The
Conques Last Judgment Tympanum
Detail:
The Bosom of Abraham
Abraham sits in the center of the Heavenly Jerusalem (far right of this
photo) with one hand on each of his sons Isaac and Ishmael, who hold
sceptres representing (I am guessing) the nations that derive from
them.
To Abraham's right (our left) are six saints wearing crowns of
identical design. One of them carries a palm branch symbolizing
martyrdom. Because there are no martyr kings among the saints we may
conclude that the crowns do refer not to royal
status on earth but to the crowns promised in Revelation to the
perseverant ("Be thou faithful until death: and I will
give thee the crown of life," Rev.
2:10).
Under the arch on the far left two women hold lamps and an open book;
the lamps may refer to the eschatological parable of the wise and
foolish virgins in Matthew
25:1-13 (cached). In
the next arch two women hold ointment jars. The third arch has two
haloed saints holding a single chalice. One of them also holds a palm
branch. Iconographically, the six probably represent not specific
individuals but overlapping categories among the elect, such as
martyrs, confessors, virgins, and (with ointments for the deceased)
widows.
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Photographed at the
site by Richard Stracke