The quincunx: its origins and development in the art of Western Europe in the second half of the 8th – the beginning of the 11th centuries

The generous in size, corpulent pearls on the border of the medallions in the Gundohinus Gospels, however, are quite distinct from all the cases discussed above. There is only one similar instance prior or parallel to the Gundohinus Gospels' date, notably five miniatures representing crosses in Gelasian Sacramentary (fig.66-68) Pacht O. Book Illumination in the Middle Ages. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984. P. 38. . Interestingly, the later Carolingian tradition doesn't use such type of pearls for nimbus and will reserve it exclusively for the medallion ornamentation, like in two early 9th-century manuscripts, the Hiltfred Gospels and the Valenciennes Apocalypse (fig.69-70). Although this type of pearls is a rare occurrence as an iconographic motif in manuscripts, such large pearls, or in some cases, pellets, much more often, and much earlier, emerge in other types of media. In the textile, the large pearls adorn a nimbus on the 6th-7th century fragment from Byzantine, now in Aachen Cathedral treasury (fig.71). The motif of a medallion with large pellets might be seen on pretty much every Coptic ampulla with the relics of St Mena (fig.72) that were widely circulated not only through Mediterranean region, but further to the north on the Continent as well. And most importantly, such pearled borders appear extensively in metalwork. An analogy can be found in the 6th-7th century medallion from Syria with the figure of Christ in the middle (fig.73), and also in the border of the 7th century Lombard ring (fig.74). Of particular relevance, here is the bronze plaque from Munich, occupied by the Adoration of the Magi, where the nimbus of Christ child, adorned with a border of large pellets, resembling those in the Maiestas of Gundohinus.

Also, given the context of Merovingian art where the inlaid metalwork ornaments were imaginatively and artistically copied in the manuscript decorations, of which the Gelasian Sacramentary, for instance, is a vivid testimony, one may wonder if the pearled medallions in the Gundohinus Gospels could be an imitation of the metalwork or even be derived from the composition on the metal plaque. If this is not the case, the pearls on the metal medallions and the same motif in the Gelasian Sacramentary are still an indication that the composition of Maiestas Domini in the Gundohinus Gospels is connected to the metal decorations and entrenched in the culture in which the manuscript illuminations, metalwork, and jewelry were in a state of fruitful interaction. This leads to the argument regarding the appearance of the quincunx in the Maiestas Domini. The correlations with metalwork might give the reason for the sense of geometry that is expressed by the simplicity and clearness of the five medallion scheme. It seems that an ornamental principle of framing every jewel that is so apparent in the quincunx pattern of the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon Rupertus cross (fig.75) was applied here to the religious composition. Bianca Kьhnel also considers that the geometry in this Maiestas Domini might be a contribution of the Insular copyist Kьhnel B. Op. cit. P. 44.. In other words, the quincunx scheme is presumably the result of the Gundohinus Gospels being a part of Merovingian or Insular (non-Italian, non-antique) contexts in which the manuscript illuminations were particularly influenced by the esthetics of other media.

This supposition raises an issue. In the previous part of our work, we already discovered the antique sources of the quincunx composition. Therefore, the statement that the quincunx scheme is a non-antique feature of the Gundohinus Gospels just doesn't make sense. And yet it does: the Gundohinus Gospels is a peculiar and complex epitome of both worlds. The hierarchical composition that consists of five parts certainly came from the late antique and early Christian sources. However, the interpretation of medallions, and actually the overal placement of the quincunx on the page is quite unique and apparently should be attributed to the different tradition. If we look at the two earlier quincunxes in the manuscript illuminations, one in the St Paul im Lavanttal miniature with Christ in Majesty, and another, ornamental one, in the 7th century manuscript from Bobbio (fig.76), we will see the late antique form of the quincunx with large central medallion and drastically smaller lateral roundels. It is exactly the same type we encountered in the late antique plaque with Orpheus from Hungary. By contrast, the Gundohinus Gospels composition exhibits a more balanced hierarchy between the center and periphery. Also, the roundels are placed on the page unevenly and askew, as though the quincunx was constructed incidentally. The composition is not integrated into the manuscript page but is just loosely `hanging' in the middle of an empty parchment, and gives an overall impression of granulated metal medallions grouped on the book's page. This sense of the language of another medium that for some reason intervened in the illumination is exactly what distinguishes the quincunx in the Gundohinus Gospels from the previous interpretations. Strangely enough, Maiestas Domini in precisely this quincunx variation awaits quite a few successors in Carolingian period. But if in the middle of the 8th century its form was rooted in the notions of ornamentalization and geometry, a completely new range of connotations will be applied to it in the following age.

