgrimage and offering them to pilgrims, who then spread the souvenirs to other regions, was not a new one. After a general discussion of the custom of taking souvenirs from Jerusalem from the time of the first pilgrimages, the author focuses on pilgrimage ampullae from the Crusader period. There is an easy explanation for the fact that the Descent into Hell is depicted on pilgrimage ampullae from Jerusalem and that the theme is linked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The tradition of depicting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on pilgrimage ampullae continues, but in the Crusader period only a section of the original building with Christ's Tomb was preserved. Keywords: Christ's Tomb; Crusader period; Holy Sepulchre; Jerusalem; pewter pilgrimage ampullae