Historical sources for the Passion narrative of Christianity?
May 21, 2010 10:24 AM Subscribe
What are the best historical sources for the Passion narrative of Christianity?
I am teaching a class that includes Latin American art, c.1500, and we will have a unit on the Passion. I want to assign the students to read the story of the Passion from the Bible along with other historical documents as a way to set up talking about the art. I know that the canonical Gospels contain the story, and the wikipedia even has the specific verses for me, but it is unclear to me which Gospel contains the most complete version of the story. (I don't want to assign all 4 Gospels because it is too much reading for my students.) Are there other historical texts that discuss the story of the Passion? For example, are there non-canonical gospels or commentaries by clergy from the Middle Ages and Renaissance that might be good for us to look at? Any thoughts would be most appreciated.
I am teaching a class that includes Latin American art, c.1500, and we will have a unit on the Passion. I want to assign the students to read the story of the Passion from the Bible along with other historical documents as a way to set up talking about the art. I know that the canonical Gospels contain the story, and the wikipedia even has the specific verses for me, but it is unclear to me which Gospel contains the most complete version of the story. (I don't want to assign all 4 Gospels because it is too much reading for my students.) Are there other historical texts that discuss the story of the Passion? For example, are there non-canonical gospels or commentaries by clergy from the Middle Ages and Renaissance that might be good for us to look at? Any thoughts would be most appreciated.
Best answer: GM has it. The Gospels are going to your best bet.
A fair number of things that became part of the Passion and Resurrection narratives are not to be found in scripture at all, notably, Veronica's Veil and the Harrowing of Hell (2nd link contains references to the Patristic writers who discuss its theology).
Non-canonical works on the passion narrative would include The Dolorous Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ by Anne Catherine Emmerich, an 18th century mystic or The Dream of the Rood, an early Anglo-Saxon poem that tells the story from the POV of the Cross.
Emmerich's work served as primary source material for Mel Gibson's movie, and while it's held in fairly high regard by some Traditionalist Catholics, is not without problems.
posted by jquinby at 11:04 AM on May 21, 2010
A fair number of things that became part of the Passion and Resurrection narratives are not to be found in scripture at all, notably, Veronica's Veil and the Harrowing of Hell (2nd link contains references to the Patristic writers who discuss its theology).
Non-canonical works on the passion narrative would include The Dolorous Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ by Anne Catherine Emmerich, an 18th century mystic or The Dream of the Rood, an early Anglo-Saxon poem that tells the story from the POV of the Cross.
Emmerich's work served as primary source material for Mel Gibson's movie, and while it's held in fairly high regard by some Traditionalist Catholics, is not without problems.
posted by jquinby at 11:04 AM on May 21, 2010
Ay, Emmerich would have been too late for your time period. Apologies for that.
posted by jquinby at 11:05 AM on May 21, 2010
posted by jquinby at 11:05 AM on May 21, 2010
Best answer: It should be noted that exactly how the four Gospels fit together chronologically is a bit controversial, even amongst conservative scholars, as the gospel writers don't seem to have been terribly concerned with linear narrative the way modern authors tend to be. Ancient writers ordered their writings more around theme and thesis than chronologically. This has driven led the ignorant into confusion--and theologians into frustration--for centuries, but it's just the way it is.
I think what you're probably looking for is a harmonization of the Gospels, i.e. an organization of all four texts into a single narrative, locating corresponding passages near each other. In addition to providing a basic harmony, that link provides citations to a number of harmonies that you're likely to find useful.
I think you actually can assign readings from all four Gospels here. The Passion narrative from Jesus' arrest to death isn't actually all that long. You're looking at maybe eight chapters of Scripture, perhaps twenty or thirty pages, max. As you're doing a course on art, it's going to be important to touch on all the relevant imagery of the Passion narrative, and this is drawn from all four accounts, as there are details in each which, while consistent with the others, do not necessarily appear in so many words elsewhere.
Still, if you're only going to pick one, Matthew or Luke would probably do just fine. The four accounts really aren't all that different, theologically speaking.
But jquinby is on to something important: because this is Latin American art, you're going to need more than just the Bible here. Catholicism has, well, embellished the basic Scriptural story pretty thoroughly. Six of the traditional Stations of the Cross derive from oral tradition, not Scripture, but are nonetheless rich sources of religious imagery in the Catholic tradition. Not being Catholic, I don't have any resources about that ready to hand, but it's worth looking into.
posted by valkyryn at 11:29 AM on May 21, 2010
I think what you're probably looking for is a harmonization of the Gospels, i.e. an organization of all four texts into a single narrative, locating corresponding passages near each other. In addition to providing a basic harmony, that link provides citations to a number of harmonies that you're likely to find useful.
I think you actually can assign readings from all four Gospels here. The Passion narrative from Jesus' arrest to death isn't actually all that long. You're looking at maybe eight chapters of Scripture, perhaps twenty or thirty pages, max. As you're doing a course on art, it's going to be important to touch on all the relevant imagery of the Passion narrative, and this is drawn from all four accounts, as there are details in each which, while consistent with the others, do not necessarily appear in so many words elsewhere.
Still, if you're only going to pick one, Matthew or Luke would probably do just fine. The four accounts really aren't all that different, theologically speaking.
But jquinby is on to something important: because this is Latin American art, you're going to need more than just the Bible here. Catholicism has, well, embellished the basic Scriptural story pretty thoroughly. Six of the traditional Stations of the Cross derive from oral tradition, not Scripture, but are nonetheless rich sources of religious imagery in the Catholic tradition. Not being Catholic, I don't have any resources about that ready to hand, but it's worth looking into.
posted by valkyryn at 11:29 AM on May 21, 2010
Best answer: The incidents in the Stations of the Cross mentioned by valkyryn above are covered (briefly) here. For Catholics, the oral Traditions of the Church are co-equal with the Scriptures - both form the total Deposit of Faith. Indeed, it is acceptance of both that defines a Catholic. Your Latin American artists would have certainly been exposed to imagery from the whole of both sources.
posted by jquinby at 11:54 AM on May 21, 2010
posted by jquinby at 11:54 AM on May 21, 2010
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posted by General Malaise at 10:47 AM on May 21, 2010