DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 121

Jacqueline฀E.฀Jung

฀Jung
DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE:
THE฀WISE฀AND฀FOOLISH฀VIRGINS฀OF฀MAGDEBURG฀CATHEDRAL

Then฀shall฀the฀kingdom฀of฀heaven฀be฀like฀to฀ten฀virgins,฀who฀taking฀their฀lamps฀went฀out฀to฀
meet฀the฀bridegroom฀and฀the฀bride.฀And฀fi฀ve฀of฀them฀were฀foolish,฀and฀fi฀ve฀wise.฀But฀the฀fi฀ve฀
foolish,฀having฀taken฀their฀lamps,฀did฀not฀take฀oil฀with฀them.฀But฀the฀wise฀took฀oil฀in฀their฀
vessels฀with฀the฀lamps.฀And฀the฀bridegroom฀tarrying,฀they฀all฀slumbered฀and฀slept.฀And฀at฀
midnight฀there฀was฀a฀cry฀made:฀Behold฀the฀bridegroom฀cometh,฀go฀ye฀forth฀and฀meet฀him.฀Then฀
all฀the฀virgins฀arose฀and฀trimmed฀their฀lamps.฀And฀the฀foolish฀said฀to฀the฀wise:฀Give฀us฀of฀your฀
oil,฀for฀our฀lamps฀are฀gone฀out.฀The฀wise฀answered,฀saying:฀Lest฀perhaps฀there฀be฀not฀enough฀
for฀us฀and฀for฀you,฀go฀ye฀rather฀to฀them฀that฀sell,฀and฀buy฀for฀yourselves.฀Now฀whilst฀they฀went฀
to฀buy,฀the฀bridegroom฀came:฀and฀they฀that฀were฀ready,฀went฀in฀with฀him฀to฀the฀marriage,฀and฀
the฀door฀was฀shut.฀But฀at฀last฀came also฀the฀other฀virgins,฀saying:฀Lord,฀Lord,฀open฀to฀us.฀But฀
he฀answering฀said:฀Amen฀I฀say฀to฀you,฀I฀know฀you฀not.฀Watch฀ye฀therefore,฀because฀you฀know฀
not฀the฀day฀nor฀the฀hour.
(Matt.฀25:1–13)

The฀parable฀of฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀occupies฀a฀central฀place฀in฀Christ’s฀
lengthy฀eschatological฀discourse฀in฀the฀Gospel฀of฀Matthew,฀Chapters฀24–25.฀The฀
tale฀follows฀a฀vivid,฀violent฀description฀of฀the฀second฀coming฀of฀the฀Son฀of฀Man,฀
punctuated฀ by฀ warnings฀ that฀ although฀ »this฀ generation฀ shall฀ not฀ pass,฀ till฀ all฀
these฀things฀be฀done,«฀no฀one฀–฀»not฀the฀angels฀of฀heaven฀but฀the฀Father฀alone«฀
–฀ can฀ know฀ »what฀ hour฀ your฀ Lord฀ will฀ come«฀ (Mt.฀ 24.34–36).฀ It฀ is฀ succeeded฀
by฀the฀parable฀of฀the฀servant฀who฀was฀punished฀for฀hoarding฀his฀money฀rather฀
than฀seeking฀to฀increase฀it฀as฀his฀cohorts฀had฀done,฀which฀leads฀into฀Christ’s฀de-
scription฀of฀the฀Judgment฀itself.฀Taken฀together,฀these฀passages฀present฀the฀Last฀
Things฀less฀as฀a฀process฀of฀redemption฀than฀as฀the฀unequivocal฀establishment฀
of฀perpetual฀binary฀divisions:฀the฀sheep฀take฀their฀place฀at฀the฀right฀hand฀of฀the฀
Son฀of฀Man฀and฀the฀goats฀at฀the฀left;฀the฀enterprising฀servants฀are฀extolled฀by฀
their฀lord฀and฀the฀timid฀one฀is฀banished;฀the฀Wise฀Virgins฀enter฀the฀wedding฀feast฀
and฀the฀Foolish฀pound฀at฀the฀door,฀unrecognized฀by฀those฀inside.฀
In฀contrast฀to฀the฀parable฀of฀the฀Talents,฀that฀of฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀
found฀its฀way฀into฀visual฀representations฀as฀early฀as฀the฀fourth฀century,฀when฀it฀
was฀included฀in฀catacomb฀programs฀as฀a฀pictorial฀reminder฀of฀promised฀redemp-
tion.1฀Throughout฀the฀Middle฀Ages,฀the฀Virgins฀appeared฀in฀funerary฀contexts฀

฀฀1฀฀The฀earliest฀known฀examples฀in฀Western฀art฀come฀from฀the฀4th-century฀Coemeterium฀ostrianum
and฀the฀catacombs฀of฀St.฀Cyriaka฀in฀Agro฀Verona.฀The฀former฀example฀shows฀only฀the฀Wise฀
Virgins,฀fi฀rst฀proceeding฀toward฀and฀then฀dining฀with฀Christ.฀In฀the฀latter฀case,฀a฀confl฀ation฀
of฀the฀parable฀with฀a฀scene฀of฀Judgment,฀the฀two฀groups฀stand฀to฀either฀side฀of฀Christ.฀These฀
examples฀are฀discussed฀in฀what฀is฀still฀the฀only฀detailed฀iconographic฀study฀of฀the฀parable:฀
122 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

Fig.฀1:฀฀Magdeburg,฀
Cathedral฀of฀Sts.฀Maurice฀and฀
Catherine.฀North฀portal฀with฀
Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins,฀ca.฀
1250.฀(Photo฀by฀author.)

(for฀ example,฀ on฀ historiated฀ tombs),฀ in฀ large-scale฀ paintings฀ inside฀ churches,฀
and฀in฀the฀sculpture฀programs฀of฀exterior฀portals.2฀In฀a฀manner฀appropriate฀to฀
the฀biblical฀text,฀the฀fi฀gures฀typically฀formed฀one฀small฀part฀of฀larger฀programs฀
of฀Last฀Judgment฀imagery฀–฀so,฀for฀example,฀on฀the฀center฀portal฀on฀the฀west฀
façade฀of฀St.฀Denis฀(ca.฀1144),฀where฀they฀appear฀as฀moralizing฀counterparts฀to฀
the฀Elect฀and฀the฀Damned.฀In฀the฀middle฀of฀the฀thirteenth฀century,฀however,฀
a฀ group฀ of฀ sculptors฀ –฀ and฀ their฀ high-ranking฀ clerical฀ patrons฀ –฀ defi฀ed฀ both฀
text฀ and฀ tradition฀ to฀ create฀ a฀ monumental,฀ autonomous,฀ and฀ psychologically฀
infl฀ected฀rendition฀of฀the฀story.฀Eschewing฀external฀contextual฀indicators฀of฀the฀
fi฀gures’฀status,฀these฀designers฀allowed฀the฀women’s฀bodies฀alone฀to฀carry฀the฀
story’s฀meaning.฀In฀so฀doing,฀their฀goal฀seems฀to฀have฀been฀less฀to฀call฀attention฀
to฀the฀inevitable฀outcome฀of฀the฀narrative฀than฀to฀allow฀beholders฀to฀understand,฀
outcome

Walter฀ Lehmann,฀ Die฀ Parabel฀ von฀ den฀ klugen฀ und฀ törichten฀ Jungfrauen.฀ Ph.D.฀ Diss.฀ Frei-
burg/Br.฀ 1916,฀ 10f.฀ See฀ also฀ Hans฀ Sachs,฀ Jungfrauen,฀ kluge฀ und฀ törichte,฀ in:฀ Lexikon฀ der฀
christlichen฀ Ikonographie.฀ Bd.฀ II.฀ Freiburg/Br.฀ 1970,฀ Sp.458–463฀ and฀ Karl฀ Künstle฀ (Hg.),฀
Ikonographie฀der฀christlichen฀Kunst.฀Bd.฀I.฀Freiburg/Br.฀1928,฀397–399.฀฀฀
฀฀2฀฀For฀a฀catalogue฀of฀extant฀Virgins฀programs฀in฀various฀media,฀with฀an฀emphasis฀on฀France,฀
Germany,฀and฀England,฀see฀Lehmann฀(as฀note฀1),฀21–78.฀
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 123

through฀ a฀ dynamic฀ process฀ of฀ empathetic฀ engagement,฀ the฀ internal฀ responses

฀Jung
which฀that฀outcome฀engendered.฀Conceptually฀and฀artistically,฀this฀was฀a฀move฀
of฀ exceptional฀ novelty฀ and฀ daring,฀ and,฀ while฀ the฀ resulting฀ pictorial฀ program฀
has฀hardly฀been฀ignored฀by฀scholars฀or฀tourists,฀its฀signifi฀cance฀in฀the฀history฀of฀
Western฀visual฀representations฀has฀not฀been฀adequately฀appreciated.฀I฀am฀refer-
ring,฀of฀course,฀to฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀in฀the฀north฀transept฀porch฀of฀
the฀great฀metropolitan฀cathedral฀of฀Magdeburg฀(fi฀g.฀1).3
The฀ten฀sandstone฀statues,฀each฀standing฀just฀over฀four฀feet฀tall฀and฀carved฀
nearly฀in฀the฀round,฀were฀fashioned฀in฀the฀middle฀decades฀of฀the฀thirteenth฀cen-
tury฀by฀a฀workshop฀steeped฀in฀the฀highly฀expressive฀mode฀developed฀slightly฀ear-
lier฀at฀Reims฀and฀Bamberg.4฀As฀art฀historians฀have฀long฀recognized,฀the฀program฀
is฀groundbreaking฀on฀at฀least฀two฀counts:฀it฀is฀the฀fi฀rst฀in฀Western฀medieval฀art฀
to฀be฀dedicated฀solely฀to฀a฀parable,฀and฀the฀fi฀rst฀to฀depict฀exclusively฀female฀sub-
jects.฀It฀sparked฀an฀explosion฀of฀monumental฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀portals฀
throughout฀German-speaking฀lands฀in฀the฀late฀thirteenth฀and฀early฀fourteenth฀
centuries,฀ ranging฀ from฀ the฀ relatively฀ staid฀ maidens฀ at฀ Strassburg฀ Münster฀ to฀
the฀ebullient฀young฀women฀on฀the฀triangular฀porch฀of฀Erfurt฀Cathedral.฀Why฀
it฀should฀have฀been฀precisely฀Magdeburg฀that฀launched฀this฀iconographic฀trend฀
remains฀an฀open฀question,฀one฀seldom฀addressed฀in฀the฀scholarly฀literature.฀The฀
city’s฀name฀–฀translated,฀in฀medieval฀sources,฀to฀Parthenopolis฀or฀
Parthenopolis civitas฀virginum
–฀proclaimed฀an฀affi฀liation฀with฀young,฀unmarried฀women,฀and฀the฀offi฀cial฀em-
blems฀of฀the฀town฀during฀the฀mid-thirteenth฀century฀reveal฀an฀acute฀concern฀
with฀rendering฀visible฀this฀aspect฀of฀its฀identity. 5฀The฀surviving฀municipal฀seal฀
of฀1244฀bore฀an฀image฀of฀a฀frontal,฀standing฀woman฀with฀loose฀hair,฀clad฀in฀a฀
slinky฀gown฀with฀long,฀dangling฀sleeves,6฀while฀the฀imposing฀equestrian฀fi฀gure฀
produced฀around฀the฀same฀time฀for฀the฀Old฀Market฀Square฀was฀accompanied฀
by฀ both฀ a฀ pair฀ of฀ young฀ ladies฀ carrying฀ the฀ town฀ emblems฀ and฀ a฀ series฀ of฀ fe-
male฀heads฀peeking฀out฀from฀windows฀in฀the฀(now฀lost)฀architectural฀baldachin฀

฀฀3฀฀For฀ the฀ cathedral’s฀ history,฀ see฀ Ernst฀ Schubert,฀ Der฀ Magdeburger฀ Dom:฀ Ottonische฀ Grün-
dung฀und฀staufi฀scher฀Neubau,฀in:฀Ernst฀Ullmann฀(Hg.),฀Der฀Magdeburger฀Dom:฀Ottonische฀
Gründung฀und฀staufi฀scher฀Neubau.฀Bericht฀über฀ein฀wissenschaftliches฀Symposion฀in฀Mag-
deburg฀vom฀7.10.฀bis฀11.10.1986.฀Leipzig฀1989,฀25–44.
฀฀4฀฀See฀Ernst฀Schubert,฀Der฀Dom฀in฀Magdeburg.฀Leipzig฀1994,฀110–112฀and฀ders.,฀Der฀Magdebur-
ger฀Dom.฀Wien/Köln฀1974,฀202–205.฀On฀the฀connection฀of฀the฀Magdeburg฀fi฀gures฀to฀works฀
at฀Bamberg฀and฀Reims,฀see฀Martin฀Gosebruch,฀Das฀oberrheinisch-bambergische฀Element฀im฀
Magdeburger฀Dom,฀in:฀Ullmann฀(as฀note฀3),฀132–140,฀133฀and฀Dietrich฀Schubert,฀Von฀Hal-
berstadt฀nach฀Meissen:฀Bildwerke฀des฀13.฀Jahrhunderts฀in฀Thüringen,฀Sachsen,฀und฀Anhalt.฀
Köln฀1974,฀303f.
฀฀5฀฀According฀to฀the฀Gesta฀Archiepiscoporum฀Magdeburgensium,฀ed.฀Wilhelm฀Schum,฀in:฀Mo-
numenta฀Germaniae฀Historica,฀SS,฀vol.฀XIV.฀Hannover฀1883,฀repr.฀Stuttgart฀1963,฀377,฀the฀
city’s฀name฀referred฀not฀to฀the฀Virgin฀Mary฀but฀to฀a฀Roman฀temple฀of฀Artemis฀destroyed฀by฀
Charlemagne.฀On฀the฀history฀of฀the฀city,฀see฀Hanns฀Gringmuth-Dallmer,฀Magdeburg฀in฀ot-
tonischer฀und฀staufi฀scher฀Zeit,฀in:฀Ullmann฀(as฀note฀3),฀52–61.
฀฀6฀฀The฀ archiepiooscopal฀ seal฀ showed฀ an฀ armed฀ knight,฀ representing฀ St.฀ Maurice.฀ Both฀ are฀ re-
produced฀in฀Herbert฀von฀Einem,฀Zur฀Deutung฀des฀Magdeburger฀Reiters,฀in:฀Zeitschrift฀für฀
Kunstgeschichte฀16,฀1953,฀43–60,฀47.
124 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

