The Cathedral of Bourges: A Witness to Judeo-Christian Dialogue in Medieval Berry

Margaret Jennings

doi:10.6017/scjr.v6i1.1584

Abstract

Begun in 1195, just one year after Chartres, and essentially finished thirty-seven years later, the high Gothic Cathedral of Saint Stephen at Bourges en Berry rose at an auspicious time for Jewish-Christian relations. Several factors impacted positively on the latter. Among them are Berry's position in central France, far from anti-Jewish centers, the Cathedral's deacon, William of Bourges, a renowned scholar and converted Jew, and the cadre of Christian Hebraists, nourished and developed by Deacon William, who disseminated respect for Jewish tradition. The usually ephemeral "respect" was translated at Bourges into several physical structures at the growing cathedral where, in glass and stone, the dialogue between the communions was imaged. Of the many illustrations of this testimony, three are noteworthy: the cathedral's large clerestory windows are assigned in equal numbers to representatives of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures; its decoration, especially in possibly incendiary scenes like the stoning of Stephen, abjures the hate-filled faces found in other venues; most significantly, its spandrel sculptures, just above eye-level on the Western end, portray various characters and events from Creation through Noah according to the rich perspective of the midrash. Unfortunately, the building campaigns at the cathedral and the respectful interaction between Jews and Christians ceased at almost the same time; nevertheless, St. Stephen's still stands as a witness to its once vibrant presence.

Highlights

The term “Golden Age” appears in several contexts. It both attracts and inspires controversy: Is the Golden Age, as technology claims, the year following a stunning breakthrough, available for use? Is it, as moralists would aver, a better, purer time? Can it be identified, as social engineers would hope, as an epoch of heightened output in art, science, literature, and philosophy? Does it portend, in assessing human development, an extended period of progress, prosperity, and cultural achievement? Factoring in Hesiod‟s and Ovid‟s understanding that a “Golden Age” was an era of great peace and happiness (Works and Days, 109-210 and Metamorphoses I, 89-150) is not helpful because, as a mythological entity, their “golden age” was far removed from ordinary experience and their testimony is necessarily imaginative
It is probably as difficult to define “Golden Age” as it is to speak of interactions between Jews and Christians in, what Jonathan Ray calls, “sweeping terms.”
Etienne— which rose at a specific time and place—Bourges-en-Berry between 1195 and 1235—one can gather convincing evidence of a short but “golden age” in Jewish-Christian relations

Summary

Introduction

Positing any kind of Jewish-Christian “golden age” in Western Europe during the medieval centuries may seem somewhat foolish in light of what happened to Jews between 1240 and 1492: expulsions, forced conversions, social and political ostracism, deprivation of income and comparable economic oppression, accusation of and prosecution for so-called “crimes” against Christians, periodic rampages by Crusaders, and other attacks—both physical and mental— which functioned as insults to Judaism.

Results

Conclusion