The Robe of Corporeality: Sensual Aspects of Medieval Representations of Crucified Christ in the Tunica Manicata

Abstract

This paper explores the iconography of the Volto Santo – a crucifix worshiped at the cathedral of Lucca, Italy, and the reception of this iconographic type in the medieval art. The aim is to investigate the role of robes covering the body of crucified Christ in the scenes of the Passion. First of all, the origins and meaning of different Christ’s garments are discussed in relation to the debates on the nature of Christ and around the Eucharist. Still, as the Volto Santo is usually dated to the 12th century and it presents Christ in the tunica manicata with the cingulum, which can be identified as a clerical costume, the meaning of Christ’s garments in the context of the Gregorian Reform, celibacy, and the concept of the third gender is also presented. Afterwards the practices of dressing the Volto Santo in the ceremonial vestments as a manifestation of its worship are analyzed. These vestments along with the altar, where the Volto Santo was presented to the faithful, are the most important elements of the iconography of the representations of the Volto Santo in the mural paintings. What draws attention in these images is the ambiguous position of Christ nailed to the cross and standing on the altar at the same time. That produces ambivalent sensual experience: the impression of uncourting Christ turns into a recognition of the particular cult object and vice versa. Moreover, the robe covering the body contributes to a fluid gender identity of the figure. It may be concluded that the robes of the crucified Christ play several roles: they cover the suffered body, they are an attribute of the ruler or priest, but above all, they manifest Christ’s corporality. The faithful confronted with these images found his or her somatic identity with Christ.