above฀his฀head.7฀The฀production฀of฀these฀images฀coincided฀with฀a฀surge฀of฀fe-
male฀religious฀and฀social฀activity฀in฀the฀town,฀with฀the฀effl฀orescence฀of฀Beguine฀
communities฀and฀the฀growing฀fame฀of฀the฀vernacular฀visionary฀writings฀of฀one฀
of฀their฀members,฀Mechthild฀of฀Magdeburg.8฀There฀is฀no฀need฀to฀imagine฀that฀
the฀Virgins฀portal฀was฀made฀either฀to฀celebrate฀women’s฀accomplishments฀in฀the฀
town฀or฀to฀speak฀primarily฀to฀female฀viewers; 9฀the฀cathedral฀clergy฀who฀commis-
sioned฀the฀sculptures฀were฀no฀more฀feminist฀in฀their฀sensibility฀than฀their฀peers฀
elsewhere,฀and฀in฀her฀writings฀Mechthild฀complained฀bitterly฀of฀the฀scorn฀and฀
condescension฀to฀which฀they฀subjected฀her.10฀On฀the฀other฀hand,฀the฀establish-
ment฀of฀many฀new฀convents฀in฀the฀diocese฀during฀these฀years,฀and฀the฀clergy’s฀
very฀tolerance,฀if฀not฀support,฀of฀Mechthild’s฀literary฀activity,฀means฀that฀they฀
were฀in฀no฀way฀oblivious฀to฀the฀social,฀intellectual,฀spiritual฀power฀of฀women฀in฀
their฀community.฀Indeed,฀the฀very฀fact฀that฀they฀chose฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Vir-
gins฀–฀cast฀not฀as฀abstracted฀allegorical฀fi฀gures฀but฀as฀individuated,฀expressive฀
women฀in฀insistently฀modern฀dress฀–฀to฀embellish฀the฀cathedral’s฀main฀public฀
entrance฀indicates฀a฀certain฀readiness฀to฀see฀women฀in฀a฀sympathetic฀light,฀to฀
assign฀them฀a฀role฀not฀as฀passive฀»objects«฀of฀a฀detached฀»male฀gaze«฀but฀as฀ac-
tive,฀sentient,฀feeling฀subjects฀with฀whom฀viewers฀of฀both฀sexes฀and฀various฀social฀
statuses฀would฀easily฀identify.11
Despite฀its฀iconographic฀novelty฀and฀its฀infl฀uence,฀the฀Magdeburg฀portal฀is฀
surprisingly฀little฀known฀in฀the฀English-speaking฀world.฀It฀is฀absent฀from฀the฀most฀
widely฀used฀surveys฀of฀medieval฀and฀Gothic฀art,12฀and฀when฀it฀does฀fi฀nd฀mention฀

฀฀7฀฀For฀ discussion฀ of฀ these฀ secondary฀ fi฀gures,฀ with฀ reference฀ to฀ further฀ bibliography,฀ see฀ Vir-
ginia฀Roehrig฀Kaufmann,฀The฀Magdeburg฀Rider:฀An฀Aspect฀of฀the฀Reception฀of฀Frederick฀
II’s฀Roman฀Revival฀North฀of฀the฀Alps,฀in:฀Intellectual฀Life฀at฀the฀Court฀of฀Frederick฀II฀Ho-
henstaufen,฀ed.฀William฀Tronzo.฀(=Studies฀in฀the฀History฀of฀Art,฀44)฀Washington,฀D.C.฀1994,฀
63–88.฀The฀baldachine e,฀known฀from฀early฀engravings,฀was฀destroyed฀in฀the฀16th฀century฀and฀
replaced฀by฀the฀current฀structure฀in฀1651.
฀฀8฀฀On฀the฀Bb beguines,฀see฀Herbert฀Grundmann,฀Religious฀Movements฀in฀the฀Middle฀Ages,฀trans.฀
Steven฀Rowan.฀Notre฀Dame,฀Ind.฀1995,฀139–152.฀On฀Mechthild,฀see฀ibid.,฀142f฀and฀Hans฀Neu-
mann,฀Beiträge฀zur฀Textgeschichte฀des฀»Fliessenden฀Lichts฀der฀Gottheit«฀und฀zur฀Lebensge-
schichte฀Mechthilds฀von฀Magdeburg,฀in:฀Kurt฀Ruh฀(Hg.),฀Altdeutsche฀und฀altniederländische฀
Mystik.฀(=฀Wege฀der฀Forschung,฀23).฀Darmstadt฀1964,฀175–239.฀
฀฀9฀฀Cf.฀Helga฀Sciurie,฀Die฀Erfurter฀Jungfrauen฀und฀ihr฀Publikum,฀in:฀Bildende฀Kunst฀5,฀1989,฀50f.฀
10฀฀On฀Mechthild’s฀troubled฀relationship฀with฀the฀clergy฀of฀Magdeburg,฀and฀the฀effect฀it฀had฀on฀
her฀self-perception,฀see฀Caroline฀Walker฀Bynum,฀Women฀Mystics฀in฀the฀Thirteenth฀Century:฀
The฀Case฀of฀the฀Nuns฀of฀Helfta,฀in:฀Caroline฀Walker฀Bynum,฀Jesus฀as฀Mother:฀Studies฀in฀the฀
Spirituality฀of฀the฀High฀Middle฀Ages.฀Berkeley฀1982,฀170–262,฀235–247.
11฀฀The฀ use฀ of฀ female฀ fi฀gures฀ –฀ even฀ in฀ the฀ highly฀ gendered฀ context฀ of฀ bridal฀ narratives฀ –฀ as฀
฀vehicles฀of฀empathy฀and฀identifi฀cation฀for฀men฀as฀well฀as฀women฀was฀widespread฀in฀didactic฀
literature฀in฀the฀late฀thirteenth฀and฀early฀fourteenth฀centuries.฀For฀a฀particularly฀lively฀ex-
ample,฀see฀Konrads฀Büchlein฀von฀der฀geistlichen฀Gemahelschaft:฀Untersuchung฀und฀Text.฀
Hrg.฀v.฀Ulrich฀Schülke.฀München฀1970.฀Such฀cases฀belie฀the฀commonly฀held฀assumption฀that฀
images฀of฀women฀must฀have฀appealed฀primarily฀to฀women,฀and฀images฀of฀men฀to฀men.
12฀฀E.g.฀Janetta฀Rebold฀Benton,฀Art฀of฀the฀Middle฀Ages.฀London฀2002;฀Michael฀Camille,฀Gothic฀
Art:฀Glorious฀Visions.฀New฀York฀1996;฀Marilyn฀Stokstad,฀Medieval฀Art.฀New฀York฀1988฀and฀
Robert฀G.฀Calkins,฀Monuments฀of฀Medieval฀Art.฀Ithaca,฀NY฀1979.
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 125

it฀typically฀serves฀as฀an฀example฀of฀the฀supposedly฀characteristic฀Germanic฀pro-

฀Jung
clivity฀for฀overblown฀emotionalism13฀or฀»interest฀in฀presenting฀the฀more฀capri-
cious฀aspects฀of฀the฀dogmatic฀themes.«14฀But฀the฀unusual฀expressiveness฀of฀the฀
fi฀gures฀has฀been฀left฀largely฀unexplored.฀Even฀the฀authors฀of฀the฀most฀important฀
recent฀art฀historical฀investigations฀into฀Gothic฀expressivity฀have฀ignored฀the฀pos-
sibility฀of฀purposefulness฀behind฀these฀»grotesque฀exaggerations฀of฀suffering,«฀
this฀»homiletic฀contrast฀of฀moral฀absolutes.«15 The฀substantial฀German฀literature฀
on฀the฀portal,฀meanwhile,฀has฀paid฀little฀attention฀to฀the฀contextual฀signifi฀cance฀
of฀the฀statues’฀dramatic฀emotional฀display฀beyond฀acknowledging฀its฀novelty;16
most฀scholars฀have฀focused฀on฀stylistic฀relationships฀with฀other฀programs,฀ques-
tions฀of฀dating,฀and฀problems฀of฀original฀location฀and฀arrangement.17
My฀paper฀is฀concerned฀less฀with฀questions฀of฀origins฀than฀with฀questions฀of฀
effects฀–฀of฀the฀psychological฀pressure฀the฀fi฀gures฀exert,฀through฀their฀bodily฀dy-
namism,฀on฀embodied฀beholders฀who฀confront฀them฀within฀the฀closed฀confi฀nes฀
of฀the฀porch.฀As฀I฀show฀in฀the฀fi฀rst฀section,฀the฀Virgins’฀communication฀of฀the฀
parable฀ takes฀ place฀ less฀ through฀ external฀ attributes฀ –฀ garb,฀ accessories,฀ com-
portment,฀or฀other฀signs฀of฀bodily฀difference฀–฀than฀through฀corporeal฀demons-

13฀฀E.g.฀Andrew฀Martindale,฀Gothic฀Art.฀London฀1967,฀61:»The฀style฀of฀these฀figures฀is฀unmis-
takably฀German.฀The฀sculptor฀made฀a฀bold฀attempt฀to฀register฀suitable฀facial฀expressions฀of฀
joy฀ and฀ despair;฀ yet฀ the฀ desire฀ to฀ impress฀ the฀ spectator฀ has฀ outrun฀ his฀ sensitivity฀ and฀ it฀ is฀
clear฀that฀the฀step฀from฀life-like฀to฀grotesque฀is฀a฀short฀one.«฀The฀association฀of฀emotional฀
expressiveness฀ with฀ German฀ identity฀ is฀ reminiscent฀ of฀ German฀ writings฀ prior฀ to฀ 1945,฀ e.g.฀
Hermann฀ Giesau,฀ Sächsisch-thüringische฀ Kunst฀ als฀ Wesensausdruck฀ des฀ mitteldeutschen฀
Menschen,฀in:฀Jb.฀der฀Denkmalpfl฀ege฀in฀der฀Provinz฀Sachsen฀und฀in฀Anhalt,฀1933/34,฀5–47,฀
20–25.
14฀฀James฀Snyder,฀Medieval฀Art:฀Painting,฀Sculpture,฀Architecture,฀4th฀–฀14th฀Century.฀New฀York฀
1989,฀416,฀with฀reference฀to฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins฀on฀the฀»façade฀[sic]฀of฀Magdeburg฀฀C athedral.«฀
The฀author฀cites฀these฀only฀in฀passing฀during฀a฀discussion฀of฀the฀considerably฀later฀Virgins฀
portal฀at฀Strassburg.
15฀฀C.฀Stephen฀Jaeger,฀Moral฀Discipline฀and฀Gothic฀Sculpture:฀The฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀of฀
the฀Strassburg฀Cathedral,฀in:฀C.฀Stephen฀Jaeger,฀The฀Envy฀of฀Angels:฀Cathedral฀Schools฀and฀
Social฀Ideals฀in฀Medieval฀Europe,฀950–1200.฀Philadelphia฀1994,฀331–348,฀343:฀»The฀faces฀[of฀
the฀Foolish฀Virgins]฀are฀twisted฀in฀grotesque฀exaggerations฀of฀suffering.«฀Paul฀Binski,฀The฀
Angel฀Choir฀at฀Lincoln฀and฀the฀Poetics฀of฀the฀Gothic฀Smile,฀in:฀Art฀History฀20,฀1997,฀350–374,฀
355฀describes฀the฀Virgins฀as»register[ing]฀facially฀a฀homiletic฀contrast฀of฀moral฀absolutes,«฀
though฀he฀neither฀takes฀account฀of฀the฀range฀of฀expressions฀within฀each฀group฀nor฀explains฀
why฀demeanors฀of฀happiness฀or฀sadness฀necessarily฀express฀moral฀qualities.฀These฀issues฀are฀
moral
taken฀up฀below.
16฀฀For฀ a฀ particularly฀ enthusiastic฀ description,฀ see฀ Hans฀ Jantzen,฀ Deutsche฀ Bildhauer฀ des฀
dreizehnten฀Jahrhunderts.฀Leipzig฀1925,฀186–190.฀฀
17฀฀For฀a฀review฀of฀the฀literature฀from฀the฀fi฀rst฀half฀of฀the฀20th฀century,฀see฀Siegfried฀Fliedner,฀
Studien฀über฀die฀ehemalige฀Brautpforte฀und฀das฀erste฀(geplante)฀Gewändestatuenportal฀des฀
Magdeburger฀Doms฀nebst฀einem฀Exkurs฀über฀das฀Südportal฀des฀Strassburger฀Münsters,฀in:฀
Sachsen฀und฀Anhalt฀17,฀1941–43,฀85–128.฀As฀indicated฀by฀D.฀Schubert฀(as฀note฀4),฀301–304,฀
little฀of฀signifi฀cance฀was฀added฀to฀the฀literature฀in฀the฀decades฀after฀World฀War฀II.฀No฀essay฀
on฀the฀Virgins฀appears฀in฀the฀otherwise฀comprehensive฀volume฀edited฀by฀Ullmann฀(as฀note฀3);฀
likewise,฀ they฀ are฀ absent฀ in฀ the฀ recent฀ book:฀ Hartmut฀ Krohm฀ (Hg.),฀ Meisterwerke฀ mittel-
alterlicher฀Skulptur.฀Berlin฀1996.฀
126 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

Fig.฀2:฀฀Magdeburg฀Cathedral.฀North฀
portal,฀left฀jamb:฀Wise฀Virgins฀
(Photo฀by฀author.)

trations฀of฀contingent,฀interior฀conditions:฀that฀is,฀the฀fi฀gures฀do฀not฀so฀much฀
display฀their฀respective฀status฀through฀material฀signs฀as฀perform,฀through฀their฀
bodies฀and฀faces,฀their฀responses฀to฀that฀status.18฀In฀turn,฀as฀I฀argue฀in฀the฀se-
cond฀section,฀the฀fi฀gures’฀lively฀bodily฀rhetoric฀serves฀not฀only฀to฀indicate฀a฀nar-
rative฀but฀also฀to฀charge฀the฀surrounding฀space฀with฀signifi฀cance,฀transforming฀
the฀ living฀ inhabitants฀ into฀ players฀ in฀ an฀ ongoing฀ drama฀ that฀ they฀ themselves,฀
through฀their฀physical฀movement,฀must฀bring฀to฀its฀conclusion.19฀Recognition฀of฀
the฀Magdeburg฀Virgins฀group฀less฀as฀a฀didactic,฀intellectual฀reminder฀of฀the฀Last฀
Things฀than฀as฀an฀embodied฀spectacle,฀set฀in฀the฀highly฀charged฀zone฀between฀
sacred฀and฀profane฀realms฀and฀aimed฀at฀beholders฀moving฀through฀that฀space,฀
gives฀us฀new฀conceptual฀terms฀with฀which฀to฀evaluate฀its฀meaning.

