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| Master of Death, Scenes from the Infancy of Jesus From the Histoire de la Bible et de l'Assomption de Notre-Dame French (Paris), c. 1390-1400 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 526, fol. 31r |
When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
Matthew 2:13-18 (Gospel for the feast of the Holy Innocents,
martyrs, December 28)
In our time the secular celebration of Christmas, which begins to wind down immediately after Christmas Day and is definitely over by January 1, is a week of vacation, of partying and shopping for bargains. Instead, the Church turns our attention in the days after Christmas to teaching us something else, that Christmas is not a happy fairy tale, although there is a happy ending in the Resurrection. During the octave of Christmas (the time between Christmas Day and the feast of Mary, Mother of God on January 1) the Church reminds us that faith in the Child born in Bethlehem has consequences. She invites us to consider some of those martyrs who have surrendered their lives in devotion to Christ. On December 26th the Church celebrates the feast of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, killed shortly after the Pentecost, while the Church was still a small group of disciples in Jerusalem. On the 27th we celebrate the feast day of the Evangelist John, who survived martyrdom to die of old age. On December 29th we celebrate the feast of St. Thomas Becket, murdered in his own cathedral because of a dispute with King Henry II over the proper roles of Church and State. And on December 28th the Church celebrates the feast of the very first martyrs, the baby boys of Bethlehem, killed at the order of Herod the Great in his attempt to kill a potential rival.
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| Masssacre of the Innocents Italian, 14th Century Subiaco, Church of San Benedetto, Scala Santa |
The story of the killing of the baby boys from Bethlehem, which is found in the Gospel of Matthew, is a dark reversal of the joy of the birth of Jesus. Probably for this reason, our contemporary celebrations for Christmas ignore it. We do not want to think about the dark side of anything and certainly NOT at Christmas, which we are told from every side, is about Joy, Love, Peace! This view, that Darkness has no place during the “holidays” has become so prevalent in our time that the majority of people no longer even remember this event. But it was not always so.
From sometime in the fifth century the Church has celebrated
a special feast in honor of these boys. The
feast of the Holy Innocents was once an important day within the octave of
Christmas, with its own special prayers, and with some special events. And it was a frequent subject in art from the
early middle ages till the dawn of the 20th century. 1
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| Massacre of the Innocents From the Purpur Evangeliary German, c. 800-825 Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek MS Clm 23631, fol. 49 |
Nearly all the medieval images of the Massacre of the
Innocents include the figure of Herod, giving the command to his soldiers, or
watching from his throne as they go about their ghastly work. The soldiers stab and hack at the little
bodies, and frequently there are severed limbs and heads in a pile at their
feet. In one instance, a soldier is shown biting into the dying child in his hands.
Also present in most, though not all, cases are the mothers. Some of them try to defend their children: pleading with the soldiers, pushing at them, attempting to pull their babies out of the grasp of the soldiers, trying to intercept their blows, endeavoring to shield their infants from the cruel blades.
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| Massacre of the Innocents Evangeliary Cover (detail) French (Metz), Mid-9th Century Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 9393, Cover |
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| Flight into Egypt and Massacre of the Innocents From the Winchester Psalter English (Anglo-Norman), Mid-12th-Second half of 13th Century London, British Library MS Cotton Nero C IV, fol. 14r At the bottom right a soldier may be seen biting into a child as he cuts into its flesh and as the mother attempts to save it.