To conclude, we may indicate three possible reasons for the quincunx scheme being applied specifically to the iconography of Maiestas Domini in the middle of the 8th century. First, the conceptual quality of this image might generate the need for more structured appearance. Second, the Gundohinus Gospels derive from the 8th-century Merovingian and Insular contexts where the motifs of inlaid and granulation techniques in metal decoration were echoed in the book illumination, producing more abstract and geometric forms. And third, there still existed a late antique tradition of the quincunx scheme - ornamental as well as figurative - that implied the centeredness and symmetry of five given compositional parts and that played its role in the eventual appearance of the 8th-century Maiestas Domini. Overall, it is impossible to isolate one reason from another, or to consider that these three answers are exhaustive. Bianca Kьhnel suggests regarding the quincunx composition of the Gundohinus Gospels in the light of the later Carolingian developments, as their starting point, to which we will proceed in the next two chapters. And she also argues for the type of the Gundohinus Gospels being no less than the first `proper medieval' Maiestas Domini composition, while the others are rooted in late antique and early Christian traditions Kьhnel B. Op. cit. P. 222.. Initially, analyzing the early Christian examples of the quincunx scheme, we were planning to assert the opposite since this composition was applied to Christian iconography as early as the 4th century, and already then the figure of Christ was placed at its center. It means that the quincunx scheme is not the medieval feature of this illumination, and thus, also falls into the category of late antique and early Christian successors. However, we now tend to agree with Kьhnel's position - but with a slight turn. The Gundohinus Gospels are indeed the first `properly medieval' quincunx scheme. Unlike its antecedents, the hierarchy here is much more uniform because the medallions are closer to each other in size, while the antique invention of the scheme implied a large accent on the central roundel and an additional character of the lateral ones. Hence, the composition of the Gundohinus Gospels is `properly medieval' not because it constitutes the quincunx but because of the new qualities of this scheme.

Chapter 3. Quincunx in Religious and Scientific Iconography in the 9th-11th centuries

In the second chapter, we treated the first instances of the quincunx scheme in Christian iconography, particularly the case of Maiestas Domini by means of which the quincunx was transferred from late antique and early Christian tradition to early medieval art. Now, our last and biggest step is to look at the process of how the quincunx composition was elaborated and transformed during Carolingian and Ottonian eras. In preparation to analyzing religious iconography, we, firstly, shall discuss how the quincunx, being applied to scientific diagrams, developed associations with the cosmological notions. Secondly, regarding Carolingian period, we will be primarily concerned with the question of possible collations between the aforementioned scientific diagrams and religious imagery. And finally, in relation to Ottonian tradition, we are interested in the structural modifications occurred within the quincunx paradigm, and their possible causes. To conclude the chapter and give a broader perspective of the subject, we shall make a cursory introduction to the further development of the quincunx scheme by indicating the principal directions of its metamorphoses.

3.1 Quincunx as a scientific diagram

We already witnessed the process of gradual appropriation of the quincunx scheme to religious iconography. When was it applied to the scientific diagrams? This is not a simple question, and perhaps we won't provide an unambiguous answer. However, we have detected some of the earliest currently known instances of such diagrams and now are able to make a short overview of their most common purposes Bianca Kьhnel is the one who gathered many of these diagrams in one publication, but there are several important instances that, for some reason, weren't mentioned in her work. Those are: 1) Diagram of five planetary busts in the 9^th-century Phaenomena manuscript (Paris, Bibliothиque Nationale de France, MS lat.12957, f.71v); 2) Wind diagram in the manuscript with Ptolemy's treatise, ca. 830 (Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Vat.gr.1291 f.46r); 3) Diagram with Personification of the Moon in the manuscript with Ptolemy's treatise, ca. 830 (Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Vat.gr.1291 f.47r); 4) Diagram of five planetary busts in 11th Astronomical treatise (Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales, MS 735C, f.21v). . The quincunx scheme emerged, according to the evidence that we have, only at the turn of the 9th century, while all the previous episodes dated to the 7th and 8th centuries constituted one-circled diagrams. Where did the latter come from? Apparently, they are the successors to antique tradition of using a circle for an expression of relationships between human thought and the universe. An example of such a continuity might be the fact that Romans depicted the world as a disc, and according to N.R. Kline, this consequently influenced the form of medieval maps as well Kline N.R. Maps of Medieval Thought: The Hereford Paradigm.Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2001. P. 10-12.. One of the first preserved instances of a round diagram, ca. 600AD, is a representation of winds designed for a manuscript with a treatise named Epitoma rei militaris by Vegetius (fig.77) Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana MS Reg. Lat. 2077, fol. 99r. On the wind diagrams, see: Obrist B. Wind Diagrams and Medieval Cosmology // Speculum. Vol.72. No.1.1997. P. 33-84.. The wind diagrams in turn could relate to circular, wheel-like pagan symbols, specifically solar ones Dow H.J. Op. cit. P. 249-251.. Presumably, it was not earlier than the time of Isidore of Seville when the circular diagrams started to be used more persistently. The schemes that Isidore implemented to describe geographical and cosmological notions became known as Liber Rotarum and were copied repeatedly during the medieval period to illustrate not only his texts, but scientific treatises of various authors and purposes (fig.34) Bober H. Op. cit. P. 85..

At the turn of the 9th century, the circular Isidorian rotae acquired four additional lateral roundels and was converted into the quincunx. The first and earliest group of such diagrams On this type of the diagram, see: Eastwood B.S. Ordering the Heavens. P. 407. are those which are not based on one specific text but represent computistical knowledge That is, the computation of the Easter dates. of the period. The first of the preserved diagrams of this type was made in Cologne at the turn of the 9th century (fig.78), and another one, which dates back to the second quarter of the 9th century is from Laon (fig.79). The inscription on the one from Cologne says `hec est concordatio solis et lunae per XII menses id est in quantos dies circuit sol signum vel luna vel quomodo concordant in annum integrum', which means that this is the concordance of the circuits of the sun and moon through the 12 months and through the signs of zodiac. The central roundel of both of the diagrams is occupied by the earth surrounded by twelve zodiac signs, the names of the months, and the numbers of the days. The four lateral rotae are the planets which determine the division and movement of time that is indicated in the central roundel.

