The Epiphany and the Eucharist: On the Interpretation of Eucharistic Motifs in Mediaeval Epiphany Scenes

* This study first appeared in somewhat shorter form in the Schülerfestgabe für Herbert von Einem zum 16. Februar 1965, ed. Florens Deuchler and Reiner Haussherr, Bonn, 1965, 197–215.

Abstract

The Adoration of the Magi by Hieronymus Bosch in Philadelphia (Fig. 1) is in many respects a remarkable painting.¹ The main figures in the scene are shown in a ruined stable, gathered around a heavy, rectangular wooden table whose size and central position suggest a hidden meaning beyond mere genre. The first clue to the significance of the picture is given by the large figures embroidered on the sleeve of the doublet worn by the Moorish king. They depict the Gathering of the Manna, a scene that always appears in mediaeval typology as the Old Testament prototype of the Last Supper or the Eucharist exclusively.² In the context of an adoration of the Christ Child by the Three Kings, therefore, the manna can only be an allusion to Christ as the true bread from heaven (John 6:32) which has appeared in the world. The Epiphany of the Lord is thus represented here with a eucharistic aspect, and the inclusion of the table, which has the appearance of an altar surrounded by the community of saints gathered to receive the true manna, may likewise be connected with this meaning.