18฀฀This฀fi฀rst฀aspect฀of฀what฀I฀see฀as฀the฀fi฀gures’฀performativity฀is฀borrowed฀from฀the฀study฀of฀the-
ater฀and฀ritual;฀see฀Victor฀Turner,฀From฀Ritual฀to฀Theatre:฀The฀Human฀Seriousness฀of฀Play.฀
New฀York฀1982,฀esp.฀102–123฀and฀the฀essays฀collected฀in฀Performativity฀and฀Performance,฀ed.฀
Andrew฀Parker฀and฀Eve฀Kosofsky฀Sedgwick.฀New฀York฀and฀London฀1995.฀
19฀฀This฀second฀aspect฀of฀performativity฀derives฀from฀literary฀criticism,฀esp.฀J.฀L.฀Austin,฀How฀to฀
Do฀Things฀with฀Words.฀2nd฀edn.,฀ed.฀Marina฀Sbisa฀and฀J.฀O.฀Urmson.฀Cambridge,฀Mass.฀1975.฀
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 127

฀Jung
Fig.฀3:฀฀Magdeburg฀Cathedral.฀North฀
portal,฀right฀jamb:฀Foolish฀Virgins฀
(Photo฀by฀author.)฀

Bodily฀sameness,฀psychological฀presence,฀and฀moral฀virtue

The฀original฀placement฀and฀confi฀guration฀of฀the฀Magdeburg฀Virgins฀has฀long฀
been฀ a฀ central฀ concern฀ in฀ the฀ scholarly฀ literature;฀ empty฀ bracket-holes฀ in฀ the฀
backs฀of฀the฀statues฀indicate฀that฀they฀were฀repositioned฀at฀least฀once฀between฀
the฀time฀of฀their฀creation฀and฀their฀current฀display.฀Arguments฀have฀been฀made฀
for฀their฀intended฀inclusion฀on฀a฀never-completed฀west฀portal,฀on฀an฀early฀(and฀
now฀completely฀lost)฀choir฀screen,฀and฀on฀the฀north฀transept฀portal,฀which฀form-
ed฀the฀main฀entrance฀to฀the฀church฀at฀the฀time฀of฀their฀creation.20฀Most฀scho-

20฀฀See฀W.฀Paatz,฀Die฀Magdeburger฀Plastik฀um฀die฀Mitte฀des฀XIII.฀Jahrhunderts,฀in:฀Jb.฀der฀Preu-
ßischen฀Kunstsammlungen฀46,฀1925,฀91–120.,฀100–104฀for฀the฀problem฀as฀it฀stood฀in฀1925.฀
Fliedner฀(as฀note฀17),฀85–88฀follows฀it฀through฀the฀1940s,฀concluding฀that฀the฀north฀transept฀
must฀have฀been฀the฀intended฀site.฀Fritz฀Bellmann,฀Die฀klugen฀und฀törichten฀Jungfrauen฀und฀
der฀Lettner฀des฀Magdeburger฀Doms,฀in:฀Festschrift฀für฀Harald฀Keller฀zum฀sechzigsten฀Ge-
burtstag.฀ Darmstadt฀ 1963,฀ 87–110,฀ proposed฀ that฀ the฀ Virgins฀ once฀ stood฀ at฀ the฀ balustrade฀
level฀of฀the฀cathedral’s฀choir฀screen,฀a฀hypothesis฀enthusiastically฀accepted฀by฀D.฀Schubert฀
(as฀note฀4),฀302f.฀Archaeological฀investigations฀have฀uncovered฀no฀traces฀of฀the฀13th-century฀
screen,฀however,฀so฀the฀reconstructions฀by฀both฀Bellmann฀and฀Schubert฀must฀remain฀specula-
128 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

lars฀agree฀that฀the฀latter฀possibility฀is฀most฀probable,฀but฀whatever฀the฀case฀may฀
be,฀the฀original฀arrangement฀was฀short-lived.฀Sometime฀in฀the฀fi฀rst฀third฀of฀the฀
fourteenth฀century,฀the฀fi฀gures฀were฀rearranged฀within฀a฀newly฀enlarged฀portal฀
on฀the฀north฀transept฀arm,฀which฀in฀turn฀was฀enclosed฀within฀a฀square,฀vaulted฀
porch฀ known฀ as฀ the฀ Paradise.21฀ Entering฀ from฀ the฀ city฀ through฀ the฀ northern฀
gate฀of฀the฀porch,฀visitors฀–฀then฀and฀now฀–฀fi฀nd฀themselves฀standing฀between฀
large฀fi฀gures฀of฀Synagogue฀and฀Ecclesia,฀who฀face฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀
at฀the฀doorway฀to฀the฀church฀proper.22
Modern฀commentators฀have฀been฀quick฀to฀express฀disapproval฀of฀the฀early฀
fourteenth-century฀ installation฀ of฀ the฀ jamb฀ fi฀gures:฀ the฀ new฀ consoles฀ are฀ too฀
shallow,฀causing฀the฀Virgins’฀long฀dresses฀to฀overhang฀them฀awkwardly,฀and฀the฀
niches฀enclosing฀the฀fi฀gures฀too฀narrow,฀so฀that฀elbows฀and฀hips฀thrust฀out฀bey-
ond฀ the฀ architectural฀ frame฀ (fi฀gs.฀ 2–3).23฀ Because฀ the฀ porch฀ was฀ designed฀ to฀
house฀ these฀ very฀ figures฀ so฀ soon฀ after฀ their฀ creation,฀ however,฀ it฀ makes฀ little฀
sense฀to฀attribute฀this฀relation฀of฀architecture฀and฀sculpture฀in฀the฀cathedral’s฀
primary฀entrance฀to฀either฀sloppy฀planning฀or฀a฀misunderstanding฀of฀the฀fig-฀฀
ures’฀ aesthetic฀ signifi฀cance.฀ Taken฀ seriously,฀ the฀ formal฀ and฀ iconographic฀
choices฀made฀during฀the฀reinstallation฀process฀may฀in฀fact฀shed฀crucial฀light฀on฀
what฀medieval฀beholders฀found฀especially฀salient฀and฀striking฀in฀these฀fi฀gures.฀
One฀ aspect฀ the฀ younger฀ portal฀ designers฀ clearly฀ wished฀ to฀ highlight฀ was฀
the฀ statues’฀ plasticity,฀ their฀ robust฀ physical฀ presence฀ despite฀ their฀ smaller-
than-life฀size.฀Whereas฀the฀original฀mode฀of฀presentation฀–฀retained฀in฀the฀se-
cond฀Virgin฀from฀the฀outside฀of฀each฀jamb฀–฀asserted฀the฀figure’s฀attachment฀
to฀ the฀ architecture,฀ with฀ feet฀ emerging฀ organically฀ from฀ delicate฀ foliate฀ con-
soles฀and฀backs฀pressed฀tightly฀against฀columns,฀the฀new฀arrangement฀set฀the฀
bodies฀ emphatically฀ apart฀ from฀ their฀ supports.฀ Precisely฀ this฀ much-maligned฀
disjunction฀between฀sculpture฀and฀architecture฀serves฀to฀enhance฀the฀statues’฀
corporeality,฀ signaling฀ a฀ shift฀ from฀ conceiving฀ the฀ figures฀ as฀ extensions฀ of฀

tive.฀Assuming฀ the฀ figures฀ were฀ meant฀ to฀ flank฀ a฀ portal,฀ Lilli฀ Burger,฀ Die฀ ursprüu
ungliche฀
Aufstellung฀ der฀ Magdeburger฀ klugen฀ und฀ törichten฀ Jungfrauen,฀ in:฀ Jb.฀ für฀ Kunstwissen-
schaft,฀1930,฀1–13,฀sought฀to฀reconstruct฀the฀original฀disposition฀of฀the฀group฀on฀the฀basis฀
of฀ formal฀ aspects฀ of฀ the฀ individual฀ figures.฀ Lottlisa฀ Behling,฀ Die฀ klugen฀ und฀ törichten฀
Jungfrauen฀ zu฀ Magdeburg:฀ Nachträge฀ und฀ Ergänzungen฀ zur฀ Erforschung฀ der฀ Magdebur-
ger฀ Skulpturen,฀ in:฀ Zeitschrift฀ für฀ Kunstwissenschaft฀ 8,฀ 1954,฀ 19–42฀ attempted฀ the฀ same฀
through฀an฀analysis฀of฀the฀consoles.
21฀฀See฀Fliedner฀(as฀note฀17).
22฀฀On฀the฀Ecclesia฀and฀Synagogue฀fi฀gures,฀see฀D.฀Schubert฀(as฀note฀4),฀299f฀and฀Helga฀Sciurie,฀
Ecclesia฀und฀Synagoge฀an฀den฀Domen฀zu฀Strassburg,฀Bamberg,฀Magdeburg,฀und฀Erfurt:฀Kör-
persprachliche฀ Wandlungen฀ im฀ gestalterischen฀ Kontext,฀ in:฀ Beiträge฀ zur฀ mittelalterlichen฀
Kunst.฀Festschrift฀Gerhard฀Schmidt฀zum฀70.฀Geburtstag.฀(=฀Sonderausgabe฀desrr฀Wiener฀Jb.฀
für฀Kunstgeschichte฀46/47,฀1993–94,฀679–687,฀871–874.
23฀฀E.g.฀Burger฀(as฀note฀20),฀1:฀The฀fi฀gures»wurden฀ohne฀Rücksicht฀auf฀ihre฀früheren n฀Bedeutung฀
innerhalb฀des฀Portalganzen฀in฀die฀viel฀zu฀engen฀Kehlen฀des฀neuen฀Gewändes฀versetzt.฀Dies฀
aber฀ konnte฀ nicht฀ geschehen,฀ ohne฀ ein฀ Missverhältnis฀ zwischen฀ Figuren฀ und฀ Architektur฀
hervorzurufen.฀[.฀.฀.] ฀Noch฀mehr฀stören฀die฀in฀häßss sslicher฀Weise฀frei฀über฀die฀Konsolen฀hin-
ausstechenden฀Gewandenden฀der฀Figuren.«
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 129

columns฀ to฀ imagining฀ them฀ as฀ animated฀ bodies฀ moving฀ freely฀ in฀ space.฀

฀Jung
The฀ portrayal฀ of฀ the฀ Wise฀ and฀ Foolish฀ Virgins฀ as฀ individualized฀ characters฀
with฀a฀strong฀degree฀of฀corporeal฀as฀well฀as฀psychological฀presence฀was฀a฀daring฀
departure฀from฀a฀formal฀structure฀and฀iconography฀already฀well฀established฀by฀
the฀ middle฀ of฀ the฀ thirteenth฀ century.฀ The฀ earliest฀ surviving฀ Virgins฀ image฀ in฀
German฀monumental฀sculpture฀appears฀on฀the฀lintel฀of฀the฀Galluspforte฀at฀Basel฀
Galluspforte
Münster฀(ca.฀1185).24฀In฀this฀case,฀the฀metaphoric฀identity฀of฀the฀majestic฀resur-
rected฀Christ,฀who฀welcomes฀saints฀and฀donors฀to฀his฀side฀in฀the฀main฀fi฀eld฀of฀the฀
tympanum,฀with฀the฀bridegroom฀below,฀who฀simultaneously฀admits฀and฀rejects฀
the฀women฀at฀the฀door,฀is฀revealed฀through฀the฀direct฀vertical฀alignment฀of฀the฀
two฀fi฀gures฀along฀the฀tympanum’s฀vertical฀axis.฀The฀groups฀of฀Virgins฀are฀distin-
guished฀from฀one฀another฀not฀only฀by฀the฀hinged฀wooden฀door฀that฀physically฀
divides฀them฀but฀also฀by฀both฀their฀attributes฀–฀full฀lamps฀borne฀like฀liturgical฀
chalices฀ by฀ the฀ Wise,฀ and฀ empty฀ ones฀ held฀ upside-down฀ by฀ the฀ Foolish฀ –฀ and฀
their฀garb.฀The฀Foolish฀approach฀the฀door฀bareheaded฀and฀clad฀in฀clingy฀dres-
ses฀with฀embroidered฀bodices฀and฀long฀skirts฀that฀must฀be฀gathered฀up฀as฀they฀
walk,฀ while฀ the฀ Wise฀ approach฀ Christ฀ wearing฀ the฀ Gebende
Gebende฀ of฀ married฀ women฀
and฀baggy,฀body-concealing฀robes฀that฀hang฀to฀their฀feet฀in฀thick,฀chunky฀folds.25
The฀Basel฀rendition฀of฀the฀parable฀was฀novel฀in฀its฀spatial฀and฀narrative฀unity;฀
earlier฀ sculptural฀ depictions฀ tended฀ to฀ employ฀ a฀ signative฀ mode฀ that฀ empha-
sized฀ the฀ Virgins’฀ status฀ not฀ as฀ real฀ people฀ enacting฀ a฀ story฀ but฀ as฀ metaphors฀
for฀the฀Saved฀and฀the฀Damned฀at฀the฀Last฀Judgment,฀usually฀portrayed฀in฀the฀
tympanum฀ above.26฀ In฀ the฀ version฀ on฀ the฀ center฀ portal฀ of฀ Saint-Denis,฀ made฀
under฀the฀direction฀of฀Abbot฀Suger฀in฀the฀early฀1140s,฀neither฀narrative฀drama฀
nor฀ psychological฀ immediacy฀ was฀ at฀ issue.27฀ Here,฀ the฀ Virgins฀ occupy฀ narrow฀
microarchitectural฀niches฀stacked฀vertically฀to฀either฀side฀of฀the฀door.฀Instead฀of฀
interacting฀with฀one฀another฀or฀directing฀their฀attention฀to฀the฀portal,฀they฀face฀
squarely฀outward,฀demonstrating฀their฀respective฀fates฀through฀the฀positioning฀
of฀their฀lamps฀alone.28฀Whether฀the฀Virgins฀were฀arrayed฀on฀the฀doorposts฀in฀
this฀ manner,฀ or,฀ as฀ in฀ slightly฀ later฀ churches,฀ in฀ voussoirs
voussoirs฀ alongside฀ saints฀ and฀