Apart from this computistical scheme, the quincunx diagrams also illustrate the text of Bede's De temporum ratione, which initially was not accompanied by visual representations. It is only in the 9th century, in the context of abbey of Fleury, when the quincunx scheme emerged for the first time, as a reinterpretation and elaboration of an earlier Isidorian model Kьhnel B. Op. cit. P. 69. . In the 9th century, there are two of such rotae. One is now in Paris (fig.80) and the other in the British Library (fig.81). Both represent a type of tidal rotae which displays a dependence of ebbs and flows on the position of the moon within the lunar month. They have a T-O map at the center surrounded by eight winds and dates of the lunar month in the outer circle, while the four additional rotae comprise the four positions of the moon which cause the highest and lowest tides. The diagram from the British Library also has a circle inscribed aqua. What is truly peculiar about both of the examples is the inclusion of a cross within the main medallion at the expense of the four winds. In the Carolingian period, it was a norm to use a system of 12 winds, in contrast with the earlier Vitruvian eight-wind scheme. Hence, an introduction of a cross pattern within the scientific diagram, since it is an obvious contravention to the common rule of the period, might have been a conscious choice Ibid. P. 70. . Probably, it was about this period when the scientific diagrams started to accommodate a sort of theological connotation, or at least, this is the time when such connotations acquired a recognizable visual form.

Both the quincunx computistical and tidal rotae have similar relations between the central and peripheral roundels: the lateral ones represent the celestial powers that govern the world order. This is the opposite of what we see in the religious iconography where all the dominance is given to God in the central roundel. This is why it is so interesting to observe the emergence of the Christian symbols such as the cross in the central roundel: Heaven is sanctifying the Earth.

Two more of the quincunx schemes might be found in the manuscript with Ptolemy's Manual Tables where the circular diagram on folio 46v is accompanied by four wind gods, and another one on folio 47r has a personification of the Moon at the center and four depictions of day and night in the lateral roundels (fig.82-83). The illuminations are evidently based on Hellenistic models Spatharakis I. Op. cit. P. 41., and probably were even copied from a source which was initially connected to the Sol and Moon representations on the mosaic pavements. These compositions are classical variations on the antique quincunx scheme where the lateral medallions are of a much less importance than the middle one, and since each of the side roundels comprise the same motif, they are indeed quite different in terms of hierarchy compared to the computistical diagrams and the schemes from Bede's treatise.

The final text that is represented by the quincunx schemes is the Greek astronomical poem Phaenomena On the medieval tradition to illuminate this text, see: Dekker E. Illustrating the Phaenomena. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. P. 116-207. the illustrations of which are usually not of a diagrammatic form. However, the diagrams started to be included in the manuscripts from the 9th century onward. Apart from the diagrams themselves, in these types of manuscripts we encounter a puzzling image of five planetary busts (fig.84) which function in the illumination cycles is still a mystery, according to Barbara Obrist Obrist B. La cosmologie medieval. Textes et images. I. Les fondements antique. Firenze: Sismel - Edizioni del Galuzzo, 2004. P. 216. . This image is incredibly important since it is the closest of all scientific representations to the actual composition of Maiestas Domini. Regarding the actual diagrams, Carolingian's examples (such as the one now in Leiden) do not contain the quincunxes Hamel C. de. Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts. London: Penguin Books, 2018. P. 140-188., but the 11th-century copy does (fig.85). The latter is a very complex superposition of five different diagrams: at the center there is a planetary configuration for the day of March 18th 816AD Eastwood. B.S. Ordering the Heavens. P. 411. allegedly based on the antique models but reinterpreted them, and four lateral roundels comprise four Isidorian rotae. Among them are five latitudinal zones of the earth, paths and durations of sun's visibility, T-O map with twelve winds, and paths of the planets Kьhnel B. Op. cit. P. 81. . This is an incredibly complex scheme that is supposed to represent the relations between all kinds of physical phenomena of the universe in one harmonious representation. This scheme shows that the quincunx diagrams, in terms of their chronological evolution, have the ability for gradual sophistication. The same principle we shall see in the development of the religious iconography within the quincunx scheme during the same period.

Thus, the quincunx diagrams of the 9th-11th centuries are connected to the notions of time and space, and have cosmological and astronomical connotations. Two main principles distinguish a diagrammatic quincunx composition from a religious one. The first is that the diagrams have quite a range of hierarchical relations which are not subject to the dominance of the central roundel but visually they all are based on the late antique scheme where the lateral medallions were treated almost like an ornament. The second is that the central roundel in the diagrams is usually a complex concentric scheme by itself, and thus the relations between the kernel and side components are usually much more complex and are not actually limited to the five medallion scheme. The most important feature of the quincunx scientific diagrams, though, is that their development during the 9th-11th centuries demonstrates they are not only ready to accommodate knowledge on the physical world, but also, in some cases, have an inclination to comprise religious notions.

