The Sculpture in Front of the Lateran as Described by Benjamin of Tudela and Magister

Gregorius
Author(s): Paul Borchardt
Source: The Journal of Roman Studies , 1936, Vol. 26, Part 1 (1936), pp. 68-70
Published by: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/296706

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THE SCULPTURE IN FRONT OF THE LATERAN AS DESCRIBED BY
BENJAMIN OF TUDELA AND MAGISTER GREGORIUS

By PAUL BORCHARDT

The English Magister Gregorius, and the Spanish Jew, Benjamin

ben Jonah of Tudela, lived towards the end of the twelfth centurv.
Our knowledge of the former's description of Rome is due to G. McN.
Rushforth,1 who attempts to date his visit to Rome more precisely,
but has to admit that this is not possible. 2 He can only say that it
took place in the latter part of the twelfth or the earlier part of the
thirteenth century. The visit of Rabbi Benjamin can be fixed more
exactly. He mentions Alexander III as Pope: he made his entry
into Rome on the 23rd of November, II65, and was driven out again
in I I67 but returned in I I77. On passing through Bari he mentions
that the city had been destroyed by King William of Sicily (II5.6)
It was rebuilt by William the Good in I I69, so that his visit to Rome
must have been before this. When he travels to Lesser Armenia, he
names as its ruler Thoros, who died in December II67 or February
i i68.3 As by this time he had travelled through Greece and
Constantinople, and along the coast of Asia Minor to Lesser Armenia,
we may reasonably date his visit to Rome in the year i i66.
Rabbi Benjamin was, as appears from the preface to his account of
his travels, 4 regarded by his contemporaries as highly trustworthy. I
have found this verdict constantly confirmed, 5 and all the inaccuracies
with which he has been charged were, so far, due to our own
faulty information and interpretation. After considerable geo-
graphical research I can show that he is in every respect trustworthy,
and I hope to be able to prove this in the case of Rome in a new
edition of his travels which I intend to publish.6
Accordingly, on the present occasion I will confine myself to
comparing his account of the sculpture to be seen in front of the
Lateran with that of Gregorius; for thereby the history of these
objects, which has been published by Sir H. Stuart Jones in the
Catalog ue of the 4ncient Sculptures in Rome in the Palazzo dei Con-
servatori (Oxford, I926), can be confirmed.
Gregorius describes in front of the Lateran Palace the famous
1 ' Magister Gregorius, De Mirabilibus Urbis 4 M. N. Adler, The Itinerary of Benjamin of
Romae: a new description of Rome in the twelfth Tudela (London, I907), p. I.
century,' IRS Ix (I9I9), I4ff. I have to thank 5 See my article, 'Benjamin of Tudela,' in
Mr. Rushforth for translating this article from the Etncyclopaedia juddaica (Berlin, I929), iV, I30.
German. 6 " Geographical Commentary on Benjamin of
2 Op Cjp t., p. I7. Tudela's Travels in the Twelfth Century " (now
3 Journal asiatique, Serie v, xviii (i861), 345 in the hands of Prof. Gibb, School of Oriental
(and plate facing), 356. Studies, London).

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 THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SCULPTURE IN FRONT OF THE LATERAN 69

equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, at that time commonly believed

to represent the Emperor Constantine. 7 Next he mentions two more
pieces of sculpture as belonging to the Colossus, viz., the bronze
head and the right hand holding a ball, both of which were set on
marble pillars near the equestrian statue. The Mirabilia also mentions
these two pieces,8 the popular name for the ball (sphaera) being
' palla Sansonis.' Here Nichols follows an erroneous version of
Benjamin, and says that he speaks of a complete statue of Samson in
front of the Lateran. 9 H. Vogelstein and P. Rieger, 1 0 referring to
S. Cassel, 1 make the same mistake, and speak of statues of Herakles
and Apollo which were supposed to represent Samson and Absalom.
This brings us to a further notice by Gregorius. Following his
account of the equestrian statue, the bronze head and the hand holding
a ball, he mentions the ' Spinario,' 12 the famous bronze boy pulling
a thorn out of his foot, which since I47I has been exhibited in the
Palazzo dei Conservatori. His account, however, does not definitely
prove that the figure belonged to a group with the three others,
though Rushforth thinks that this is very probable. In that case we
have to deal with four separate pieces of sculpture standing in front of
the Lateran. And, if we note carefully what Benjamin actually stated,
we find that he too speaks of four separate pieces.
' Before the front of St. John Lateran there is a representation of Samson and
a ball of stone in his hand. There, too, is Absalom, the son of David, and also
King Constantine the Great, who built Constantinople, and he is represented in
bronze, his horse being gilded.' 13

