Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§3.3 The (Re-)Awakening of Historical Awareness
interpreting). 20 The corollary, of course, was drawn out in argument with Rome
and against Rome's insistence that the authority of the NT was exercised by the
magisterium and through the tradition. In direct contrast, the Reformers insisted
that the NT exercised its authority by being read in its plain meaning, whether
the reading was by pope or priest or layman.
A second corollary of incalculable influence on the cultures of western Europe
was the decision that the NT (and the Bible as a whole) should be made
widely available (through the recently invented printing press) in the vernacular.
We need only recall how influential the Luther Bible has been on modern German
and the Tyndale (and later King James) version on modern English for the
point to become clear. The first hermeneutical task of translation proved to be a
bridge between past and present of importance far beyond the particular concerns
of faith.
3.3. Perceptions of Jesus
What effect did all this have on the way Jesus was perceived? Somewhat surprisingly,
the answer is Not very much. It might have been expected that the Renaissance
would have marked an increased concern to restate the real humanness of
Jesus, on the ground that the traditional belief in and emphasis on the deity of
Christ had overshadowed his humanity. One need only think again of the portrayal
of Christ as the ruler of the world (Pantocrator) so characteristic of
Byzantine art and piety. In fact, however, in the West there was already a strong
strand in late mediaeval spirituality very much concerned with the humanity of
Christ and his sufferings. The early mediaeval portrayals of the crucifixion are
characteristically formal and somehow unreal, more the expression of Christ's
triumph (Christus triumphans) than of Christ's sufferings (Christus patiens). 21
So much so that one can hardly avoid asking whether it is a real death which is
being portrayed. But in the thirteenth century the growing influence of St. Francis
and Franciscan piety saw a corresponding growth of interest in the humanity
and passion of Jesus, endowing painting and poetry with 'a new realism'. 22
The artistic transition is well illustrated in the work of Cimabue (c. 1240-
1302), who provided frescoes for the upper church of St Francis at Assisi. In his
20. Kummel, New Testament 22, and further 27-39.
21. G. Aulen maintains that 'Christus Victor' has been the 'classic' theological explanation
of how Christ had accomplished human salvation (Christus Victor: An Historical Study of
the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement [London: SPCK, 1931; new edition 1970]).
22. Pelikan, Jesus 139-40; D. Adams, 'Crucifix', in J. Turner, ed., The Dictionary of Art
(London: Macmillan, 1996) 8.211-12; G. Finaldi, The Image of Christ (London: National Gallery,
2000) ch. 4.
23