3.2 Carolingian tradition and its 11th century derivatives

After analyzing some of the quincunx diagrams, we are now equipped to discuss the quincunx scheme in religious iconography. During Carolingian age, the meaning of the quincunx composition evolved in two major directions, the mature results of which will yield in the 11th century. We partially acquinted with both of them. The first one is the visual similarity between the quincunx diagrams and five-medallion Maiestas Domini representations that gave rise to the process of gradual convergence of the religious and scientific forms and meanings. Visually, it was expressed in the adoptation by religious images the structural and iconographic features of scientific diagrams, and vice versa, a process which will culminate in the works of the 11th century. The second major direction is connected to the apocalyptic notions of Maiestas Domini. They will lead to the inclusion of this iconography into the illuminations of the Apocalypse manuscripts, and consequent appropriation of the quincunx scheme for the picturing of other Apocalyptic themes, including the illustrations of certain chapters of the Book of Revelation. Now, we will look closely to these two processes in the attempt to deconstruct them.

Before treating the subject of correlations between scientific diagrams and religious iconography, it is useful to ask whether such a comparison adequate and relevant, and what results it might generate. First of all, both representations occur in the same media - manusctipt illuminations. Thus, they both are part of intellectual literary culture, and are intended for the similar audience Willian Diebold treats this question in the recent book on early medieval art, particularly in Chapters 1 and 3, see: Diebold W. Word and Image: In Introduction to Early Medieval Art. New York, Routledge, 2018. P. 39-95; 140-181. . Moreover, the artists of scientific and religios compositions might be the same since one scriptorium could produce books of various genres simultaneously Bischoff B. Manuscripts and Libraries in the Age of Charlemagne. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. P.20-56. . Second, the modern division of areas of knowledge obviously doesn't work for the medieval context. The learning of God and the learning of the world was percieved as basically a unified process. The illuminations of Hrabanus Maurus' De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis Kessler H. The Bibles from Tours. P. 44-45. treatise where the principles of scientific diagrams was used to construct various crosses as an accompany for theological discourse is one of the testimonies of that principle (fig.86). Furthermore, during the Middle Ages, a picture, similarly to a diagram, was sometimes used to accommodate diverse messages, and even various textual sources, in a clear, coherent and unified visual form. Mary Carruthers showed that the medieval thinkers were painting mental pictures with the words, and that the images were used as cognitive instruments Carruthers M. The Craft of Thought. Meditation, Rhetoric, and the Making of Images, 400-1200. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. P. 118-120. . Herbert Kessler gives an interesting example of how Cyril of Alexandria helped Bishop Acacius to grasp a typological method by referring to the way certain painters render the Sacrifice of Isaac Kessler H. Spiritual Seeing: Picturing God's Invisibility in Medieval Art. Philadelphia: University of Pennsilvania Press, 2000. P. 53. . To demonstrate different stages of a process, exegete argues, Abraham might be depicted several times in changing poses but still remains the same Abraham. And, according to this early farther, in the analogous way, Christ appears in the Old Testament in numerous disguises but remains constant. This tradition of using images as clarifying tools continued into Late Middle Ages. For instance, Bonaventure in De imagine Dei compares the media of sculpture, painting, and illumination with God's creation, his Passion, and the redemption respectively Hamburger J.F. Op. cit. P. 14. . These examples are illustrative evidence of how art objects were used by medieval thinkers to facilitate the interpretation and understanding of the Bible and theology. In this sense, the diagrams and religious imagery, indeed, have corresponding functions. Hence, the supposition of the existence of cognitive correspondence between the images in the religious books and in the scientific treatises has some grounds. The main problem regarding their intercation is how to deal with it and how to interpret it.

The historians who treated the question of relations between the compositions of art and scientific representations, such as J. Baltrusaitis, E. Beer, H. Bober, M. Caviness, H. Kessler, B. Kьhnel, use more or less analogous methods. They base their preliminary conclusions on the formal synthesis of diagrams and religious iconography. If the structural element of a diagram occurs in the religious image where previously such an element was an alien component, they assume that some of the diagrammatic notions transfer to the purport and signification of this religious composition. To test this idea, they search for textual validation. For instance, the appearance of a diagrammatic geometry pattern in the particular Christian subject might imply an inquiry on textual metaphoric associations of this subject with the said pattern in the period when such visual synthesis occured. But to test the idea even more, they are making a crucial step, namely drawing a contextual picture. Only this last procedure will lead to comprehension whether or not in a given time period the scientific and religious visual interaction was even possible. Bianca Kьhnel stands out in her unprecedented concentration on the historical backgroun of such a process.

Although this last type of approach seems highly advantageous, we are not able to use it in the following part of our paper. The contextual perspective is not yet a purpuse of this inquiry, hence we will primarily be using the first two aspects of the mentioned above methodology. Our aim is to demostrate the evolution and development of the quincunx scheme. We are insterested in the process, and therefore we won't deeply consentrate on each artwork and will involve the contextual evidence more as an addition than as a main goal. Our purpose is to elucidate on the mechanisms of how one composition might be adopted to various meanings, on formal changes and their possible connections to the modifications in substance. Therefore, more comprehensive conclusions will be reserved for the future case-studies. Bearing all this in mind, we will proceed now to the examination of how the quincunx scheme was embraced by the Carolingian tradition.