24฀฀See฀Maurice฀Moullet,฀Die฀Galluspforte฀des฀Basler฀Münsters.฀Basel/Leipzig฀1938.฀฀
25฀฀On฀this฀headgear,฀see฀Joachim฀Bumke,฀Höfi฀sche฀Kultur:฀Literatur฀und฀Gesellschaft฀im฀hohen฀
Mittelalter.฀München฀1986,฀194f.฀฀฀
26฀฀In฀ this฀ respect฀ they฀ are฀ structurally฀ analogous฀ to฀ the฀ fi฀gures฀ in฀ contemporary฀ illuminated฀
manuscripts฀whose฀role฀as฀subjects฀of฀a฀story฀narrated฀by฀another฀character,฀rather฀than฀in-
dependently฀acting฀agents,฀is฀manifested฀by฀the฀insertion฀of฀scrolls฀or฀other฀framing฀devices,฀
as฀explained฀by฀Michael฀Camille,฀Seeing฀and฀Reading:฀Some฀Visual฀Implications฀of฀Medieval฀
Literacy฀and฀Illiteracy,฀in:฀Art฀History฀8,฀1985,฀26–48.฀Camille’s฀primary฀example฀of฀this฀phe-
nomenon,฀a฀miniature฀from฀the฀Pembroke฀Gospels,฀likewise฀depicts฀a฀parable฀from฀Matthew฀
(the฀Unprepared฀Wedding฀Guest,฀Mt.฀22:฀11–12).
27฀฀See฀Pamela฀Z.฀Blum,฀Early฀Gothic฀Saint-Denis:฀Restorations฀and฀Survivals.฀Berkeley฀and฀Los฀
Angeles฀1992,฀76–90.
28฀฀The฀only฀fi฀gure฀of฀the฀group฀that฀is฀not฀frontally฀oriented฀is฀the฀Foolish฀Virgin฀on฀the฀lowest฀
register,฀whosese฀turns฀her฀head฀to฀face฀the฀seminude฀Atlantid฀in฀an฀adjacent฀niche;฀see฀ibid.,฀
77,฀Fig.฀25a.
130 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

Fig.฀4:฀฀Magdeburg฀Cathedral.฀
Gallery฀level฀of฀apse:฀statues฀of฀Sts.฀
Maurice฀and฀George฀with฀reliefs฀of฀
Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins,฀ca.฀1230.฀
(Photo฀by฀author.)

angels,฀French฀portal฀programs฀would฀consistently฀highlight฀the฀fi฀gures’฀psycho-
logical฀ and฀ physical฀ detachment฀ from฀ one฀ another฀ and฀ their฀ clear฀ separation฀
from฀the฀genuinely฀»acting«฀fi฀gures฀on฀the฀tympanum.29

29฀฀For฀ depictions฀ of฀ the฀ Virgins฀ on฀ doorposts,฀ see฀ Willibald฀ Sauerländer,฀ Gotische฀ Skulptur฀
in฀Frankreich,฀1140฀–฀1270.฀München฀1970,฀Tf.฀60–61฀(Sens,฀Kathedrale฀St-Etienne,฀mittle-
res฀Westportal,฀ca.฀1200),฀Tf.฀145฀(Paris,฀Kathedrale฀Notre-Dame,฀mittleres฀Westportal,฀vor฀
1230),฀ Tf.฀ 160–161฀ (Amiens,฀ Kathedrale฀ Notre-Dame,฀ mittleres฀ Westportal,฀ 1225฀–฀35),฀ Tf.฀
286,฀oben฀(Auxerre,฀Kathedrale฀St-Etienne,฀ca.฀1270).฀For฀depictions฀on฀archivolts,฀see฀Tf.฀
243,฀links฀(Reims,฀Kathedrale฀Notre-Dame,฀Nordquerhaus,฀Gerichtsportal,฀ca.฀1230,฀where฀
the฀ Virgins฀ sit฀ alongside฀ saintly฀ clerics฀ and฀ angels),฀ Tf.฀ 288฀ (St-Thibault-en-Auxois,฀ Prio-
ratskirche฀ Notre-Dame,฀ Nordquerhausportal,฀ 1240–50,฀ where฀ the฀ Virgins฀ accompany฀ Old฀
Testament฀scenes),฀Tf.฀298–299฀und฀Abb.฀109฀(Poitiers,฀Kathedrale฀St-Pierre,฀rechtes฀West-
portal,฀ca.฀1250,฀where฀they฀accompany฀saints),฀Tf.฀300–301(Charroux,฀ehem.฀Abteikirche฀
St-Sauveur,฀ca.฀1250,฀Figuren฀aus฀den฀Archivolten฀des฀mittleren฀Westportals),฀Tf.฀308–309฀
(Dax,฀Kathedrale฀Notre-Dame,฀ehem.฀Westportal,฀drittes฀Viertel฀13.฀Jh.).฀On฀the฀west฀façade฀
of฀Bourges฀Cathedral฀(1240฀–฀60),฀the฀Virgins฀occupy฀the฀spandrels฀of฀the฀blind฀rose฀window฀
in฀the฀center฀portal฀gable;฀see฀Tf.฀292.฀฀
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 131

This฀ mode฀ of฀ depiction฀ was฀ not฀ unknown฀ to฀ the฀ artists฀ who฀ produced฀ the฀

฀Jung
Magdeburg฀portal฀in฀the฀mid-thirteenth฀century.฀Around฀1230,฀not฀long฀before฀
the฀arrival฀of฀this฀workshop฀at฀the฀cathedral,฀ten฀shallow฀reliefs฀of฀the฀Virgins,฀
possibly฀meant฀for฀the฀imposts฀of฀a฀never-fi฀nished฀portal,฀had฀been฀inserted฀into฀
the฀wall฀of฀the฀Bischofsgang฀surrounding฀the฀apse,฀along฀with฀smaller฀reliefs฀of฀
Bischofsgang
the฀Virtues฀and฀Vices,฀stocky฀fi฀gures฀of฀the฀male฀saints,฀and฀niches฀housing฀relics฀
(fi฀g.฀ 4).30฀ In฀ keeping฀ with฀ the฀ somber฀ demeanor฀ of฀ the฀ large-scale฀ saints,฀ the฀
apse฀Virgins฀look฀every฀bit฀as฀stoic฀as฀their฀counterparts฀in฀the฀north฀transept฀
portal฀look฀passionately฀engaged.฀Clad฀in฀fl฀owing,฀toga-like฀garments,฀the฀fron-
tal฀fi฀gures฀gaze฀calmly฀outward,฀demonstrating฀their฀Saved฀or฀Damned฀status฀
not฀through฀their฀faces฀but฀through฀the฀physical฀positioning฀of฀their฀hands฀and฀
lamps.฀
Whereas฀the฀small฀size,฀stylized฀form,฀and฀absence฀of฀psychological฀complex-
ity฀in฀the฀apse฀reliefs฀are,฀arguably,฀more฀appropriate฀to฀the฀Virgins’฀metapho-
ric฀nature฀than฀the฀lively,฀fl฀eshed-out฀fi฀gures฀of฀the฀north฀transept฀portal,฀the฀
absence฀of฀external฀indicators฀of฀moral฀difference฀in฀the฀latter฀brings฀out฀more฀
clearly฀the฀idea฀of฀interior฀motivation฀that฀had฀long฀been฀crucial฀in฀theologi-
cal฀explications฀of฀the฀parable.฀The฀lack฀of฀clear฀moral฀distinction฀among฀the฀
Virgins฀–฀who,฀after฀all,฀attended฀the฀Bridegroom’s฀arrival฀with฀equal฀enthusi-
asm฀ –฀ posed฀ problems฀ for฀ commentators฀ who฀ sought฀ to฀ harmonize฀ the฀ story฀
with฀ Christ’s฀ own฀ eschatological฀ gloss,฀ and฀ there฀ was฀ little฀ agreement฀ as฀ to฀
what฀the฀details฀of฀the฀story฀actually฀meant.฀What฀seems฀to฀have฀especially฀in-
trigued฀early฀interpreters฀was฀that฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins’฀problem฀arose฀not฀from฀
anything฀they฀did฀but฀from฀something฀they฀did฀not฀
did have.฀Much฀of฀Augustine’s฀
sermon฀ on฀ Matthew฀ 25:1–13,฀ for฀ example,฀ sought฀ to฀ explain฀ the฀ rejection฀ of฀
fi฀ve฀women฀who฀both฀were฀virgins฀(i.e.,฀฀pure฀souls฀that฀abstained฀from฀illicit฀
sensual฀impressions)฀and฀possessed฀lamps฀(i.e.,฀good฀works);฀the฀oil฀the฀Foolish฀
lacked,฀he฀reasoned,฀was฀charitas,฀the฀love฀that฀must฀accompany฀good฀works฀if฀

30฀฀In฀an฀infl฀uential฀article,฀Adolf฀Goldschmidt฀proposed฀that฀all฀the฀fi฀gures฀in฀this฀apse฀pro-
gram฀were฀designed฀for฀a฀French-style฀portal;฀see฀his฀Französzzische฀Einfl฀üsse฀in฀der฀frühgo-
tischen฀ Skulptur฀ Sachsens,฀ in:฀ Jb.฀ der฀ Königlich฀ Preußischen฀ Kunstsammlungen฀ 20,฀ 1899,฀
285–300.฀ Much฀ of฀ the฀ subsequent฀ literature฀ has฀ focused฀ on฀ reconstructing฀ such฀ a฀ portal.฀
For฀an฀overview฀of฀the฀state฀of฀the฀question,฀with฀full฀bibliography,฀see฀Klaus฀Niehr,฀Die฀mit-
teldeutsche฀Skulptur฀der฀ersten฀Hälfte฀des฀13.฀Jahrhunderts.฀Weinheim฀1992,฀296–302.฀In฀
his฀provocative฀article฀Zentrum,฀Peripherie,฀Transperipherie.฀Überlegungen฀zum฀Erfolg฀des฀
gotischen฀Figurenportals฀an฀den฀Beispielen฀Chartres,฀Sangüesa,฀Magdeburg,฀Bamberg฀und฀
den฀Westportalen฀des฀Domes฀S.฀Lorenzo฀in฀Genua,฀in:฀Herbert฀Beck฀und฀Kirsten฀Hengevoss-
Dürkop฀(Hg.),฀Europäische฀Skulptur฀im฀12./13.฀Jahrhundert.฀Frankfurt/M.฀1994,฀665–687,฀
671,฀Peter฀Cornelius฀Claussen฀reminded฀us฀that฀the฀portal฀project฀was฀initiated฀by฀Archbishop฀
Albrecht฀II,฀who฀studied฀in฀Paris฀at฀the฀time฀the฀historiated฀portal฀was฀becoming฀normative฀in฀
France.฀Claussen฀suggests฀that฀Albrecht’s฀attempt฀to฀»transplant«฀the฀French฀portal฀structure฀
into฀Magdeburg฀»wurde฀abgestoßen«฀not,฀as฀has฀traditionally฀been฀held,฀because฀of฀a฀change฀
in฀workshop฀or฀a฀lack฀of฀finances฀but฀rather฀»weil฀die฀Grundvoraussetzung฀für฀das฀Konzept฀
Figurenportal,฀die฀kulturelle฀Übereinkunft,฀fehlte«฀–฀hence฀the฀figures’฀removal฀to฀the฀apse฀
interior.฀It฀is฀noteworthy,฀in฀light฀of฀Claussen’s฀larger฀arguments฀in฀this฀article,฀that฀the฀Figuren-
132 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

they฀are฀to฀carry฀weight.31฀For฀Isidore฀of฀Seville,฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins฀failed฀not฀
to฀perform฀good฀works,฀but฀to฀store฀the฀evidence฀of฀those฀works฀in฀their฀cons-
ciences฀–฀in฀Isidore’s฀words,฀to฀»display฀the฀splendor฀of฀their฀minds฀in฀the฀vases฀
of฀ their฀ hearts.«32฀ Later฀ commentators฀ added฀ further฀ nuances.฀ Thus฀ Hugh฀ of฀
St.฀Victor,฀writing฀in฀the฀twelfth฀century,฀placed฀greater฀stress฀on฀internal฀inten-
tionality,฀contrasting฀the฀Wise฀Virgins,฀who฀sought฀to฀obtain฀good฀conscience฀
rather฀than฀human฀praise,฀with฀the฀Foolish,฀who฀performed฀good฀deeds฀to฀earn฀
human฀praise฀rather฀than฀good฀conscience;฀thus฀it฀was฀not฀their฀lack฀of฀oil฀but฀
their฀rush฀to฀the฀vendors,฀distributors฀of฀praise,฀that฀caused฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins’฀
downfall.33 For฀all฀their฀disparities฀in฀time฀and฀place฀and฀the฀subtle฀differences฀
in฀interpretation,฀these฀(and฀many฀other)฀commentators฀agreed฀that฀the฀divi-
ding฀line฀separating฀the฀Virgins฀was฀a฀fi฀ne฀one;฀salvation฀and฀rejection฀resulted฀
from฀neither฀innate฀moral฀disparity฀nor฀from฀outer฀behavior฀in฀the฀world,฀but฀
from฀the฀secret฀motivations฀of฀the฀human฀heart.
Prior฀ to฀ the฀ Magdeburg฀ portal,฀ depictions฀ of฀ the฀ Wise฀ and฀ Foolish฀ Virgins฀
smoothed฀over฀the฀complexities฀and฀nuances฀of฀the฀parable฀and฀its฀exegetical฀
interpretations฀ by฀ attaching฀ to฀ the฀ fi฀gures฀ external฀ signs฀ suggestive฀ of฀ moral฀
value.฀As฀we฀have฀seen,฀the฀Wise฀Virgins฀in฀the฀Bischofsgang฀were฀distinguished฀
Bischofsgang
by฀the฀toga-like฀wrapping฀of฀their฀drapery฀and฀by฀the฀veiling฀of฀their฀heads,฀in฀
contrast฀with฀the฀modern฀fashions฀and฀loose,฀fl฀owing฀hair฀of฀the฀Foolish. 34฀At฀
the฀same฀time฀the฀Magdeburg฀portal฀fi฀gures฀were฀being฀constructed,฀artists฀else-
where฀ were฀ experimenting฀ with฀ using฀ body฀ language฀ to฀ contrast฀ the฀ groups’฀
respective฀ moral฀ qualities.฀ The฀ Foolish฀ Virgins฀ that฀ once฀ graced฀ a฀ portal฀ on฀
the฀ abbey฀ church฀ of฀ St-Sauveur฀ at฀ Charroux฀ (ca.฀ 1250),฀ at฀ least฀ one฀ of฀ whom฀
wears฀the฀headdress฀of฀a฀married฀woman,฀brandish฀their฀empty฀vases฀proudly,฀
revealing฀their฀foolishness฀through฀inappropriately฀cheery฀smiles฀and฀preening฀
poses,฀while฀the฀Wise฀Virgins฀wrap฀their฀cloaks฀discreetly฀about฀themselves฀and฀
gaze฀ outward฀ with฀ faces฀ devoid฀ of฀ overt฀ emotion.35฀ As฀ C.฀ Stephen฀ Jaeger฀ has฀
argued,฀the฀elevation฀of฀restrained฀and฀elegant฀behavior฀against฀immoderate฀or฀

portal฀that฀was฀created฀–฀that฀of฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀–฀runs฀completely฀counter฀to฀
was
French฀traditions,฀with฀its฀monumentalization฀of฀a฀single฀episode฀rather฀than฀an฀assembly฀of฀
many,฀and฀its฀emphasis฀on฀psychological฀aspects฀of฀human฀experience฀rather฀than฀on฀objec-
tive฀intellectual฀concerns.
31฀฀Augustine,฀Sermo฀XCIII฀ad฀populum,฀in:฀PL฀38,฀cols.฀573–580.
32฀฀Isidore฀of฀Seville,฀Allegoriae฀quaedem฀scripturae฀sacrae฀CXCVII–CXCVIII,฀in:฀PL฀83,฀cols.฀
123f.฀
33฀฀Hugh฀of฀St.฀Victor,฀Allegoriae฀in฀Novum฀Testamentum,฀liber฀II,฀cap.฀XXXIV,฀in:฀PL฀175,฀cols.฀
799f.฀Hugh฀and฀other฀commentators฀tend฀not฀to฀address฀the฀fact฀that฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins’฀
journey฀to฀the฀oil฀vendors฀could฀have฀been฀avoided฀if฀the฀Wise฀Virgins฀had฀agreed฀to฀share฀
with฀them.฀฀฀฀
34฀฀The฀sensuously฀swaying฀groups฀at฀Sens,฀ca.฀1200,฀are฀likewise฀distinguished฀by฀varieties฀of฀
dress:฀the฀Wise฀conceal฀their฀upper฀bodies฀through฀loosely฀draped฀smocks฀while฀the฀chests฀
and฀waists฀of฀the฀Foolish฀are฀revealed฀through฀tight-fi฀tting,฀belted฀dresses;฀see฀Sauerländer฀
(as฀note฀29),฀Tf.฀60–61.฀฀฀฀
35฀฀Ibid.,฀Tf.฀300–301.฀
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 133

inappropriate฀expressivity,฀which฀was฀a฀staple฀of฀ethical฀training฀in฀eleventh-cen-

