Arabic, hems, and the Virgin Mary

The Cambrai Madonna ~1340 Cathedrale de Cambrai, France
notice the script on the sleeves and hood.

Mike's post on the different value system of the Hopi started me thinking about the exchange of information between civilizations, especially when they have very distinct cultures. One example I encountered is very fitting because it deals with writing (our current unit), the concept of occult (as defined by Dr. Petersen as hidden or mysterious not as the devil worship), art (mentioned by Misa), and the Virgin Mary (the rise of the cult of Mary was also discussed in class, though more in connection to archetypes and the importance of myth to cultures). I call your attention to Islamic writing in paintings of the Virgin Mary.

Ugolino di Nerio, Madonna and Child, 1327

notice the pseudo-Arabic on the white hood 

During the middle ages, the age of the crusades to exterminate the infidel from Holy Land fueled by the papal declaration that killing non-Christians was an act of devotion, most luxury items were imported from or through the Middle East. The finest fabrics, carpets, and metal work often sported Arabic or Kufic inscriptions with an Islamic message. European artists, who could not read Arabic, saw them largely as abstract ornamentation. Because these beautifully inscribed clothes were the best, most luxurious cloth, painters often portrayed royalty, saints, and the Virgin Mary wearing it.

A good example is the the inscribed embroidery on sleeves and hems is called tiraz. Most often the text of the tiraz was a invocation of the blessings of Allah on the current political leader. The first picture of Mary in this blog shows her with beautiful tiraz in pseudo-Arabic. Most often, because they didn't read Arabic, the artists only succeeded in gibberish (peusdo-Arabic or pseudo-Kufic). More skilled artists would sometimes exactly copy sections, resulting in a legible text but out of context like the inscription "There is no god but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet" on the hem of the Virgin Mary's robe. Finally, some artists could read and write Arabic and were able to create meaningful inscriptions in the cloth in the painting like a portrait of the Norman King Roger II.

Gentile de Fabriano Madona. 1415.
Museo Nazionale di San Matteo
Note the inscription in Mary's halo and Jesus' blanket

It was not just tiraz that feature in medieval art. Many of the beautiful curlies in the halos of the Saints are really made up of pseudo-Arabic.

Andrea Mantegna Thronende Madonna und Engle 1459 San Zeno Note the beautiful pseudo Arabic Halo's

I thought it was interesting to explore another way that the text is active in culture. We have a similar phenomenon today; we wear t-shirts with Chinese characters on them because the look cool. Most of us could not distinguish between real Chinese in art and pseudo-Chinese. However, even though we don't know the real meaning of what we wear it's ubiquitous presence influences our culture.

I also found it highly ironic to look at pictures of Madona and Child on Muslim prayer rugs.


This is a very good book to look at for more information.
Also Bierman's "The Significance of Arabic Scripts on Carpets" 1982.
Also a small article by the National Gallery of Art.