Exodus and Easter vigil in the Ashburnham Pentateuch

The Ashburnham Pentateuch (Paris, Bibl. Nat. MS nouv. acq. lat. 2334),(1) convincingly dated to the late sixth century,(2) occupies a pivotal place between Late antique and Carolingian illuminated manuscripts. Originally, there were sixty-nine illustrated folios distributed throughout the codex,(3) generally corresponding to their appropriate place in the text.(4) The surviving illustrated folios include a frontispiece and eighteen folios containing complex and densely illustrated Genesis and Exodus cycles. In addition, six folios have lists of chapter titles for Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which are arranged within three arches under an embracing arch, much like canon-table decoration. Most of the illustrated folios are composed of several scenes arranged haphazardly in two or three registers; folio 9r contains the single scene of the Deluge, while folios 21r, 30r, and 127v combine illustration and text. A highly sophisticated color palette of dark blue, orange, dark green, pink, and purple, along with an impressive amount of detail in the rendering of clothing, architecture, and domestic implements, distinguishes the Ashburnham Pentateuch from other early medieval manuscripts. Equally curious are the two sets of inscriptions which accompany almost every figure and scene: inscriptions derived from the Vulgate text were painted over ink inscriptions derived from the Vetus Latina, the pre-Vulgate text of the Bible.(5) Although the Ashburnham Pentateuch has been considered a provincial product, its complex iconography and artistic quality reflect a vigorously innovative and aesthetically rigorous milieu.

The manuscript, with its rich pictorial cycles, is a rare survivor in early medieval manuscripts; its exceptional character, however, has caused it to be treated as an iconographic curiosity, studied apart from, rather than integrated into the broader study of early medieval art. The numerous publications on the manuscript have focused primarily on two issues: the place of origin, and the inclusion of iconographic elements that may derive from illustrated Jewish narrative cycles in the Late Antique period.(6) The lack of consensus regarding the origin of the manuscript and the focus on Jewish elements within the illustrations have diverted scholarly attention from what is, in fact, the essentially Christian character of the illuminations. An examination of three subjects in the Exodus cycle - the Crossing of the Red Sea, Moses Reading the Covenant, and the Tabernacle - reveals that the miniatures are not merely simple illustrations of Hebrew Scripture. On the contrary, the Ashburnham Pentateuch is enriched by liturgical and typological references specifically related to contemporary Lenten ceremonies. Rather than pairing or juxtaposing scenes from the Old Testament with those from the New,(7) the miniatures incorporate visual references to contemporary liturgical ceremonies, catechismal instruction, and homilies. By inserting these visual cues into illustrations of the Old Testament narrative, the manuscript conveys the typological meaning of the Exodus for a Christian community. The importance of typology to the Church cannot be overestimated since it was the fundamental method of instructing catechumens in scriptural interpretation and church teachings.(8) The illustrations function not as subordinate to the narrative, but as powerful pictorial expressions of essential Christian teachings that enhance and enrich the audience's understanding of the text, Jewish history is reinterpreted and transformed into an experience that speaks directly to a contemporary Christian audience.(9)

The Crossing of the Red Sea occupies the lower two-thirds of folio 68r, while the upper third portrays the male Israelites murmuring against Moses and Aaron as the women and children peer out from their tents [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. The Crossing illustrates Exodus 14:26-28, where Moses closes the waters of the Red Sea behind the fleeing Israelites:(10)

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the water flow back over the Egyptians, their chariots and their cavalry." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its accustomed place; but the Egyptians were in flight as it advanced, and the Lord swept them out into the sea. The water flowed back and covered all Pharaoh's army, the chariots and the cavalry, which had pressed the pursuit into the sea. Not one man was left alive.(11)

The depiction of the Crossing is dominated by the green waters of the Red Sea, which are filled with drowning soldiers, chariots, and horses.(12) The ink inscription in the left margin reads: hic que in fugere et non potet. On a peninsula of dry land, Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites follow the pillar of cloud (columna nubis),(13) which is depicted in the right margin as a large candle held in two hands issuing from a white cloud. The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire are briefly described in the text of Exodus 13:21: "the Lord went before them, by day a pillar of cloud to guide them on their journey, by night a pillar of fire to give them light." Moses raises a rod in his right hand to command the closing of the waters of the Red Sea, while Aaron gestures and the Israelites look toward the candle. The artist illustrates the text closely, but when he comes to the strange image of the pillar of cloud, he departs from the text and pictorial tradition.