Anti-semitism

Anti-Jewish motifs are to be found in the albums as they are elsewhere in contemporary art.

The Hebrew word Schemhamphoras, meaning “the explicit name”, was originally a Tannaitic term for the Tetragrammaton, and is used to title at least two album miniatures of the notorious Judensau [Jews’ sow] — those of Wigandt (dated 1600) and Petzke (c.1620).

[image from album page below]

(Note the circular identifying badges Jews were required to wear by law)

The miniature in the Löchel album (below) is undated, but other dated entries run from 1587-1616. On the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin website the newly-digitised image is described — no doubt, deliberately — as Allegorie Reiter auf Wildschwein, fünf Frischlinge [Allegory Rider on boar, five piglets], the neutral Reiter avoiding possible controversy. On the pitchfork — of the type held by witches, incidentally

[see my post here: https://albumamicorumear-e4qvahs764.live-website.com/witches-devils-etc/ ] —

we see strings of sausages and a ?hambone — meats which are, of course, traditionally forbidden to Jews.

from the album of Michael Löchel, dated entries 1587-1616. Berlin, Kunstbibliothek Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Lipp OZ 12, f.18r.

Thanks to friends on Reddit/Kurrent, I am able to give the following transcription, the translation is my own:

Verdrau keim Juden, auf sein gewissen, Sonnst wierstu gewiß (…) beschissen, Dan sie sein verfluchtte Böse pöckh, der Deuffel holl sie allesam wögkh. [Do not trust the conscience of any Jew, or you will certainly be shit on, for he … his damned evil, may the Devil carry them all off]

In contrast to the above, the caption below the image is merely a conventional commonplace

Im glückh erhöb dich nichtt, Wer weiß waß noch geschichtt. [Do not exult in times of good fortune, who knows what will happen in the future]

In the following caricatured image of the interior of a synagogue from the album of Andreas Matt there is an obvious stress on the characters’ noses

from the album of Andreas Matt, dated entries 1597-1606 — Paris, BNF, Ms. Smith-Lesouef 84, f.32r.

Julia Freisinger attributes the painting to Anton Möller.


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