Inscribing Spiritual Authority: the Temptation of St. Benedict Capital in the Narthex at Vézelay

Abstract

In the narthex of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine at Vezelay a rare depiction of the Temptation of St. Benedict on a capital faces toward the tympanum representing Pentecost and the Mission of the Apostles. Both the monastic and the lay communities used the narthex, a site of passage into the main body of the church, but this capital was placed directly in the path of the monks entering the narthex during the Sunday and Easter processions. Across the east face of the capital images of the Devil, a woman, and St. Benedict are aligned beneath an inscription which clearly labels the woman DIABOLVS, as a warning to the monks that women, such as those attending the Sunday and Easter services, must be guarded against as though they were the Devil himself. This article addresses the monastic understanding of the narthex as Galilee, the site for meeting Christ eternal, and relates the capital to the cure of souls (cura animarum) during a period of conflict with the bishop of Autun over this privilege. The sculpted narrati...