The first manuscript in which the influence of scientific representations on the religious imagery might be evident is the Stuttgart Psalter On the Stuttgart Psalter, see: Dodwell C.R. The Pictorial Arts of the West 800-1200. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. P. 79-80; Kьhnel B. Op. cit. P. 25-41.. The Stuttgart Psalter is the first preserved quincunx composition in the Western religious manuscript illumination since the Gundohinus Gospels. Its appearance is close to the latter, and yet is different. We are particularly interested in one of the several Maiestas Domini inhabiting its pages, that on folio 77r, accompanying Psalm 67 (fig.87). The Psalm's text makes a specific accent on the God as the Lord of Heaven: “The earth was moved, and the heavens dropped at the presence of the God of Sina” Psalm 67:9. . The celestial connotations are especially evident in comparison with the Gundohinus Gospels and the differences in the designs of the central medallions. In the Gundohinus Gosples, the medallion, made in a form of a wreath, alludes to Roman triumphal representation, while in the Stuttgart Psalter, the middle roundel is interpreted as a rainbow, and the figure of Christ inside it emanates a blue light. Apart from the different textual contexts, and the desire to accentuate the celestial motifs in the Stuttgart Psalter, the divergence with the Gundohinus Gosples might stem from the influence of scientific representations. Particularly, from the composition of the five planetary busts in manuscripts of Aratos' treatise Phainomena, the first preserved example of which dates to the early 9th century (fig.84). The busts in Phainomena and Maiestas in the Stuttgart Psalter are remarkably similar in all the aspects the compositions in the Stuttgart Psalter and the Gundohinus Gospels are not. Among formal commonalities, the horizontal placement on the page and the less pronounced disparity in size between the medallions. Also, the puzzling lunar disc in the decoration of the medallion with the symbol of Matthew the Evangelist might be a derivative from the combination of two forms in the scientific diagram: the nimbus of a planetary bust and the medallion in which it is placed. This is not a hard task to find an explanation for the formal fusion: both iconographies represent celestial. However, the dialog between such images, even if occurs, cannot be immediate and direct, otherwise the equivalence would have been more cogent. Even if the influence exists, it is impossible to establish its direction. Rather, we may state that the quincunx diagram being applied to religious and scientific iconography concurrently started the process of their gradual convergence, or better to say, may serve as an ancillary indicator of such a process.

The tradition initiated by the Gundohinus Gospels and continued in the Stuttgart Psalter will give at least two more precedents in the book illumination: the early 10th-century Harkness Gospels and the Leon Bible made around 960AD (fig.88-89). It will continue to the Ottonian period as well - the back of the 11th-century book cover of the Pericops of Henry II is a testimony for this. However, the fact that this composition decorates not the front but the back says something about the possible decrease of the status of this type of Maieastas at the turn of the 11th century Indeed, a different type of Maiestas will become prevalent in the 11^th-13^th centuries. We will treat this question at the end of the chapter. . These 10th-11th century quincunxes in the iconography of Majesty are even more structured and balanced than their antecedents in terms of the sizes of medallions and their adjustment to the rectangular frame of a manuscript page or a book cover. The geographical divergence of their examples, the variations in details and poses of the figures, and wide temporal gaps - a hundred years or half of a century - imply the probability of a much more broad dissemination of this type of Majesty. Particularly so, because there are some `marginal' instances of this composition such as the 9th-10th century Italian graffito from Rome (fig.90). The latter is an incredibly interesting iconographic example, and too bad, it is researched not enough to narrow its date. The graffito depicts the Hand of God surrounded by four symbols of evangelists. The Hand of God at the center of composition appears in Carolingian manuscripts not earlier than the 870AD in the Codex aureus Diebold W. The Anxiety of Influence in Early Medieval Art? The Codex aureus of Charles the Bald in Ottonian Regensburg // The Concept of Influence and the Study of Illuminated Manuscripts / Ed. by J. Lowden, A. Bovey. Turnout: Brepols, 2007. P. 59-60. , and afterwards, it is never surrounded by the symbols of evangelists like it occurs here. Clarification of the graffiti's dating may impact the way we perceive the role of this iconography in Carolingian context.

Interestingly enough, the spread of five-circle Maiestas Domini almost completely coincided with the proliferation of the quincunx scientific diagrams in the 9th-early 11th centuries. Although it is close to unattainable to directly connect any of the mentioned in the first part of this chapter quincunx diagrams with any of the quincunx Carolingian Maiestas Domini, this fact cannot be ignored. It is tempting to state the opposite since there are not many scientific treatises attached to the religious manuscripts, or the other way around. Notwithstanding, the question is still arises: could the religious iconography, which was, according to the preserved evidence, formulated fifty years earlier than the quincunx scientific diagram, influence the emergence of the new cosmological scheme? It is very unlikely. Above all, because the shape of the 9th century diagrams and the 8th-9th Maiestas Domini instances are actually quite different. The diagrams repeat the late antique quincunx type with very small lateral medallions, while the religious composition evolved into more balanced structure. However, we, following the enlightening direction of Baltrusaitis, Beer, Caviness, Kessler, and Kьhnel, think that the mutual form might imply a corresponding meaning. It is so, because similar structures construct similar liaisons. As we have previously shown, all quincunx diagrams of the 9th-11th centuries represent cosmos or additional cosmological phenomena with the aim to demonstrate the harmony of primary and secondary, cardinal and collateral elements, functioning as a hierarchical unity. The same applies to the iconography of Maiestas Domini in which God as a center and four evangelists representing four books of the New Testament and the Church epitomize an idea of harmony between God and its creation. The quincunx scheme demonstrates that there is a pattern of choosing one particular composition for representation of similar notions within religious and scientific paradigm. Which, to be fair, are not that distinct from each other in that period, in the first place.