฀Jung
tury฀cathedral฀schools,฀also฀found฀visual฀form฀in฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀
program฀ at฀ Strassburg฀ Cathedral,฀ produced฀ around฀ 1280. 36฀ In฀ the฀ Strassburg฀
program,฀and฀the฀closely฀related฀version฀at฀Freiburg฀Cathedral,฀the฀moral฀dis-
parity฀between฀the฀groups฀is฀made฀brashly฀obvious฀through฀the฀introduction฀of฀
a฀Christ฀fi฀gure,฀who฀beckons฀the฀Wise฀Virgins฀toward฀the฀door฀of฀the฀church,฀
and,฀on฀the฀side฀of฀the฀Foolish,฀a฀worldly฀prince฀whose฀courtly฀garments฀cannot฀
conceal฀a฀naked฀backside฀crawling฀with฀vermin.37฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀
฀ No฀such฀indications฀of฀moral฀status฀appear฀in฀the฀portal฀ensemble฀at฀
Magdeburg;฀ unlike฀ their฀ cousins฀ at฀ Strassburg,฀ these฀ fi฀gures฀ cannot฀ be฀ con-
fused฀with฀personifi฀cations฀of฀virtue฀and฀vice.38฀Indeed,฀what฀makes฀the฀Magde-
burg฀fi฀gures฀so฀audacious฀is฀precisely฀the฀group’s฀physical฀uniformity฀–฀a฀factor฀
well฀in฀keeping฀with฀theological฀interpretations,฀which,฀as฀we฀have฀seen,฀located฀
the฀Foolish฀Virgins’฀fault฀in฀the฀domain฀of฀imperceptible฀internal฀motivations฀
rather฀than฀in฀visible฀outward฀acts.฀Each฀fi฀gure฀–฀not฀only฀the฀Foolish฀–฀models฀
the฀fashionable฀garb฀of฀a฀modern฀courtly฀lady:฀underneath฀a฀heavy฀mantle฀she฀
wears฀a฀long-sleeved฀gown฀whose฀clingy฀bodice,฀enhanced฀by฀a฀jeweled฀brooch,฀
is฀set฀off฀from฀the฀voluminous฀skirt฀by฀a฀thin฀leather฀girdle.39฀Like฀male฀writers฀
of฀courtly฀literature฀such฀as฀Konrad฀von฀Würzburg,฀who฀expressed฀great฀enthusi-
asm฀for฀the฀rich฀contrasts฀of฀sleekness฀and฀fullness,฀exposure฀and฀concealment,฀
inherent฀in฀this฀costume,฀the฀Magdeburg฀sculptors฀did฀not฀fail฀to฀note฀how฀the฀
thin฀fabric฀of฀the฀bodices฀allowed฀each฀lady’s฀»senften฀brüstelîn฀an฀dem฀kleide฀reine฀
î
storzen฀harte฀kleine,฀als฀ez฀zwên฀epfel฀waeren
ê ,«40฀or฀the฀way฀the฀long฀skirt฀assumed฀
»vil฀manegen฀wünneclichen฀valt«฀as฀it฀cascaded฀in฀hills฀and฀valleys฀across฀her฀feet฀
(»reht,«฀he฀continues,฀»als฀ein฀bilde฀gesnitzet«).41฀While฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins฀use฀the฀
hems฀of฀their฀cloaks฀to฀wipe฀tears฀from฀their฀eyes,฀the฀Wise฀hook฀their฀fi฀ngers฀
through฀ their฀ mantle-straps฀ in฀ a฀ gesture฀ associated฀ with฀ the฀ highest฀ levels฀ of฀
courtly฀refi฀nement฀(fi฀g.฀5),฀or฀strategically฀manipulate฀their฀cloaks฀to฀call฀atten-
tion฀to฀their฀hips฀and฀torsos.฀Virgins฀they฀may฀be฀–฀but฀in฀their฀self-assured฀fl฀irta-
tiousness฀these฀fi฀gures฀have฀less฀in฀common฀with฀their฀nun-like฀counterparts฀on฀
the฀Bischofsgang฀than฀they฀do฀with฀the฀well-bred฀ladies฀in฀secular฀poetry,฀who฀tease฀
Bischofsgang

36฀฀Jaeger฀(as฀note฀15).
37฀฀See฀Otto฀Schmitt,฀Die฀gotischen n฀Skulptur฀des฀Straßss
ssburger฀Münsters.฀Frankfurt฀1924,฀Bd.฀
I,฀22–26฀und฀Bd.฀II,฀Tf.฀129–151.฀To฀my฀knowledge฀no฀explanation฀has฀been฀advanced฀as฀to฀
why฀the฀Virgins’฀traditional฀positions฀relative฀to฀the฀door฀have฀been฀reversed฀at฀Strassburg,฀
so฀that฀the฀Wise฀stand฀on฀the฀door’s฀proper฀left฀and฀the฀Foolish฀on฀the฀right.฀On฀the฀Freiburg฀
program,฀ see฀ Gustav฀ Münzel,฀ Der฀ Skulpturenzyklus฀ in฀ der฀ Vorhalle฀ des฀ Freiburger฀ Müns-
ters,฀Freiburg/Br.฀1959,฀142–146฀and฀Rudolf฀Asmus,฀Der฀»Fürst฀der฀Welt«฀in฀der฀Vorhalle฀des฀
Münsters฀in฀Freiburg฀i.฀B.,฀in:฀Repertorium฀für฀Kunstwissenschaft฀35,฀1912,฀509–512.฀
38฀฀See฀Jaeger฀(as฀note฀15),฀who฀confl฀ates฀the฀Virgins฀with฀virtues฀and฀vices฀(see฀331,฀339).฀See฀
also฀Binski฀(as฀note฀15),฀255.฀
39฀฀See฀Bumke฀(as฀note฀25),฀189–197.฀Behling฀(as฀note฀20)฀notes฀that,฀contrary฀to฀most฀depic-
tions,฀the฀Wise฀Virgins฀here฀are฀actually฀more฀lavishly฀ornamented฀than฀the฀Foolish.
40฀฀Konrad฀von฀Würzburg,฀Engelhard,฀ll.฀3046–3047;฀quoted฀in฀Bumke,฀192.
41฀฀Konrad฀von฀Würzburg,฀Engelhard,฀ll.฀3062–3077;฀quoted฀in฀Bumke,฀193.฀฀฀
134 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

Fig.฀5:฀฀Magdeburg฀Cathedral.฀
Detail฀of฀Wise฀Virgins.฀
(Photo฀by฀author.)

their฀admirers฀by฀occasionally฀pulling฀aside฀their฀mantles฀so฀that,฀as฀Wolfram฀von฀
Eschenbach฀put฀it,฀»swes ouge denne drunder dranc, der sah den blic von pardîs
î .«42
Thus,฀in฀contrast฀to฀the฀carvers฀of฀the฀gallery฀reliefs,฀the฀younger฀portal฀sculp-
tors฀affi฀rmed฀the฀Virgins’฀essential฀sameness฀by฀making฀them฀conform฀equally฀to฀
courtly฀ideals฀of฀physical฀beauty.฀Even฀the฀lamps,฀those฀ubiquitous฀signs฀of฀failure฀
or฀plenitude,฀do฀little฀to฀differentiate฀the฀groups:฀while฀the฀Foolish฀Virgin฀closest฀
to฀the฀door฀tips฀hers฀outward,฀offering฀a฀glimpse฀of฀its฀empty฀center,฀the฀rest฀cup฀
theirs฀as฀if฀in฀the฀stubborn฀hope฀that฀all฀is฀not฀lost.฀Nor฀does฀their฀bodily฀comport-
ment฀distinguish฀the฀women’s฀respective฀moral฀qualities฀in฀any฀essential฀way.฀In฀
contrast฀to฀programs฀such฀as฀that฀at฀Strassburg,฀where฀the฀literal฀uprightness฀and฀
sobriety฀of฀the฀Wise฀Virgins฀affi฀rm฀their฀spiritual฀superiority฀over฀the฀clumsy฀and฀
immoderate฀Foolish,43฀at฀Magdeburg฀the฀two฀groups฀perform฀gestures฀that฀are฀
equal฀in฀both฀conventionality฀and฀expressiveness.฀The฀Wise฀Virgins’฀mannered฀

42฀฀Wolfram฀von฀Eschenbach,฀Willehalm,฀ll.฀12–15,฀quoted฀in฀Bumke฀(as฀note฀25),฀196.
43฀฀See฀Jaeger฀(as฀note฀15).฀Jeffrey฀F.฀Hamburger฀has฀noted฀the฀same฀phenomenon฀in฀the฀de-
piction฀of฀the฀Virgins฀in฀the฀Rothschild฀Canticles฀(ca.฀1300),฀though฀here฀they฀appear฀in฀a฀
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 135

฀Jung
Fig.฀6:฀฀Magdeburg฀Cathedral.฀
Detail฀of฀Foolish฀Virgin.฀
(Photo฀by฀author.)

play฀with฀clothing฀suggests฀minds฀free฀from฀external฀worry,฀while฀the฀gestures฀of฀
the฀Foolish฀adhere฀quite฀rigorously฀to฀a฀long-standing฀visual฀and฀literary฀icono-
graphy฀of฀grief:฀like฀the฀princesses฀who฀mourn฀lost฀lovers฀in฀secular฀poetry฀or฀like฀
the฀companions฀of฀Christ฀in฀devotional฀literature,฀the฀women฀beat฀their฀breasts฀
and฀foreheads,฀dab฀their฀eyes,฀and฀cradle฀their฀cheeks฀in฀their฀hands฀(fi฀g.฀6).44
Far฀from฀representing฀irrational,฀spontaneous฀outbursts฀of฀feeling,฀the฀Vir-
gins’฀ bodily฀ displays฀ of฀ emotion฀ are฀ better฀ understood,฀ like฀ the฀ often฀ violent฀
outbursts฀ described฀ in฀ much฀ medieval฀ history-writing,฀ as฀ demonstrative฀ acts฀
of฀ public฀ communication฀ meant฀ to฀ highlight฀ the฀ seriousness฀ of฀ a฀ situation.45

narrative฀context;฀see฀his฀The฀Rothschild฀Canticles:฀Art฀and฀Mysticism฀in฀Flanders฀and฀the฀
Rhineland฀circa฀1300.฀New฀Haven฀1990,฀57–59฀and฀Fig.฀21.฀For฀a฀more฀extensive฀treatment฀
of฀medieval฀gestural฀rhetoric,฀see฀Jean-Claude฀Schmitt,฀La฀raison฀des฀gestes฀dans฀l’Occident฀
médiéval.฀Paris฀1990.฀
44฀฀See฀Moshe฀Barasch,฀Gestures฀of฀Despair฀in฀Medieval฀and฀Early฀Renaissance฀Art,฀New฀York฀
1976;฀Erhard฀Lommatzsch,฀Darstellung฀von฀Trauer฀und฀Schmerz฀in฀der฀altfranzösischen฀Li-
teratur,฀in:฀Zeitschrift฀für฀romanische฀Philologie฀43,฀1923,฀20–67.
45฀฀On฀the฀instrumentalization฀of฀emotions฀as฀a฀sign฀in฀medieval฀communication,฀see฀Gerd฀Alt-
hoff,฀Empörung,฀Tränen,฀Zerknirschung:฀»Emotionen«฀in฀der฀öffentlichen฀Kommunikation฀des฀
136 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

Fig.฀7:฀฀Magdeburg฀Cathedral.฀
Detail฀of฀Foolish฀Virgin.฀
(Photo฀by฀author.)

