Illuminated Haggadot from Medieval Spain: Biblical Imagery and the Passover Holiday (review)

Dr Kogman-Appel's admirable display of scholarship, assisted by funding from Spanish, American and Israeli sources, is presented most attractively in this book, which was printed in China and published expertly by the Pennsylvania State University Press. The combined expertise and/or funds of American, European, Middle-Eastern and Chinese agencies are most impressive.

The four most significant Spanish manuscripts, but not the earliest, which contain Haggedah illuminations are shown by Kogman-Appel to be those from Sarajevo (c. 1320), the British Library (codices 28884 and 27210; c. 1320) and the John Rylands Library (cod. 6; 14th cent.) Colour plates are unfortunately restricted to those four plus one in Bologna (cod. 25589; c. 1300). The earliest such manuscripts from Spain are in fact two Bibles moralisées, now in Vienna (cod. 2554; c. 1225) and in Oxford's Bodleian (cod. 2706; c. 1230), followed in time by the Bologna manuscript (c. 1300). In the pictorial section, the pride of place is given to the British Library 27210 Haggedah, which shows two plates each with the usual four scenes, depicting the original Passovers, worthy of inclusion in any general work on medieval illuminated manuscripts. Their attractive artistry is in contrast to the quite crude sketches in plates iv-v, from British Library 2884. Kogman-Appel makes no attempt to judge the artistic qualities of this selection, but rightly stresses their difference from the almost unadorned Haggedah manuscripts from non-Spanish sources, like for instance the Kauffman Haggadah from Hungary, with its familial Passovers and little else.

Kogman-Appel discusses the unusual way in which picture-cycles in the Spanish texts replace the written word, normally so highly treasured. Yet folios iii and vii are highly artistic examples of the Hebraic text. But as stated by Kogman-Appel, art as a means to teach the uneducated and illiterate does not apply to Jewish art, especially in the case of illuminated Haggedah. Incidentally, in Pope Gregory's letter (9.209) to Serenus, the bishop of Marseilles, sent in July 599, he attacks him for destroying all of the religious art works in his church, arguing that they should certainly not be worshipped, but that the illiterate should be given a chance to learn the Church's stories through them. But denial of the visual was normal in synagogues, although the Haggedah manuscripts in Spain, which were mainly owned by private patrons, seem to have been an exception.

Kogman-Appel's choice of illuminations, which are skilfully integrated with the interesting text, show the most popular selections from the Hebrew scriptures made by the various artists, in these early Haggedah manuscripts. Most popular by far are those on the birth and exploits of Moses, with 92 pictures, as well as 46 pictures of the Pentateuch in figure 143. To these one could add the 53 pictures of the plagues in Egypt (darkness 9, locusts 8, first-borns' deaths 8, boils 6, morrain 5, hail 4, arov 4, frogs 3, blood 3 and lice 2). A further nine show the Red-Sea and Passover, adding up to 159 on Moses and Egypt. Joseph's life comes next with 69 pictures, and Jacob's with 33, and then the Creation with 31. Noah's Ark and Flood have 13, Abraham 10, Lot's escape 8 and the Tower of Babel 6. For Jewish ritual there are just 22, namely the Synagogue, Messianic temple (2), Ark of the Covenant, the Universe, the Short side of the Universe, Solomon sacrificing, the Slaughter of the Paschal lamb (4), Striking the door-post (7) and the Sedet ceremony (4). These 22 pictures on ritual, compared with the 330 on Hebraic history, underline the special nature of these early Spanish Haggedah manuscripts, a point not noted by Kogman-Appel. Not only are humans depicted, male and at times enticingly female, but...