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The Morgan Beatus Part III: The Judgement Folios - Page 2

© George R. Hoelzeman

Brenk's theory is not accepted, however, by John Williams. Williams argues that while Beatus' Commentary may have been of great importance to medieval Spain, commentaries on the Apocalypse are outside the Christian mainstream in the tenth century. Thus, Beatus' original depiction of the Apocalypse Judgment would have been the most developed of the time. It should have also been more dependent on the scriptural text than are the Morgan folios. This is, in fact, what we see in most judgment scenes from the Apocalypse at this time. They are single-page and faithful to the text. Maius would, therefore, not have had a model for his version.

It is also significant to note that eastern Judgment scenes developed independently of the Apocalypse text because these writings were not initially accepted as canonical. Also, folio 220 bears an inscription above the fifteen joined figures in the upper register which translates "those who are joined and condemned are joined together." This passage is found neither in the Apocalypse text or the Commentary. Maius is probably introducing innovations in absence of a clear tradition just as the illuminator of the 920 Leon Bible did in the Evangelist pages. At the same time Maius must have been borrowing and combining elements from extant models which he though relevant, or attractive, for this subject. If it is the case that Maius selected and organized elements to create an original iconography, he would be one of the most innovative of tenth century illuminators.

Finally, there are several elements of the Judgment which deserve note. The arrangement of the space into multi-colored registers is a common feature of tenth century Spanish illumination along with its flattening of figures to planes of color. There are some Carolingian precursors to this, notably the Unveiling of Moses (f.449) of the Grandval-Moutier Bible (c.840). The registers in f.220 appear to be sequential: 15 are "joined together," 12 wring their hands and wail and are condemned individually. Finally, 21 are thrown into the sea of fire. There may be symbolic parallels with the just on f.219v. In this illustration 12 apostles judge 21 saints. The bottom register contains 15 figures which lead to the 15 condemned in the upper register of f.220. Twelve of the 21 in the sea of fire have slightly darker skin tones than their fellows. The dark blue which forms the mandorla of Christs is also used as background for the condemning inscription on f.220.

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