Der Exodyszyklus der Sarajevo-Haggada: Bemerkungen zur Arbeitsweise spätmittelalterlicher jüdischer Illuminatoren und ihrem Umgang mit Vorlagen

Abstract

This article searches out the iconographic models of the Sarajevo Haggadah. One of the purposes of this search is to contribute a few observations to the recently much-debated question of recensions. It appears that the iconographic models of the Sarajevo-Haggadah are of specifically western character and in many cases hark back to late antique sources. These sources are manifold and originate from different iconographic traditions, but they also point clearly to the phenomenon of transmission of iconographic types and formulae from earlier sources, such as an early Christian Pentateuch. Therefore, it seems that the Haggadah's illuminator combined a variety of available sources in order to create a distinctive cycle with very specific characteristics. To this extent the article reinforces methods developed in the search for recensions. On the other hand, it has been believed that the whole group of sephardic cycles goes back to a common Jewish prototype. The following article challenges this assumption and shows that it is more likely that the Jewish illuminators used a variety of Christian models which they modified according to their specific needs. The article concentrates on the question of how medieval illuminators made use of models and how free they were to modify, to combine, and to enrich them.