Click here for a screen sized image. |
On the right, a figure is seated on a chair? (stool?). He is wearing a
headdress (a crown?) He raises his right hand to his face and raises the other,
pointing his forefinger to the central scene. Some scholars have seen this as
the gesture which orders the killing of the central figure. On the right, the
executioner holds the hair of the accused in his right hands, and with his left
hand, raises his sword. In the center, a figure clad in chain mail leans forward
as his hair is pulled and grasps the border of his executioner's garment, either
in resistance or in entreaty for mercy.
Most scholars, including Salet, identify this capital as the execution of the
murderer of Saul (II Samuel 1:5-16) Others see it as the execution of Agag, king
of the Amalekites. Saul had spared Agag though God had ordered him slain. The
prophet Samuel reproved Saul for this, and Agag was delivered to Samuel, who
slew him. (I Samuel XV).
Location within Floorplan | Placement in Elevation |
---|---|
Salet: Number 60- |
. |
Click here to see other Vézelay capitals showing episodes from the Old Testament
Salet, p. 187.
Return to
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|