฀ hereas฀฀modern฀commentators฀have฀decried฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins฀as฀represen-
W
ting฀ »grotesque฀ exaggerations฀ of฀ suffering,«฀ medieval฀ audiences,฀ more฀ accus-
tomed฀to฀externalized฀and฀highly฀stylized฀performances฀of฀feeling,฀would฀likely฀
have฀understood฀them฀as฀signs฀of฀the฀depth฀and฀gravity฀of฀the฀loss฀at฀hand.46฀This฀
is฀how฀emotions฀are฀used฀in฀the฀Eisenach฀Zehnjungfrauenspiel,฀a฀text฀to฀be฀discus-

Mittelalters,฀in:฀Frühmittelalterliche฀Studien฀30,฀1996,฀60-79฀and฀the฀essays฀collected฀in฀Anger’s฀
Past:฀The฀Social฀Uses฀of฀an฀Emotion฀in฀the฀Middle฀Ages,฀ed.฀Barbara฀H.฀Rosenwein.฀Ithaca฀and฀
London฀1998.฀For฀a฀fascinating฀anthropological฀analysis฀of฀this฀phenomenon฀in฀the฀early฀mod-
ern฀period,฀see฀William฀A.฀Christian฀Jr.,฀Provoked฀Religious฀Weeping฀in฀Early฀Modern฀Spain,฀
in:฀Religious฀Organization฀and฀Religious฀Experience,฀ed.฀John฀Davis.฀London฀1982,฀97–114.฀฀
46฀฀For฀comments฀on฀the฀changes฀in฀sensibility฀that฀have฀led฀to฀the฀modern฀emphasis฀on฀privacy฀
and฀authenticity฀in฀the฀display฀of฀emotions,฀see฀Althoff฀(as฀note฀45),฀78–79.฀On฀this฀point฀I฀
depart฀from฀Jaeger฀(as฀note฀15),฀who฀suggests฀that฀the฀sadness฀apparent฀in฀the฀Foolish฀Vir-
gins’฀bodies฀and฀faces฀at฀Strassburg,฀because฀it฀represents฀the฀opposite฀of฀elegant฀and฀refi฀ned฀
behavior,฀reveals฀their฀moral฀inadequacy.฀He฀is,฀of฀course,฀right฀to฀insist฀that฀these฀fi฀gures฀
function฀as฀a฀kind฀of฀anti-model฀–฀who฀would฀wish฀to฀enact฀these฀women’s฀sorrow?฀–฀but฀whe-
ther฀their฀bent฀heads฀and฀furrowed฀brows฀mark฀them฀as฀inherently฀bad฀is฀still฀open฀for฀ques-
tion.฀I฀address฀this฀issue฀further฀in฀my฀article฀»The฀Eloquent฀Body฀in฀Medieval฀Sculpture«,฀in฀
preparation.฀฀฀฀
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 137

฀Jung
Fig.฀8:฀฀Magdeburg฀Cathedral.฀
Detail฀of฀Foolish฀Virgin.฀
(Photo฀by฀author.)

sed฀further฀below;฀there,฀the฀seemingly฀bombastic฀actions฀of฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins฀
–฀which฀include฀rending฀of฀hair,฀tearing฀of฀clothing,฀beating฀of฀breasts,฀and฀vio-
lent฀weeping฀that฀yielded฀more฀tears฀»als wassers ist in dem mere«47฀–฀are฀enacted฀as฀
appropriate฀manifestations฀of฀the฀characters’฀desolation.฀Only฀extreme฀actions,฀
after฀all,฀can฀adequately฀convey฀the฀horror฀of฀being฀barred฀from฀heaven.฀฀฀฀฀
What฀gives฀the฀formulaic฀gestures฀of฀the฀Magdeburg฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀
their฀psychological฀immediacy฀is,฀of฀course,฀their฀conjunction฀with฀facial฀expres-
sions฀ of฀ unprecedented฀ range฀ and฀ liveliness.฀ The฀ Wise฀ gaze฀ boldly฀ at฀ viewers฀
–฀and฀at฀their฀sorrowful฀counterparts฀–฀from฀eyes฀crinkled฀into฀narrow฀slits฀by฀
the฀upward฀pressure฀of฀their฀full฀cheeks,฀the฀energy฀of฀their฀grins฀tempered฀by฀
calm,฀fi฀nely฀arched฀eyebrows฀and฀smooth฀foreheads฀(see฀fi฀gs.฀2,฀5).48฀The฀eyes฀of฀
the฀Foolish,฀by฀contrast,฀seem฀barely฀able฀to฀see,฀so฀heavily฀are฀they฀squeez-ed฀to-
gether฀between฀tear-swollen฀lids;฀their฀lips฀pull฀downward,฀echoing฀the฀concave฀

47฀฀Eisenacher฀Zehnjungfrauenspiel฀(as฀note฀57),฀42,฀ll.฀510,฀514–517.฀For฀further฀discussion,฀see฀
below.
48฀฀The฀range฀of฀meanings฀of฀smiles฀and฀laughter฀–฀including,฀prominently,฀the฀erotic฀–฀in฀con-
temporary฀literary฀sources฀is฀explored฀by฀Karl฀Richard฀Kremer,฀Das฀Lachen฀in฀der฀deutschen฀
Sprache฀und฀Literatur฀des฀Mittelalters.฀Ph.D.฀Diss.฀Bonn฀1961.
138 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

curves฀ of฀ the฀ furrowed฀ eyebrows,฀ and฀ their฀ dimpled฀ chins฀ appear฀ to฀ tremble฀
(fi฀gs.฀ 6–8).49฀ These฀ expressions฀ come฀ to฀ view฀ all฀ the฀ more฀ powerfully฀ thanks฀
to฀the฀fi฀gures’฀otherwise฀nearly฀identical฀facial฀structure.฀On฀both฀sides฀of฀the฀
door,฀we฀fi฀nd฀the฀same฀heart-shaped฀faces,฀dimpled฀cheeks,฀long฀eyes฀framed฀by฀
puffy฀lids,฀and฀full,฀softly฀curved฀lips฀–฀»sodass,«฀as฀Ernst฀Schubert฀wryly฀noted,฀
»man฀bei฀fl฀üchtigem฀Hinsehen฀meinen฀könnte,฀es฀habe฀nur฀eine฀einzige฀Jungfrau฀gegeben,฀
und฀sie฀sei฀verzehnfacht฀worden.«50฀Yet฀to฀suggest฀that฀this฀sameness฀indicates฀a฀lack฀
of฀inventiveness฀on฀the฀part฀of฀the฀sculptors฀is฀to฀disregard฀the฀astonishing฀phy-
siognomic฀experiments฀elsewhere฀in฀the฀cathedral.฀As฀the฀magnifi฀cent฀African฀
Saint฀Maurice,฀now฀in฀the฀choir,฀makes฀plain,฀the฀artists฀active฀in฀Magdeburg฀
mid-century฀were฀hardly฀shy฀when฀it฀came฀to฀rendering฀diverse฀physical฀appea-
rances. 51฀ At฀ a฀ historical฀ moment฀ when฀ these฀ sculptors,฀ along฀ with฀ their฀ more฀
celebrated฀peers฀at฀Naumburg฀and฀Reims,฀were฀so฀boldly฀expanding฀the฀artistic฀
repertoire฀of฀facial฀types,฀and฀when฀physiognomists฀were฀seeking฀to฀uncover฀in฀
the฀set฀of฀an฀eyebrow฀or฀the฀shape฀of฀a฀nostril฀indications฀of฀inborn฀tempera-
ment,฀the฀physical฀sameness฀of฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀must฀be฀regarded฀
as฀a฀conscious฀and฀meaningful฀choice.฀
A฀comparison฀of฀the฀treatments฀of฀physiognomy฀in฀these฀sculptures฀and฀in฀
the฀ scientifi฀c฀ writings฀ of฀ Albertus฀ Magnus,฀ who฀ spent฀ time฀ in฀ Magdeburg฀ in฀
1263,฀is฀instructive฀in฀this฀regard. 52฀Although฀Albert฀did฀not฀differ฀from฀his฀cler-
ical฀contemporaries฀in฀condemning฀immoderate฀laughter,฀he฀discerned฀in฀the฀
»softly฀laughing฀and฀swollen฀eyes«฀of฀a฀person฀whose฀»entire฀face฀is฀.฀.฀.฀dissolved฀
in฀joy«฀a฀nature฀that฀is฀»good,฀grand,฀just,฀mild,฀religious,฀hospitable,฀pleasant,฀
prudent,฀gentle,฀and฀loving.«53฀Like฀his฀classical฀predecessors,฀Albert฀extolled฀the฀
eye฀over฀other฀facial฀features฀as฀the฀»gateway฀to฀the฀soul«฀and฀»true฀messenger฀
of฀the฀heart«฀–฀but฀in฀his฀writings฀he฀constantly฀elided฀the฀expressive฀capacities฀
of฀the฀eye฀as฀an฀object฀possessing฀certain฀physical฀properties฀with฀those฀of฀the฀
eye’s฀changing฀movements฀effected฀by฀a฀sentient฀agent.฀By฀endowing฀the฀Virgins฀
with฀the฀same฀distinctive฀eyes฀and฀faces,฀the฀Magdeburg฀sculptors฀successfully฀
accentuated฀ the฀ muscular฀ movements฀ produced฀ by฀ various฀ emotional฀ states.฀
This฀ presupposes฀ a฀ clear฀ conceptual฀ distinction฀ between฀ the฀ intrinsic,฀ immu-
table฀structure฀of฀the฀face฀and฀the฀contingent฀and฀transitory฀positioning฀of฀its฀
features,฀one฀not฀made฀consistently฀in฀contemporaneous฀scientifi฀c฀discourse. 54

49฀฀For฀corresponding฀literary฀representations฀of฀weeping฀in฀contemporary฀sources,฀see฀Heinz฀
Gerd฀ Weinand,฀ Tränen:฀ Untersuchungen฀ über฀ das฀ Weinen฀ in฀ der฀ deutschen฀ Sprache฀ und฀
Literatur฀des฀Mittelalters.฀Bonn฀1958.฀
50฀฀E.฀Schubert฀1974฀(as฀note฀4),฀202.
51฀฀See฀ibid.,฀66–67฀and฀Gude฀Suckale-Redlefsen,฀Mauritius:฀Der฀Heilige฀Mohr฀–฀The฀Black฀Saint฀
Maurice.฀Houston/München฀1987,฀42–47.
52฀฀Kenneth฀ F.฀ Kitchell,฀ Jr.฀ and฀ Irven฀ Michael฀ Resnick,฀ Introduction:฀ The฀ Life฀ and฀ Works฀ of฀
Albert฀the฀Great,฀in฀their฀translation฀of฀Albertus฀Magnus฀on฀Animals:฀A฀Medieval฀Summa฀
Zoologica.฀Vol.฀I.฀Baltimore฀1999,฀3–17.
53฀฀Ibid.,฀Bd.฀I,฀Book฀1,฀par.฀157,฀105.
54฀฀This฀distinction฀and฀its฀implications฀for฀visual฀art฀have฀been฀discussed฀by฀E.฀H.฀Gombrich,฀
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 139

Drama,฀motion,฀and฀the฀beholder’s฀share

฀Jung
While฀experiments฀in฀capturing฀the฀appearance฀of฀transient฀expressions฀were฀
well฀ underway฀ in฀ the฀ margins฀ of฀ mid-thirteenth฀ century฀ art฀ –฀ witness฀ the฀ fa-
mous฀»masks«฀at฀Reims฀Cathedral55฀–฀the฀elevation฀of฀emotional฀response฀to฀the฀
central฀subject฀of฀representation฀at฀Magdeburg฀was฀something฀new,฀and฀the฀de-
signers฀of฀the฀fourteenth-century฀portal,฀who฀chose฀to฀amplify฀the฀physical฀and฀
psychological฀ immediacy฀ of฀ the฀ fi฀gures฀ by฀ detaching฀ them฀ from฀ the฀ architec-
ture,฀ clearly฀ recognized฀ its฀ dramatic฀ potential.฀ Although฀ »theatricality«฀ has฀
been฀described฀as฀the฀hallmark฀of฀a฀specifi฀cally฀modern฀worldview,56฀it฀is฀hardly฀
anachronistic฀to฀understand฀the฀effect฀of฀the฀staging฀of฀the฀Magdeburg฀Virgins฀
as฀ performative฀ or฀ theatrical฀ rather฀ than฀ descriptive฀ or฀ didactic.฀ In฀ the฀ very฀
years฀the฀new฀porch฀was฀being฀constructed,฀a฀lengthy฀vernacular฀dramatization฀
of฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀parable฀–฀the฀fi฀rst฀of฀its฀kind฀to฀have฀survived฀
from฀the฀Middle฀Ages฀–฀was฀heating฀up฀public฀stages฀in฀the฀neighboring฀region฀
of฀Thuringia. 57฀In฀1321,฀an฀especially฀emotive฀production฀in฀Eisenach฀achieved฀
special฀fame฀for฀the฀impact฀it฀had฀on฀local฀politics. 58฀According฀to฀the฀earliest฀
report฀in฀the฀chronicle฀of฀St.฀Peter฀in฀Erfurt,฀the฀insuffi฀ciency฀of฀the฀Foolish฀Vir-
gins’฀tearful฀entreaties,฀as฀well฀as฀the฀Virgin฀Mary’s฀on฀their฀behalf,฀to฀gain฀them฀
admittance฀to฀the฀wedding฀feast฀moved฀the฀Thuringian฀landgrave฀Friedrich฀der฀
Freidige฀to฀angrily฀express฀doubts฀about฀the฀Christian฀faith. 59฀After฀fi฀ve฀days฀of฀

The฀Mask฀and฀the฀Face:฀The฀Perception฀of฀Physiognomic฀Likeness฀in฀Life฀and฀in฀Art,฀in:฀Art,฀
Perception,฀and฀Reality,฀by฀E.฀H.฀Gombrich,฀Julian฀Hochberg,฀and฀Max฀Black.฀Baltimore฀and฀
London฀1972,฀1–46.฀
55฀฀Sauerländer฀(as฀note฀29),฀Tf.฀257.฀ See฀also฀Michael฀Camille,฀Image฀on฀the฀Edge:฀The฀Margins฀
of฀Medieval฀Art.฀Cambridge,฀Mass.฀1992,฀77–85฀on฀experimentation฀»in฀the฀margins฀of฀the฀
cathedral«;฀for฀another฀perspective,฀see฀Richard฀Hamann-MacLean,฀Künstlerlaunen฀im฀Mit-
telalter,฀in:฀Friedrich฀Möbius฀and฀Ernst฀Schubert฀(Hg.),฀Skulptur฀des฀Mittelalters:฀Funktion฀
und฀Gestalt.฀Weimar฀1987,฀385–452.฀
56฀฀E.g.฀ William฀ Egginton,฀ How฀ the฀ World฀ Became฀ a฀ Stage:฀ Presence,฀ Theatricality,฀ and฀ the฀
Question฀of฀Modernity.฀Albany฀NY,฀2003฀and฀Michael฀Fried,฀Absorption฀and฀Theatricality:฀
Painting฀and฀Beholder฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Diderot.฀Chicago฀and฀London฀1980.
57฀฀Das฀Eisenacher฀Zehnjungfrauenspiel.฀Hrg.฀v.฀Karin฀Schneider.฀(=Texte฀des฀späten฀Mittelal-
ters฀und฀der฀frühen฀Neuzeit,฀17).฀Berlin฀1964.฀The฀text฀was฀the฀focus฀of฀a฀recent฀philological฀
investigation฀by฀Renate฀Amstutz,฀Ludus฀de฀decem฀virginibus:฀Recovery฀of฀the฀Sung฀Liturgical฀
Core฀of฀the฀Thuringian฀Zehnjungfrauenspiel.฀Toronto฀2002.฀฀
58฀฀The฀incident฀is฀cited฀in฀most฀descriptions฀of฀the฀Magdeburg฀Virgins฀as฀proof฀of฀the฀emotional฀
effects฀ of฀ this฀ parable฀ on฀ contemporary฀ beholders,฀ though฀ its฀ truth฀ value฀ has฀ rarely฀ been฀
questioned.฀Mark฀Chinca,฀Tout฀exemple฀cloche.฀Erzählen฀vom฀Tode฀Friedrichs฀des฀Freidigen฀
in฀Mittelalter฀und฀früher฀Neuzeit,฀in:฀Zeitschrift฀für฀deutsche฀Philologie,฀123,฀2004,฀341–364฀
discusses฀the฀variety฀of฀accounts,฀calling฀attention฀to฀their฀literary฀constructed-ness฀and฀the฀
didactic฀ value฀ they฀ served฀ for฀ their฀ respective฀ textual฀ communities.฀ I฀ am฀ grateful฀ to฀ Dr.฀
Chinca฀for฀providing฀me฀with฀a฀copy฀of฀his฀paper฀as฀it฀went฀to฀press.
59฀฀Cronica฀S.฀Petri฀Erfordensis฀moderna฀(ca.฀1410),฀ed.฀Oswald฀Holder-Egger,฀in:฀Monumenta฀
Germaniae฀ Historica,฀ SS,฀ 30,฀ vol.฀ I,฀ 449;฀ quoted฀ in฀ Chinca฀ (as฀ note฀ 58),฀ appendix,฀ source฀
1.฀A฀similar฀account฀is฀related฀in฀German฀by฀Johannes฀Rothe,฀Thüringische฀Landeschronik฀
(1487),฀quoted฀in฀ibid.,฀appendix,฀source฀2.
140 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

