Private Devotion in Medieval Christianity

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Christians in the Middle Ages expressed and strengthened their faith through public rituals, such as celebration of the Eucharist, and personal devotions conducted in a private chapel, a monastic cell, or simply a corner of one's home. Individuals sought to deepen their faith through study, meditation, and prayer, which might be guided by psalters or private prayer books (54.1.2; 1998.179) Images, usually modest in scale, helped in these spiritual endeavors, since they made tangible the object of devotional practices. Reflecting the wealth and rank of the individual, such images were produced in every medium, from vellum to gold, ivory to clay. The fervor with which individual Christians practiced their faith often took a toll on the objects that aided their devotion. Owners might repeatedly kiss and caress them, wearing away details carved into the surface and obliterating the features of holy figures (1987.23).

In Byzantium, private devotion involved the use of icons. Early icons were often portraits of Christ, the Virgin, prophets, or saints. By the eleventh century, the appearance of icons changed, incorporating more narrative elements and expressing poignant emotions (63.68.1-.13). These changes encouraged the worshipper to forge a personal relationship to the holy figure or enter into the narrative as if actually present at the event. The increasing interest in the lifelike qualities of the icon and its ability to elicit an emotional response from the viewer is seen in Michael Psellos' description of an icon of the Crucifixion: "But as the [divine] force moved the painter's hand … he showed Christ living at his last breath … at once living and lifeless."

In western Europe, a form of spirituality that emphasized the emotional involvement of the faithful emerged by 1300. Believers were encouraged to contemplate events from the life of Christ, the Virgin, or the saints, as if they were present. The Franciscan author of the extremely popular and influential Meditations on the Life of Christ interrupts the narrative of the Nativity to address his readers:

Sculptures of the Virgin and Child were among the most popular images for private devotion and they frequently emphasize the tender relationship between the mother and her child. Images of the Virgin with the dead Christ, by contrast, invited the viewer to ponder their suffering (2001.78).

Icon with the Virgin Eleousa, early 14th century
Byzantine
4 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 1/2 in. (11.2 x 8.6 x 1.3 cm)
John C. Weber Collection, New York


This image of the Virgin of Compassion, or Virgin Eleousa, is a remarkable addition to the limited number of surviving miniature mosaic icons, a medium first popularized in the Late Byzantine era. The intimate gesture of the Christ Child, his head pressed to his mother's cheek, is one of the most beautiful images in Byzantine art. The poses of the heads and the position of the Christ Child's hand (partially restored) are remarkably similar to a less sophisticated, painted icon of the Virgin and Child in the collection of the Monastery of Saint Catherine at Sinai, where the Christ Child also has light brown hair. Another icon from Sinai, which has five small images of named icons, including one labeled the Blachernitissa, echoes the head poses and hand gesture seen in this work. An icon donated to the Church of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, in the seventeenth century and dated to the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century offers a related pose in its exquisite Virgin with an elaborate halo, although the image of the Christ Child differs, as do elements of the design, including the details of the face.
This icon has an inscription in Latin identifying it as the icon that inspired the conversion in the fourth century of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The saint's vita describes the event: "Then the ascetic gave her an icon on which was depicted the All-holy Theotokos holding the Divine Child in her arms, and said to her … take this to your home … pray all night … the maiden … beheld in her vision, the Queen of the angels, just as she was depicted with the Holy child … [the maiden] marveling at this vision … received from [the ascetic] Holy Baptism." The desire to possess the icon by which the saint was converted attests to the popularity of Saint Catherine in the West in the Middle Ages. Though the image of the Virgin and Child displayed here was of a type that became popular in the Middle Byzantine centuries, the Latin inscription indicates that Westerners tended to believe that such Byzantine images of the Virgin and Child were copies of works of a much earlier age, if not originals from the fourth century.
It cannot be determined if this icon came to the West with a pilgrim from Sinai, where mosaic icons survive today. The Man of Sorrows mosaic icon at Sante Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome, is said to have been brought to Rome from Sinai. The miniature mosaic at Galatina in Italy is housed in a church dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. There was also a church dedicated to Santa Caterina de' Sacchi in Venice, which was established in 1150 and survived in various forms until 1806. It is tempting to think that this work came from the site where Saint Catherine's relics are venerated.