Another curious Carolingian indication of the interplay between the religious iconography and scientific diagrams are two manuscripts where Maiestas Domini was significantly transformed from the model of the Gundohinus Gospels. The first one occurs on the folio 339v of the Bamberg Bible (fig.91), and the second appears on folio 3v of the St. Gauzelin Gospels (fig.92). In both cases, the quincunx composition of Maiestas Domini was supplemented by the rhombus. Where it came from? We have seen this composition before in the late antique context: on the sarcophagus with Cupid in the middle (fig.8), and on the floor mosaics from Ostia (fig.7). Kessler, indeed, suggests a purely ornamental source such as the belt buckle from Budapest with the same pattern (fig.93) Kessler H. The Bibles from Tours. P. 51. . However, one of the possible explanations might involve the cross pattern. For instance, on the Enger Purse reliquary dating to the first decades of the 9th century, there is both the cross and the quincunx ornaments formed by nine oval gems (fig.94). Similar composition might be found on the cover of the Lindau Gospels (fig.95). It doesn't require vivid imagination to see how the ends of the cross might form the lozenge pattern that could be incorporated into the quincunx scheme. And yet the closest source in terms of medium and date is the diagram illustrating Bede's treatise De natura rerum in the manuscript ca. 818AD where a lozenge, or better say, a square placed on its angle, represent the earth surrounded by four medallions with Ignis, Aer, Aqua, and Terra (fig.96) On this diagram, see: Kessler H. Images of Christ and Communication with God // Comunicare e Significare nell'Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Presso la Sede Della Fondazione, 2004. P. 1108; Obrist B. Le diagramme isidorien des saisons, son contenu physique et les reprйsentations figuratives // Mйlanges de l'йcole franзaise de Rome. Vol. 108. No.1. 1996. P. 141. On the later diagrams with the similar composition and their implementation to art: Beer E. Die Rose der Kathedrale von Lausanne. Bern: Benteli Verlag, 1952. P.36-39. . The only difference with the compositions in the Bamberg Bible and the St Gauzelin Gospels is the absence of the central roundel which is replaced by T-map. According to Ellen Beer, the square is an alternative to the circle in a discourse of the forms of the earth, and the diagrams of both shapes were used to describe the universe. Already in the 6th century, Cassiodorus established interchangeable relationships between these two geometrical figures, saying that the earth is a square, surrounded by the circular cosmos. The notion survived in the Carolingian and Ottonian eras Beer E. Nouvelles reflexions sur l'image du monde dans la Cathedrale de Lausanne // La Revue de l'Art. Vol. 10. 1970. P. 60-62., and the mentioned above the 9th century diagram of Bede's treatise with the representation of a map, four cardinal directions, and four elements, is arguably a part of this paradigm. The illustration for Hrabanus Maurus' treatise Carmen Figuratum in a form of a rhombus includes the direct association of the lozenge with the world (fig.97) Kessler H. The Bibles from Tours. P. 52.. What implications does it have on the interpretation of the lozenge in religious iconography? Rhombus as a part of the frontispiece may be intended as an emblem of the world, and thus, the whole composition reads as God's continuous presence on heaven and earth, and as a harmony of divine and terrestrial. Furthermore, the idea of possible interrelations between religious iconography and scientific diagrams is reiterated in other illumination of the same Bede's manuscript where the wind diagram unusually interpreted in a form of a mandorla (fig.98).

These 9th-century examples are just circuitous and tentative signs of the mutual influences between scientific and religious imagery. However, the borders started to blur evidently in the 11th century. As an example, the diagram in the Italian manuscript now in Paris shows an intersection between various contexts: medical, zodiacal, antique and Christian (fig.99) Obrist B. Le diagramme isidorien des saisons. P. 100, note No.23; fig.9. Kьhnel B. Op. cit. P. 163-164. . It accompanies the manuscript which contains excerpts from the works of Celsus and Galen, the prayers to God for medical help, a treatise on the virtues of stones, and an astronomical treatise on the zodiac signs. On the miniature, the figure of Christ in the iconography of Sol Invictus placed at the center of the quincunx diagram. The lateral medallions are filled with personifications of the seasons, and Christ in the middle roundel is surrounded by twelve zodiac signs which, on their part, are paired with human organs. A peculiar compound of the iconography of Roman zodiac mosaics, Christ in Majesty, and medical notions manifests clearly what the Carolingian era only hinted at. This is the first known to us example of a distinct diffusion amidst scientific and religious ideas in the quincunx form, and it marks, in a way, the end of a long process.