fuming,฀Friedrich฀suffered฀a฀stroke฀that฀left฀him฀incapacitated฀for฀three฀years,฀
during฀which฀time฀his฀wife฀assumed฀power฀in฀the฀region.฀Later฀accounts฀of฀the฀
incident฀altered฀the฀details฀to฀place฀the฀blame฀for฀Friedrich’s฀distress฀on฀the฀ex-
pressivity฀of฀the฀performance฀itself฀rather฀than฀its฀theological฀implications;฀thus฀
his฀stroke฀was฀presented฀as฀having฀been฀triggered฀by฀his฀excessive฀empathy฀with฀
the฀Foolish฀Virgins’฀grief.60฀฀
One฀need฀not฀assign฀objective฀truth-value฀to฀such฀accounts฀to฀recognize฀that,฀
for฀all฀their฀rhetorical฀calculation,฀their฀common฀assumption฀that฀the฀play฀could฀
provoke฀passionate฀responses฀in฀beholders฀was฀not,฀in฀itself,฀far-fetched;฀the฀text฀
of฀the฀Eisenach฀play฀repeatedly฀calls฀on฀viewers฀to฀experience฀it฀empathetically.฀
The฀performance฀culminates฀in฀the฀Foolish฀Virgins’฀direct฀address฀of฀the฀audi-
ence,฀wherein฀they฀beseech฀viewers฀to฀identify฀with฀them฀and,฀through฀that฀vi-
carious฀emotional฀experience,฀to฀recognize฀the฀importance฀of฀proper฀living: 61

Nü฀horet,฀selgen,฀dy฀nü฀leben:฀
N ฀
Wy฀syn฀vch฀czü฀eyme฀spigele฀gegebyn,฀ ฀
Daz฀ie฀bilde฀by฀uns฀nemet฀฀ ฀
Und฀wartet฀fl฀iziclichen,฀wy฀ie฀lebit.฀(Z.฀470–73)

As฀the฀Foolish฀suggest,฀the฀goal฀of฀taking฀them฀as฀an฀image฀or฀model฀during฀
the฀ course฀ of฀ the฀ play฀ is,฀ in฀ fact,฀ to฀ reject฀ them฀ as฀ a฀ model฀ when฀ normal฀ life฀
resumes฀after฀the฀performance.฀Thus฀they฀contrast฀themselves,฀in฀their฀present฀
abject฀condition,฀with฀their฀audience฀in฀the฀future฀who฀might,฀through฀»proper฀
penitence,«฀avoid฀such฀a฀fate:฀฀

Ir฀sult฀an฀vwern฀lebenden฀tagen฀ ฀
Got฀und฀syne฀muter฀vor฀oügen฀haben.฀
ü
Wy฀wonden,฀wy฀solden฀lange฀leben;฀ ฀
Des฀wolde฀wir฀armen฀toren฀nicht฀nach฀gotis฀hulden฀streben.฀ ฀ ฀฀
Der฀tot฀was฀uns฀vorborgen.฀ ฀
Des฀muzze฀wy฀armen฀vmmer฀sorgen฀ ฀
Vund฀pyne฀lide฀ane฀eynde.฀ ฀ ฀
Eya,฀nü฀wyndit฀vwere฀hende,฀ ฀
Alle,฀dy฀nü฀in฀sunden฀leben,฀ ฀
Vnd฀betet฀got,฀daz฀her฀vch฀eyn฀güt฀eynde฀geben฀ ฀ ฀
Und฀rechte฀rüwe฀vmme฀vwere฀sunde!฀(Z.฀474–84)
we฀vmme฀vwere฀sunde! ฀฀฀฀

60฀฀Konrad฀ Stolle฀ remarks฀ about฀ Mary’s฀ and฀ the฀ saints’฀ fruitless฀ intercession฀ on฀ behalf฀ of฀ the฀
weeping฀Virgins:»ditte฀was฀etwas฀zu฀harte฀gespelt;
ditte฀was฀etwas฀zu฀harte฀gespelt «฀see฀ibid.,฀appendix,฀source฀3.
«
61฀฀As฀Martin฀Stevens฀has฀pointed฀out,฀the฀direct฀address฀of฀an฀audience฀by฀characters฀in฀medie-
val฀dramas฀was฀hardly฀an฀unusual฀phenomenon;฀in฀the฀Towneley฀Crucifi฀xion,฀for฀example,฀
Christ฀himself฀admonishes฀»you฀pepyll฀that฀pass฀me฀by,/฀that฀lede฀youre฀lyfe฀so฀lykandly,/฀heyfe฀vp฀
»
youre฀hartys฀on฀hight!«.฀See฀Stevens,฀Illusion฀and฀Reality฀in฀the฀Medieval฀Drama,฀in:฀College฀
English฀32,฀1970–71,฀448–464,฀455.฀For฀an฀extended฀discussion฀of฀exemplarity฀in฀accounts฀of฀
the฀Eisenach฀play,฀see฀Chinca฀(as฀note฀58).
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 141

When,฀at฀precisely฀the฀same฀time฀this฀play฀was฀attaining฀regional฀fame,฀the฀

฀Jung
clergy฀of฀Magdeburg฀Cathedral฀decided฀to฀enclose฀their฀sculpted฀Virgins฀within฀
a฀clearly฀bounded฀architectural฀space฀and฀set฀them฀into฀a฀dynamic฀relationship฀
with฀beholders฀and฀with฀other฀statues,฀were฀they฀seeking฀to฀capture฀and฀make฀
permanently฀ accessible฀ the฀ effects฀ of฀ a฀ real฀ performance?฀ While฀ the฀ clergy’s฀
motivations฀remain฀unclear฀(and,฀unless฀further฀written฀documents฀surface,฀are฀
likely฀unknowable),฀this฀is฀in฀fact฀what฀they฀achieved.62฀In฀the฀porch,฀a฀physically฀
liminal฀space฀that฀is฀no฀longer฀world฀and฀not฀yet฀church,฀with฀Ecclesia฀and฀Sy-
nagogue฀at฀their฀backs,฀the฀Virgins฀before฀their฀eyes,฀and฀the฀door฀providing฀
enticing฀glimpses฀of฀the฀church฀interior,฀viewers฀become฀part฀of฀an฀interactive฀
environment,฀a฀kind฀of฀virtual฀reality฀where฀normal฀distinctions฀between฀subject฀
and฀object,฀animation฀and฀artifi฀ce฀blur฀and฀dissolve.63
It฀ is฀ not฀ only฀ physically฀ that฀ the฀ design฀ of฀ the฀ porch฀ places฀ unusual฀ de-
mands฀ on฀ beholders฀ –฀ for฀ instance,฀ in฀ the฀ way฀ one฀ must฀ swivel฀ around฀ to฀ see฀
Ecclesia฀ and฀ Synagogue฀ –฀ but฀ conceptually฀ as฀ well.฀ If,฀ as฀ commentators฀ since฀
Emile฀ Mâle฀ have฀ been฀ quick฀ to฀ declare,฀ the฀ Virgins฀ signify฀ the฀ Saved฀ and฀
the฀ Damned฀ at฀ the฀ Last฀ Judgment,64฀ this฀ interpretation฀ is฀ one฀ that฀ must฀ be฀
projected฀ onto฀ the฀ Magdeburg฀ ensemble฀ by฀ viewers฀ familiar฀ with฀ that฀ icono-
graphy;฀ for,฀ unlike฀ the฀ programs฀ of฀ French฀ Gothic฀ portals,฀ this฀ ensemble฀ in-
cludes฀no฀overt฀reference฀to฀the฀end฀of฀time.฀To฀be฀sure,฀the฀physical฀likeness฀
of฀ the฀ women฀ to฀ one฀ another฀ calls฀ attention฀ to฀ the฀ fact฀ that฀ their฀ respective฀
responses฀ are฀ motivated
motivated฀ –฀ that฀ they฀ arise฀ from฀ within฀ and฀ address฀ something฀
outside,฀ rather฀ than฀ resulting฀ inevitably฀ from฀ some฀ innate฀ moral฀ status.฀ But฀
in฀contrast฀to฀other฀renderings฀of฀extreme฀emotional฀display฀such฀as฀the฀Fü F rs-
tenportal of฀Bamberg฀Cathedral,฀where฀it฀is฀Christ’s฀Judgment฀that฀triggers฀the฀

62฀฀This฀ was฀ also฀ noted฀ by฀ D.฀ Schubert฀ (as฀ note฀ 4),฀ 302:»Solche฀ Aufführungen฀ [the฀ Eisenach฀
Zehnjungfrauenspiel]฀werden฀im฀14.฀Jahrhundert฀die฀Aufstellung฀der฀Magdeburger฀Statuen฀im฀
Paradies-Portal฀veranlaßss sst฀haben.«฀The฀perceptual฀peculiarities฀of฀the฀spatial฀containment฀
of฀ fi฀gural฀ sculptures฀ are฀ touched฀ on฀ by฀ Claussen฀ (as฀ note฀ 30),฀ 669฀ and฀ 682,฀ note฀ 34:»Die฀
Vorhalle฀gibt฀der฀Skulptur฀einen฀›Handlungsspielraum‹,฀der฀mit฀ihrem฀ursprünglichen฀mau-
ergebundenen฀Konzept฀wenig฀zu฀tun฀hat.«฀
63฀฀For฀varying฀approaches฀to฀the฀liminal฀as฀the฀state฀in฀which฀normal฀boundaries฀and฀rules฀tem-
porarily฀dissolve,฀see฀Arnold฀van฀Gennep,฀The฀Rites฀of฀Passage,฀trans.฀Monika฀B.฀Vizedom฀
and฀Gabrielle฀L.฀Caffee.฀Chicago฀1960;฀Edmund฀Leach,฀Culture฀and฀Communication:฀The฀
Logic฀by฀which฀Symbols฀are฀Connected.฀Cambridge฀1976;฀Victor฀Turner,฀The฀Ritual฀Process:฀
Structure฀and฀Anti-Structure.฀New฀York฀1969,฀esp.฀94–130฀and฀Victor฀Turner,฀From฀Ritual฀to฀
Theatre฀(as฀note฀18),฀esp.฀20–60.฀For฀a฀discussion฀of฀doors฀as฀powerful฀»symbols฀and฀at฀the฀
same฀time฀vehicles฀of฀passage฀from฀the฀one฀space฀to฀the฀other«฀in฀many฀religions,฀see฀Mircea฀
Eliade,฀The฀Sacred฀and฀the฀Profane:฀The฀Nature฀of฀Religion,฀trans.฀Willard฀R.฀Trask.฀San฀
Diego฀and฀New฀York฀1959,฀esp.฀24–29.฀
64฀฀Emile฀ Mâle,฀ Religious฀ Art฀ in฀ France:฀ The฀ Thirteenth฀ Century.฀ Paris฀ 1898,฀ repr.฀ Princeton฀
1984,฀202f:฀Based฀on฀its฀interpretation฀in฀the฀Glossa฀Ordinaria,฀»[w]e฀now฀understand฀why฀
the฀parable฀of฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀was฀always฀associated฀with฀the฀Last฀Judgment฀in฀
the฀thirteenth฀century.฀Their฀presence฀gives฀to฀that฀terrible฀scene฀the฀sanction฀of฀the฀divine฀
word;฀it฀reminds฀the฀Christian฀that฀Christ฀himself฀foretold฀it฀in฀all฀its฀detail฀under฀the฀trans-
parent฀veil฀of฀symbol.«
142 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

Fig.฀9:฀฀Magdeburg฀
Cathedral.฀Tympanum,฀
ca.฀1300.฀(Photo฀by฀author.)

smiles฀ of฀ the฀ Blessed฀ and฀ the฀ grimaces฀ of฀ the฀ Damned,65฀ the฀ motivation฀ for฀
the฀Virgins’฀responses฀at฀Magdeburg฀remains฀unseen.
Or฀does฀it?฀As฀with฀so฀many฀French฀portal฀ensembles,฀the฀key฀to฀the฀lower฀
portions฀resides฀above,฀in฀the฀tympanum฀(fi฀g.฀9).฀It฀is฀perhaps฀no฀accident฀that฀
the฀tympanum฀of฀the฀Magdeburg฀portal฀is฀so฀rarely฀reproduced฀in฀the฀scholarly฀
literature,฀for฀its฀omission฀of฀any฀Judgment฀imagery฀complicates,฀if฀not฀under-
cuts,฀any฀didactic฀interpretation฀that฀casts฀the฀Virgins฀as฀unambiguous฀stand-ins฀
for฀the฀Elect฀and฀the฀Damned.฀Here฀the฀Virgin฀Mary฀plays฀the฀starring฀role;฀and฀
unlike฀her฀dramatic฀counterpart฀in฀the฀Zehnjungfrauenspiel,฀she฀appears฀not฀as฀
the฀(ultimately฀helpless)฀intercessor฀between฀the฀Virgins฀and฀Christ฀but฀as฀the฀si-
multaneous฀barrier฀and฀bridge฀between฀heaven฀and฀earth.66฀Through฀the฀scene฀
of฀ her฀ Assumption,฀ the฀ tympanum฀ designers฀ played฀ on฀ the฀ two฀ oppositions฀
already฀present฀in฀the฀design฀of฀the฀porch:฀that฀between฀earth฀and฀heaven,฀em-

