The Beard Pulling in Medieval Christian Art: Various Interpretations of a Scene

Anastasis. Research in Medieval Culture and Art. 2016. Vol. III. No. 1.

Vinogradov A., Ендольцева Е. Ю.

The article is dedicated to three types of scenes representing the beard pulling in Christian art. The first type represents the fighting of secular characters. In one version of this type, both figures are beard pullers, they are negative and aggressive. In the other version of the first type, only one man pulls out the beard of the other. The latter is also aggressive. The second type shows one positive personage (a saint Father) who pulls out the beard of the negative one (a heretic). Both figures in this case are of religious and not secular character. Finally, in the third type of representations, one positive and even saint personage pulls out the beard of the other who is also a saint. In this case, the idea of admonition made by superior being to the inferior creature is underlined (the Angel instructs Joseph, Jesus instructs John). Here, one can see how the uncommon scene in Christian art of pulling the beard could serve for the transmission of quite different ideas and subjects which are almost never repeated, sometimes making difficult the identification of such a kind of composition.

Keywords: Византия, апокрифы, Албания, Абхазия, христианская иконография