Biblical Call and Classical Response: Intertextuality and Image-Text Relations in Henricus Engelgrave’s Sermon Books

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to explore the unique structure and function of the emblems in Henricus Engelgrave’s (1610–70) sermon books (Lux evangelica, Caeleste pantheon, and Caelum empyreum). The emblems serve as introductions to sermons for Sundays and feast days of the liturgical year; they include two mottos: one biblical quotation and a quotation from classical Roman poetry. Based on a selection of exemplary emblems, this paper demonstrates that the second mottos are not merely decorative additions, as has sometimes been argued. Rather, they constitute key features in Engelgrave’s emblematic conception as they provide allegorical and pictorial imageries that affect the picturae of the emblems, the expression of the moral purpose of the sermons, and the relationship between both. This article is part of the special issue of the Journal of Jesuit Studies on Jesuit emblems and emblematic edited by Walter S. Melion.