65฀฀Manfred฀Schuller,฀Das฀Fürstenportal฀des฀Bamberger฀Domes.฀Bamberg฀1993.
66฀฀As฀ Lehmann฀ (as฀ note฀ 1),฀ 57f฀ explains,฀ the฀ inclusion฀ of฀ the฀ Wise฀ and฀ Foolish฀ Virgins฀ in฀
Marian฀ programs฀ rather฀ than฀ Judgment฀ cycles฀ came฀ to฀ be฀ normative฀ in฀ the฀ German-
speaking฀lands.฀฀฀
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 143

bodied฀by฀the฀respective฀spaces฀of฀city฀and฀church,฀and฀that฀between฀grief฀and฀

฀Jung
joy,฀enacted,฀to฀either฀side฀of฀the฀door,฀by฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins.฀At฀the฀
same฀time,฀they฀found฀the฀means฀of฀reconciling฀these฀dichotomies,฀visualizing฀
the฀possibility฀of฀passage฀from฀one฀side฀to฀the฀other฀–฀a฀conceptual฀move฀with฀
important฀implications฀for฀the฀meaning฀of฀the฀jamb฀fi฀gures.฀฀
As฀the฀portal฀as฀a฀whole฀is฀bisected฀by฀the฀open฀door,฀the฀tympanum฀splits฀
horizontally฀ into฀ two฀ distinct฀ parts.฀ In฀ the฀ lower฀ register,฀ the฀ twelve฀ apostles฀
gaze฀ heavenward,฀ conveying฀ their฀ sadness฀ through฀ facial฀ expressions฀ and฀ sty-
lized฀ gestures.฀ One฀ fi฀gure฀ wrings฀ his฀ hands,฀ one฀ fl฀ings฀ a฀ hand฀ upward,฀ ano-
ther,฀like฀the฀central฀Foolish฀Virgin,฀rests฀his฀hand฀on฀his฀cheek.฀Whereas฀the฀
apostles฀on฀earth฀are฀arrayed฀in฀linear฀fashion฀around฀the฀material฀tokens฀of฀
the฀Virgin’s฀erstwhile฀physical฀presence,฀the฀upper,฀heavenly฀zone฀introduces฀a฀
complex฀overlapping฀of฀bodies฀and฀a฀concomitant฀collapsing฀of฀times.฀Above฀the฀
empty฀center฀of฀the฀lower฀register,฀a฀smiling฀Christ,฀framed฀by฀a฀light-fi฀lled฀man-
dorla,฀clasps฀the฀Virgins฀Mary’s฀tiny฀soul฀against฀his฀chest฀while฀his฀feet฀emerge฀
from฀ behind฀ the฀ womb฀ of฀ his฀ rising฀ mother’s฀ corpse.฀ The฀ fl฀eshly฀ body฀ of฀ the฀
Virgin,฀shown฀simultaneously฀in฀the฀process฀of฀becoming-absent฀to฀the฀apostles฀
and฀becoming-present฀to฀Christ,฀marks฀a฀dual฀boundary:฀as฀the฀source฀of฀both฀
the฀apostles’฀grief฀and฀Christ’s฀mirth,฀it฀also฀forms฀the฀physical,฀though฀mobile,฀
boundary฀between฀earth฀and฀heaven฀–฀a฀status฀made฀explicit฀through฀the฀angels฀
who฀ emerge฀ from฀ fl฀uffy฀ clouds฀ at฀ the฀ tympanum’s฀ lateral฀ border฀ to฀ bear฀ her฀
upward.฀ By฀ making฀ Mary฀ the฀ point฀ of฀ convergence฀ between฀ these฀ zones,฀ this฀
formal฀arrangement฀renders฀palpable฀the฀liturgical฀trope฀of฀Mary฀as฀porta coeli,฀
the฀gateway฀to฀heaven.67
Even฀ if฀ the฀ biblical฀ parable฀ and฀ its฀ many฀ glosses฀ did฀ not฀ make฀ clear฀ that฀ it฀
was฀the฀Virgins’฀relation฀to฀a฀door฀that฀ultimately฀determined฀their฀fates,฀the฀
structural฀composition฀of฀the฀Magdeburg฀tympanum,฀with฀its฀two฀zones฀divided฀
and฀linked฀by฀an฀intermediary฀object,฀would฀suggest฀the฀iconographic฀impor-
tance฀ of฀ the฀ physical฀ door฀ at฀ the฀ formal฀ center฀ of฀ the฀ portal฀ ensemble.฀ The฀
absence฀of฀a฀judging฀Christ฀or฀any฀other฀explicitly฀didactic฀element฀highlights฀
the฀door’s฀dual฀role฀in฀the฀biblical฀story:฀as฀a฀site฀of฀passage,฀it฀causes฀the฀faces฀
of฀ the฀ Wise฀ Virgins฀ to฀ »dissolve฀ in฀ joy«;฀ as฀ an฀ excluding฀ barrier,฀ it฀ moves฀ the฀
Foolish฀ to฀ violent฀ sobs.฀ Paradoxically,฀ however,฀ the฀ convincing฀ quality฀ of฀ the฀
fi฀gures’฀ transient฀ psychological฀ movements฀ in฀ response฀ to฀ the฀ door฀ also฀ calls฀
attention฀to฀their฀physical฀inability฀to฀pass฀through฀it.฀The฀actual฀physical฀im-
mobility฀of฀the฀Virgins฀in฀space฀indeed฀upsets฀the฀logic฀of฀the฀biblical฀narrative,฀
which฀required฀that฀the฀two฀groups฀never฀meet฀on฀the฀same฀side฀of฀the฀portal.฀
Narrative฀renditions฀of฀the฀parable฀in฀various฀media฀–฀for฀example,฀the฀lintel฀of฀

67฀฀On฀this฀metaphor,฀see฀Carol฀J.฀Purtle,฀The฀Marian฀Paintings฀of฀Jan฀van฀Eyck,฀Princeton฀1982,฀
6–8.฀I฀discuss฀the฀Virgin’s฀role฀as฀door,฀and฀its฀implications฀of฀real฀architectural฀apertures,฀in฀my฀
article,฀Seeing฀through฀Screens:฀The฀Gothic฀Choir฀Enclosure฀as฀Frame,฀in:฀Thresholds฀of฀the฀
Sacred:฀Architectural,฀Art฀Historical,฀Liturgical฀and฀Theological฀Perspectives฀on฀Religious฀
Screens,฀East฀and฀West,฀ed.฀Sharon฀Gerstel.฀Washington,฀D.C.,฀2006.฀฀
144 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

Fig.฀10:฀Magdeburg฀
Cathedral.฀North฀aisle,฀
rotunda:฀Seated฀fi฀gures฀฀฀฀
of฀a฀royal฀couple฀(Sponsus฀
and฀Sponsa),฀ca.฀1250.฀
(Photo฀by฀author.)
 DYNAMIC฀BODIES฀AND฀THE฀BEHOLDER’S฀SHARE 145

the฀Galluspforte฀or฀the฀illumination฀in฀the฀early฀fourteenth-century฀Rothschild฀
Galluspforte

฀Jung
Canticles68฀–฀were฀consistent฀in฀interposing฀the฀door฀as฀a฀barrier฀between฀the฀
sets฀of฀moving฀women.฀As฀a฀large-scale฀ensemble฀of฀sculpture,฀the฀Magdeburg฀
portal฀cannot฀show฀this฀spatio-temporal฀progress;฀it฀demands฀instead฀that฀view-
ers฀fl฀esh฀out฀the฀details,฀imagining฀the฀Virgins’฀movement฀as฀already฀accomplis-
hed฀and฀their฀responses฀carried฀out฀indefi฀nitely.฀
Because฀ the฀ iconographically฀ central฀ door฀ is฀ also฀ a฀ functional฀ part฀ of฀ the฀
architecture,฀the฀»beholder’s฀share«฀does฀not฀stop฀with฀this฀kind฀of฀imaginative฀
projection.69฀ For฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ enter฀ the฀ church,฀ viewers฀ must฀ pass฀ through฀ the฀
doors฀themselves;฀and฀the฀moment฀they฀cross฀that฀threshold฀they฀become฀play-
ers฀in฀the฀drama,฀actualizing,฀at฀least฀potentially,฀the฀motion฀to฀which฀the฀sculp-
ted฀fi฀gures฀can฀only฀allude.70฀For฀those฀able฀to฀pass฀into฀the฀church,฀the฀Virgins฀
must฀have฀appeared฀not฀only฀as฀frightening฀reminders฀of฀the฀Last฀Judgment฀but฀
also฀as฀an฀optimistic฀assertion฀of฀the฀blessings฀of฀entrance.฀This฀interpretation฀
would฀have฀been฀confi฀rmed฀by฀the฀presence,฀in฀the฀north฀nave฀aisle,฀of฀the฀sculp-
ted฀ fi฀gures฀ of฀ a฀ Bride฀ and฀ Bridegroom,฀ who฀ receive฀ their฀ guests฀ from฀ within฀
a฀fenestrated฀Gothic฀rotunda and฀thus฀enable฀the฀living฀to฀bring฀the฀Virgins’฀
drama฀to฀completion฀(fi฀g.฀10).71฀Just฀as฀the฀tympanum฀image฀of฀Mary’s฀move-
ment฀from฀earth฀to฀heaven฀offers฀a฀sacred฀prototype฀for฀the฀passage฀from฀city฀to฀
church,฀so฀the฀lively฀performance฀of฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins฀at฀the฀portal฀
amplifi฀es฀the฀signifi฀cance฀of฀viewers’฀own฀physical฀motion,฀reminding฀them฀that฀
if฀the฀sorrow฀of฀exclusion฀is฀as฀strong฀as฀the฀fi฀gures฀show฀it฀to฀be,฀then฀the฀joy฀at฀
gaining฀entrance฀should฀be฀all฀the฀greater.฀฀฀

68฀฀See฀Hamburger฀(as฀note฀43).
69฀฀The฀ phrase฀ was฀ famously฀ introduced฀ by฀ E.฀ H.฀ Gombrich,฀ Art฀ and฀ Illusion:฀ A฀ Study฀ in฀ the฀
Psychology฀of฀Pictorial฀Representation.฀2nd฀edn.฀Princeton฀1961.
70฀฀The฀use฀of฀sculpture฀and฀architecture฀to฀create฀an฀interactive฀spatial฀environment฀would฀not฀
have฀been฀unusual฀in฀Germany฀at฀this฀time;฀the฀Holy฀Grave฀in฀St.฀Cyriakus฀in฀Gernrode,฀in฀
which฀large,฀moveable฀stucco฀fi฀gures฀of฀the฀Three฀Maryie ies,฀an฀angel,฀and฀a฀bishop฀occupy฀
a฀ square฀ chamber฀ modeled฀ on฀ the฀ Holy฀ Sepulcher฀ in฀ Jerusalem,฀ is฀ a฀ wonderful฀ surviving฀
example฀of฀such฀a฀program.฀Though฀no฀comparable฀examples฀survive฀in฀France,฀there฀is฀evi-
dence฀of฀their฀use฀there฀as฀well;฀at฀St.฀Lazare฀in฀Autun,฀sculpted฀fi฀gures฀enacted฀the฀Raising฀
of฀Lazarus฀in฀an฀independent฀enclosure฀in฀the฀church’s฀apse.฀See฀Linda฀Seidel,฀Legends฀in฀
Limestone:฀Lazarus,฀Gislebertus,฀and฀the฀Cathedral฀of฀Autun.฀Chicago฀1999,฀33–62.฀฀฀฀฀
71฀฀These฀ enigmatic฀ figures฀ have฀ been฀ variously฀ interpreted฀ as฀ commemorative฀ portraits฀ of฀
Emperor฀ Otto฀ I฀ and฀ his฀ wife฀ Edith฀ or฀ of฀ Christ฀ and฀ Mary-Ecclesia;฀ see฀ E.฀ Schubert฀ 1994฀
(as฀ note฀ 4),฀ 84–86.฀ Fliedner’s฀ (as฀ note฀ 17)฀ view฀ that฀ they฀ must฀ represent฀ the฀ latter฀ pair฀ is฀
confi฀rmed฀by฀Renate฀Kroos,฀Quellen฀zur฀liturgischen฀Benutzung฀des฀Domes฀und฀zu฀seiner฀
Ausstattung,฀in:฀Ullmann฀(as฀note฀3),฀88–97,฀89.฀The฀small฀rotunda฀that฀houses฀the฀figures฀
contained฀ an฀ altar฀ dedicated฀ to฀ the฀ Assumption฀ of฀ the฀ Virgin.฀ For฀ my฀ purposes฀ here,฀ the฀
question฀of฀the฀figures’฀specifi฀c฀identity฀is฀moot;฀what฀is฀important฀is฀that฀they฀clearly฀depict฀
a฀married฀couple฀and,฀as฀such,฀represent฀the฀goal฀of฀the฀Wise฀and฀Foolish฀Virgins’฀journey.฀
Fliedner฀ presents฀ the฀ intriguing฀ hypothesis฀ that฀ this฀ pair฀ occupied฀ the฀ tympanum฀ of฀ the฀
13th-century฀ portal฀ for฀ which฀ the฀ Virgins฀ were฀ also฀ made,฀ and฀ that฀ they฀ were฀ removed฀ to฀
the฀ church฀ interior฀ with฀ the฀ construction฀ of฀ the฀ Paradise฀ porch.฀ If฀ this฀ can฀ be฀ proved,฀ it฀
would฀ support฀ my฀ contention฀ that฀ the฀ new฀ portal฀ was฀ designed฀ deliberately฀ to฀ position฀
beholders฀as฀dramatic฀performers.฀
146 BILDER,฀DIE฀ZU฀KÖRPERN฀WERDEN

Acknowledgment฀note:

A฀version฀of฀this฀paper฀was฀presented฀at฀the฀German฀Historical฀Institute฀Medie-
val฀History฀Seminar฀in฀Washington฀DC฀in฀October฀2003.฀For฀their฀lively฀engage-
ment฀with฀this฀work฀I฀am฀grateful฀to฀all฀the฀participants฀in฀that฀event,฀especially฀
Gesine฀Jordan฀and฀Kristin฀Marek.฀Caroline฀Bynum฀offered฀comments฀and฀in-
sights฀that฀helped฀me฀reshape฀the฀paper฀in฀fruitful฀ways;฀to฀her,฀as฀ever,฀I฀owe฀a฀
great฀debt.฀The฀fi฀nal฀stages฀of฀revisions฀were฀completed฀-฀and฀new฀pictures฀of฀the฀
Magdeburg฀sculptures฀made฀-฀during฀my฀fellowship฀at฀the฀American฀Academy฀in฀
Berlin฀in฀sping฀2006,฀and฀I฀thank฀that฀institution฀for฀its฀generous฀support.฀฀฀฀