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Biljana Cincar Kostić
Belgrade, Serbia;
biljanaivangel@yahoo.com
Clothing and Textile during the Serbian Queen Helena the Great (1250-1314)
The appearance of medieval rulers is apparent on frescos. Biographical texts are valuable sources,
as the abstracts of writings, kept in the archives of our neighboring states. Up to the middle of the 13
th
century, in accordance with the status in the Byzantine Empire, Serbian rulers wore a combination of
the Byzantine imperial and ruler vestments. From the second half of the 13
th
century Serbian rulers
753
were dressed in vestments according to the Byzantine model. At the times of Helen of Anjou, trade
of the material (fabric, ako je u pitanju tkanina) took place in the East, and, even more, in the West,
particularly through coastal cities. Handmade pieces of garment, as well as the luxury fabrics, were
imported in her country. There was an artistic workshop at her court, and later also a school for girls,
where they were able to learn how to sew and embroider, among other things.
Aleksandra Davidov Temerinski
Belgrade, Serbia;
aleks8@eunet.rs
Jacobs’ Wrestling with the Angel in Virgin Ljeviška Church
First example of Paleologan monumental art in medieval Serbia can be seen in the Virgin
Ljeviška Church at Prizren. In its exonarthex (1310−1313), inner space is architecturally divided
into three bays frescoed by mainly symbolic compositions visualizing three stages of the economy
of salvation “chronologically” presented from the North to the South.
Northern bay elaborates the idea of Christ’s incarnation through the Virgin via illustrations
of the first sticheron of the second canon that St. John of Damascus wrote for the feast of the
Virgin’s Dormition, Jacob’s Ladder, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, and the Tree of Jesse. Mid-bay
is dedicated to the Baptism as a first sacrament that introduces every human into the Christian
community of potentially saved; it is illustrated by Christ’s Baptism and the cycle of Preaching of St.
John the Baptist. Southern bay is decorated by numerous episodes of the Last Judgment, showing
the eschatological outcome that awaits every human at the End of Times.
Main subject of my presentation is the new interpretation of the motif of Jacob Wrestling with
the Angel (Gen. 32: 24−30). It will be put in the context of the fresco decoration of northern bay and
exonarthex as a whole. In Christian interpretation, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel is always related
to his dream about Ladder (Gen. 28:10−17), since both visions are parts of his dreams. Dream about
the ladder that connects earth and heaven is more appropriately understood as a Virgin type: she is
the one who makes a link between earth (humans) and heaven (divinity). Although Jacob Wrestling
with the Angel was not so successfully interpreted in the same sense, two episodes were often paired
in fresco programs in Paleologan times. They were seen as Virgin prefigurations and that notion was
based on exegesis, sermons and liturgical poetry and related to the idea of Incarnation.
Although not extensive, previous research on images of Jacob Wrestling with the Angel in
Byzantine painting pointed out that this motif was added to his dream of ladder more by inertia than
because it was convincingly related to Virgin. Nevertheless, there are texts providing that connection
but they were less popular than texts explaining the link between the Virgin and the ladder of Jacob.
In any case, Jacob’s battle remained for Christians somehow devoid of meaning. Quite the opposite,
originally, in the Torah (Pentateuch), this was an important motif that determined basis for shaping
Jewish national identity as a chosen by God.
754
If we, even only for the sake of an intellectual argument apply results of the most recent
psychoanalytic interpretation of the episode of Jacob Wrestling with the Angel combined with the
one it was traditionally held for Jews, we would notice that this new sense that certainly
a priori
feels
incorrectly – or at least alien for the Christians – in fact perfectly fits into the context of fresco decoration
of Virgin Ljeviška exonarthex and its concept of three main stages of Christian economy of salvation.
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