The second of two directions in the development of the Carolingian quincunx compositions materializes in the form of the Apocalypse illuminations. To accompany the text of the Apocalypse, Carolingian artists preferred a more `archaic', so to say, variation of Maiestas Domini, namely the type we encountered in the Codex Amiatinus. Nevertheless, in the manuscripts such as Valenciennes Apocalypse, or the Apocalypse made around 900AD now in Paris (fig.100-101), a modified version of the quincunx scheme was implemented to the images of four apocalyptic beasts and the Lamb. There, instead of the central roundel, the Lamb represented on a throne. Kьhnel argues that the model for this type of Apocalypse illuminations was the lost quincunx composition of the sort we encountered in the Stuttgart Psalter Kьhnel B. Op. cit. P. 206. . Indeed, the indirect evidence for the existing of the quincunx scheme within the context of Carolingian Apocalypse illuminations appears in the 11th-century Beatus manuscript (fig.102) On this manuscript, see: Dodwell C.R. Op. cit. P. 224-227.. There, the quincunx, interpreted in a completely unique way, developed for picturing the seventh chapter of the Book of Apocalypse. For the first time since early Christianity, the center of the quincunx in religious composition was nested by an alternative subject, not the representation of Christ. And this is arguably the most sophisticated and complex quincunx scheme we encountered, as applied to religious iconography. The main medallion, which is also the frame of the composition, consists of two circles: the inner one depicts the earth and the outer one outlines the surrounding it gargantuan ocean. Four lateral roundels representing the angels “standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the winds of the earth, that they should not blow upon the earth” Rev. 7:1. , are sank into the central medallion, creating the sense of unity the quincunx scheme didn't experienced before. This type of the five-medallion scheme couldn't be derived from the Maiestas Domini variety of the quincunx composition since the hierarchic ratio of its central-periphery components is of a completely different proportion. We suggest that the inspiration for such a composition should be a scientific diagram, especially given the complexity of its structure, and the desire to demonstrate the cosmological knowledge of the round earth conceivably surrounded by the infinite water. Hence, in the 11th-century example, we are witnessing the composition that simultaneously incorporated both of the concepts pertaining Carolingian quincunxes - apocalyptic and cosmological. In a sense, the 11th century became the time to summarize and recapitulate the evolution of the quincunx scheme that occurred in Carolingian era.

Two directions in which evolved the quincunx composition during the 9th-11th centuries demonstrate its suitability for comprising abstract notions not only in the scientific context but also in the situation where theology and cosmology work together in one image, rendering a truly multidimensional and comprehensive picture of the world. Repeatedly calling the quincunx scheme simple in the course of this paper, we are not implying the negative connotations but rather indicating the clarity of its structure and therefore, the ability to exhibit, as explicitly as possible, even a complex subject matter. However, the next step of its transformation will strip away a portion of that simplicity.

3.3 From Carolingian to Ottonian tradition: the sophistication of the quincunx

One of the processes that started in Carolingian period gave an interesting outcome in the Ottonian Renaissance. To shed light on it, we should return to two previously mentioned Carolingian manuscripts from the school of Tours where it all began, namely the Bamberg Bible and the St Gauzelin Gospels (fig.91-92). The rhombus that appeared on both of the pages with the composition of Maiestas Agni became a catalyst in the initiation of this third process. We already discussed possible origins and connotations of the emergence of the lozenge but left other elements of the composition without proper discussion. In the St Gauzelin Gospels, the quincunx scheme consists of the Lamb at the center and the figures of the prophets which replaced evangelists in the lateral medallions. The rhombus' addition elicited the inclusion of extra four elements in its corners, and evangelists were transferred there instead of being placed according to the quincunx scheme. Thus, the overal number of elements surrounding the center was doubled. Exactly the same presentation is seen on the frontispice page of the Bamberg Bible. Such a confusing relocation of elements was explained by Kessler who connected the compositions in both of these manuscripts with Hrabanus' tract De quatuor evangelistis et agno, in crucis specie constitutis Kessler H. The Bibles from Tours. P. 44. . Not only the text justifies the cross-like composition of the four evangelists as an emblem of the harmony of the four Gospels, but also it is accompanied by figura with the same arrangement of creatures as in the St Gauzelin Gosples (fig.103) It doesn't explain the emergence of the lozenge, though, since the illumination in the Hrabanus' manuscript is lacking of this element. Therefore, it isn't dismissing our previous reasoning regarding the possible origins of lozenge from the diagram in Bede's treatise. . The prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel - is of a more complicated origin, possibly Byzantine, without unequivocal explanation for their occurence Kessler H. The Bibles from Tours. P. 48-50. . Hence, here, we observe the combination of several already existing schemes : Maiestas Agni constituting the quincunx, the lozenge-like arrangement of evangelists' symbols from Hrabanus' figura, the prophets from unidentified source, and the rhombus pattern possibly of a diagrammatic origin.

