The Position of Jewish Art and Exegesis in an Illustrated Christian Biblical Commentary: Ezekiel’s Vision of the Tetramorph in Fourteenth-and Fifteenth-Century Manuscripts and Printed Copies of Nicholas of Lyra’s Postilla litteralis

Abstract

In the Postilla litteralis (Literal Commentary) (1322-1333), Nicholas of Lyra, a Franciscan biblical scholar at the University of Paris, compared Jewish and Christian commentaries on the Old Testament and designed illustrations and diagrams to augment those comparisons. The Postilla litteralis was copied with such an astounding frequency that it can be considered a medieval best seller. These manuscript and printed copies often included copies of Nicholas’ illustrations. This article uses a singular case study of Nicholas of Lyra’s visual comparisons between Latin and Hebrew exegesis regarding the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel’s vision of four winged creatures to shed light on how copies of Nicholas of Lyra’s illustrations represent Jewish visual and textual exegetical traditions. The goal of this article is to provide a nuanced exploration of fourteenth and fifteenth-century copies of Postilla litteralis manuscripts that display Nicholas’ illustrations of Ezekiel’s first vision. These images reveal a reliance on rabbinic commentary regarding literal meanings of scripture yet ultimately reject Jewish visual traditions of representing the divine, a strategy that supports Nicholas’ messianic interpretation of Ezekiel 1. This article uses illuminations and woodcuts in manuscript and printed copies of the Postilla litteralis, illuminations in Hebrew bible and prayer manuscripts, and illuminations in other Christian biblical commentaries to consider Nicholas’ multifaceted and varied perceptions of Jewish commentary on Ezekiel 1. I end by claiming that the copies of the Postilla litteralis’ visual comparisons between Jewish and Christian commentary operate to clarify inconsistencies within Christian iconography regarding Ezekiel 1.