Like the Mirabilia, Magister Gregorius, and the representation

in the early thirteenth-century plan of Rome, 14 Benjamin describes
Samson's head and hand. Absalom, son of David, is the boy pulling
out a thorn, who was probably given this name by the Jews on account
of the words in the Bible (II Samuel, xiv. 25): ' But in all Israel there
was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the
sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish
in him.' 15 Samson's head (the bronze head, Catalogue, etc., p. I73,
pl. 6o, no. 7) was probably so called from the deeply excavated cavities
for the eyes,16 but the hand (ibid., p. I74, pl. 6i, no. 9) cannot have
held the bronze ball (ibid., p. I7I, no. 2), now known as the palla
Sansonis, for Benjamin expressly calls it ' a ball of stone,' and in this
all the MSS and printed texts agree.
I Op. cit., p. z2. MSS. in the British Museum and the Biblioteca
Casanatense, Rome).
8 F. M. Nichols, Mirabilia Urbis Romae, The
14 G. B. de Rossi, Piante di Rosisa (Rome,
Marvels of Rome (London, i889), p. 62.
I879), pl- I-
9 Op. cit., p. 63. 15 The identification may have been encouraged
10 Geschichte der Yuden in Rom (Berlin, i896), by the hair of the Spinario: cf. II Sam. xiv, 26.
Iv 295. 16 The name Samson may also have come from
the tradition, mentioned by Gregorius and the
11 Historische Versuche (Berlin, I 847), p. 21 I.
Mirabilia, that the Colossus represented the
12 Op. cit., pp. 23, 24- sun god, Phoebus; for the Hebrew Shimshon
13 Adler, op. cit., Hebrew text, 8 (reading of the means 'sun's man.'

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70 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SCULPTURE IN FRONT OF THE LATERAN

The hand and head must have been set on the marble pillars
which still appear in Maarten van Heemskerck's sketch, where they may
be seen beside the equestrian statue, between the feet of Constantine's
horse.17 The hand holding the ball, together with Samson's head,
rare represented in the drawing by Ciriaco of Ancona. 18
We find, then, on comparing the accounts of Benjamin and
Gregorius, that they support each other, and show that, hitherto,
Benjamin's account has been wrongly translated1 9 and interpreted.

17 Huilsen-Egger, Romische Skizzenbiicher('Reisetagebuch

von von Rabbi Benjamin von Tudela '
Martin v. Heemskerck (Berlin, 1913), i. fol. I I r.in the Jahresbericht des Kgl. Lyceums zu Bamberg,
18 Chr. Hiilsen, La Roma antica di Ciriaco 1858: the anastatic reproduction (Berlin, I9I8,
d'Ancona (Rome, 1907), pL1 Vii. p. 7) omits the statement) has: ' Opposite the
19 A. Asher, The Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin of Lateran is a figure of Samson holding a stone ball
Tudela (London, i840), p. 41, based on the earliest in his hand, and Absalom.' Martinet followed the
printed edition (Constantinople, 1543) and the edition printed at Freiburg in 1583, a reproduction
improved one of Ferrara (1556): ' Opposite of the original Constantinople edition of 1543.
St. John Lateran stands a statue of Shimshon with a L. Griinhut and M. N. Adler Die Reise-
lance of stone in his hand, also that of Absalom . . . ' beschreibungen von Rabbi Benjamin von Tudela
Asher has overlooked the word ' and ': the word (Jerusalem, 1903: Hebrew text and German
"ball' is also quite plain in his Hebrew text translation), using the same MSS. as Adler (see
(p. ii, i). Adler, following the MSS. mentioned above, p. 69, note I 3), has: 'And in front of St. John
above (note 13), has (p. 7): ' In front of St. John Lateran is a figure of Samson with a stone ball in his
Lateran there are statues of Samson in marble, hand, and also a figure of Absalom.' Here, again,
with a spear in his hand, and of Absalom.' It the ' and ' has been omitted, though the ball of
is obvious that he has merely altered slightly stone is correctly rendered. It must, then, have
Asher's English translation. been Grunhut's observation which enabled him to
The German edition, by A. Martinet correct Asher's mistake about a lance.

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