The subsequent evolution of Maiestas frontispieces in the Touronian Bibles represents a rather consecutive process. The Grandval Bible (fig.104) St. Clair A. A New Moses: Typological Iconography in the Moutier-Grandval Bible Illustrations of Exodus // Gesta. Vol. 26. No.1. 1987. P. 19-28. repeats the composition in the Babmberg Bible quite literally but loses the medallions. They appear again in the Vivian Bible (fig.105) Diebold W. Word and Image. P. 140-146. where the symbols of evangelists were copied from the authoritative source, namely the Lorsch Gospels Kessler H. The Bibles from Tours. P. 54. , and, added to the scheme, caused a restructuring of the page once more. The prophets were relocated into the medallions placed on the corners of lozenge, the symbols of evangelists migrated closer to the mandorla, and the figures of evangelists took the prophets' places. Technically, the Vivian Bible is a consolidation of two different systems of decorating the manuscript page. Structurally, it is a much more complicated scheme in terms of hierarchy. Semantically, it establishes new meaningful liaisons between Christ and figures representing the Old and New Testaments. The prophets and symbols of evangelists, placed so closely, affirm the correspondence between the Old and the New Testaments, and the doubling of evangelists' representations attests for the New Testament's hierarchical prevalence.

Obviously, this is not the quincunx scheme anymore. Conversely, it is a beginning of a new independent tradition that will be based on the Carolingian models while creatively reinventing them and sometimes producing completely unexpected designs. Although this process is not the history of the quincunx itself, it is a part of an evolution it might generate. It is a demostration of how the quincunx can be transformed by an addition of the cross or rhombus patterns, and what kind of new hierarchical relations within the medallion schemes might be produced as a result. In the last decades, an understanding of the continuity between Ottonian art and its Carolingian antecedents started to shift from regarding the former as uninventive replication to considering an importance of individuals in the Ottonian manuscript illumination Specifically, this was actively reiterated in the Introduction to the recent volume on Carolingian and Ottonian manuscript illumination, see: Kitzinger B., O'Connel J. Introduction // After the Carolingians. Re-defining Manuscript Illumination in the 10th and 11th Centuries / Ed. by B. Kitzinger, J. O'Connel. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2019. P. 1-17, especially p. 8. Likewise, W. Diebold argued on the concept of creative misreadings in the Ottonian illuminations more than a decade ago: Diebold W. The Anxiety of Influence. P. 51-62. . Indeed, the way some of the Carolingian quincunx/lozenge compositions were reevaluated in the Ottonian tradition attests to this point of view. For instance, the complex model which was formed in the school of Tours and subsequently copied by an illuminator of the Court school of Charles the Bald in Maiestas Domini on folio 46v of Codex aureus (fig.106), was then adapted for the iconography of abbot Ramwoldus at the end of the 10th century (fig.107) Diebold W. The Anxiety of Influence. P. 52-54. . The Ottonian variation, in addition to the astounding fact that this is an appropriation of the iconography of Christ to the depiction of a person, is highly inventive in terms of composition. Four symbols of evangelists were rearranged to the corners of the page, creating a structured, framed appearance. The ornamental medallions on the corners of the lozenge in Maiestas composition were replaced by the roundels with four busts of Virtues. The result is of stricking change: instead of a heavenly vision created by a unity of the quincunx and lozenge patterns, we see a solemn representation of a virtuos abbot. Since the symbols of evangelists are so far away from the abbot's figure and relatively small in size, their overall role in the compositional interpretation decreased. The Ottonian illuminators masterly used the flexibility of the quincunx scheme for their own ends.

So far, all the structural changes within the quincunx paradigm seemed to be initiated either by the inclusion of additional subjects and increasing complexity of the iconographic program, or by purely formal challenges such as the implementation of lozenge. But let's consider another perspective. Even more inventive the Ottonian interpretation of the Touronian model became in the illuminations of the Uta Codex made at the beginning of the 11th century. There, the folio 97v from Codex aureus depicting the Hand of God was combined with compositional elements from the Ramwold's page (fig.108) to create a new set of meanings and hierarchical liaisons (fig.109) On the miniature with the Hand of God in Uta Codex, see: Cohen A. The Uta Codex: Art, Philosophy, and Reform in Eleventh-century Germany. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000. P. 51, 175-176. On the relations between the miniatures with the Hand of God in Codex aureus and the Uta Codex, see: Diebold W. The Anxiety of Influence. P. 60-61. . The Hand of God and the personifications of four cardinal virtues arranged in the quincunx, and four other crowned female figures accompany the central image by forming a cross or lozenge. Two of them carry the medallion with the Hand of God Could they be an allusion to the personifications of Sun and Moon? Their medallions are painted in blue - the same color which is marking the celestial space of the Hand of God. , and the other two are orants which face the Hand. Although the surrounding central medallion female figures do not create a lozenge of the kind we encountered in the Bamberg and Vivian Bibles, the rhombus patterns at the top and the bottom of the page are hinting at the structural similarities. The central medallion comprise inscription “Perpetuo totum nutu cingens deus aevum, sanxit ab aeterno: quae condidit omnia verbo” which reads “God, encompassing all time by his everlasting will, has from eternity hallowed all things, which he created by his Word” Cohen A. Op. cit. P. 29-30. . Likewise, there are four inscriptions next to each virtue. For instance, the text accompanying Fortitude states: “Divine fortitude is that which is always the same and is not at any time changed” Ibid. P. 174. . The structure of the page establishes hierarchic relations between God as the creator of the time and space, and his creation. The divine virtues in the lateral medallions, connected to the the Hand of God and its inscription, might be interpreted as the unchangeable qualities of the world that God established, the terms on which the world operates, so to say.