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| Massacre of the Innocents From the Huntingfield Psalter English (Oxford), c. 1212-1220 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 43, fol. 20r |
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| Soissons Workshop, Massacre of the Innocents From a Psalter French (Paris), c. 1229-1246 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 283, fol. 11r |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol.132 |
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| Massacre of the Innocents Byzantine, c. 1315-1321 Istanbul, Saint Savior in Chora |
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| Richard de Montbaston, Massacre of the Innocents From Legenda Aurea by Jacobus de Voragine French (Paris), 1348 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 241, fol. 25v |
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| Jean le Noir and Collaborators, Massacre of the Innocents From the Breviary of Charles V French (Paris), c. 1364-1370 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 1052, fol. 308r |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1375-1400 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 229, fol. 62v |
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| Master of the Beaufort Saints, Massacre of the Innocents From a Book of Hours Dutch, c. 1405-1425 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 1073, fol. 70v |
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| Gentile da Fabriano, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c.1425 Florence, Gallerie degli Uffizi |
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| Herod Orders the Massacre From a Book of Hours French (Burgundy), c. 1480-1495 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 26, fol.124r |
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| Herod Orders the Massacre, with the Flight into Egypt From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1495-1505 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS H 5, fol. 69r |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From a Prayer Book French (Paris), c. 1485-1495 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS H 3, fol. 182v |
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| Jean Bourdichon, Massacre of the Innocents From the Hours of Frederic of Aragon French (Tours), c. 1501-1504 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 10532, fol. 168r |
Also present in most, though not all, cases are the mothers. Some of them try to defend their children: pleading with the soldiers, pushing at them, attempting to pull their babies out of the grasp of the soldiers, trying to intercept their blows, endeavoring to shield their infants from the cruel blades.
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| Master Kerald, Massacre of the Innocents From the Codex Egberti German, Mid-10th Century Trier, Stadtsbibliothek, fol. 15v |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From the Gospel Book of Otto III German (Reichenau), c.1000 Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek MS Clm 4453, fol 28 |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From the St. Alban's Psalter (Psalter of Christina of Markyate) English, Abbey of St. Alban's, First half 12th Century Hildesheim Dombibliothek MS St. God. 1, fol. 30 |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From the Vita Christi English (York), 1190 Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum MS Ms. 101, fol. 46v |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From the Psalter-Hours of Guiluys de Boisleux French (Arras), c. 1246-1260 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 730, fol.12v |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From the Psalter-Hours of Yolande of Soissons French, c. 1280-1299 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 729, fol. 296v |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From a Psalter Belgian (Liege), c. 1285-1310 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 155, fol.50r |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From a Psalter-Hours French (Therouanne), c. 1260-1270 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 97, fol. 14v |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From a Bible moralisee Italian (Naples), c. 1350 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 9561, fol. 138 |
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| Massacre of the Innocents German, 15th Century Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Massacre of the Innocents From a Book of Hours French, c. 1440-1445 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 157, fol. 180r |
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| Follower of Willem Vrelant, Massacre of the Innocents From a Book of Hours Belgian (Tournai), 1465-1475 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 251, fol. 117v |
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| Master of Edward IV, Massacre of the Innocents From a Book of Hours Flemish (Bruges), 1465-1480 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS W 31, fol. 80v |
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| Master of Edward IV, Massacre of the Innocents From a Book of Hours Belgian (Ghent), c. 1480-1490 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 278, fol. 87v |
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| Jean Poyer, Massacre of the Innocents From the Hours of Henry VIII French (Tours), c. 1495-1505 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS H 8, fol. 69v |
In one memorable image a mother actually grasps the blade of the sword that is raised to strike at her child, while Herod looks on and another mother cradles the head of her dead baby, whose body lies on the ground beneath the struggling soldier and mother.
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| Master Henri, Massacre of the Innocents From Images de la vie du Christ et des saints Belgian (Hainaut), c. 1285-1290 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 24r |
And the mothers mourn over their dead children: pulling at their hair, raising their hands to heaven, shrieking with open mouths. In a memorable image from the west portal of Chartres cathedral, a distraught mother lifts the corpse of her baby from the ground to kiss his face as the struggle continues around her. The emotions are very real, even in what may look to our eyes as primitive or abstract figures. 2
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| Massacre of the Innocents and Flight into Egypt French, c. 1145 Chartres, Cathedral, West Portal |
Inside Chartres too, the subject of the Massacre of the Innocents has a privileged place, taking up the entire central width of one of the famed stained glass window with three panels. In one of these a mother does the same as on the portal, kneeling down to be near her dead baby.
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| Herod Orders the Massacre French, 12th Century Chartres, Cathedral |
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| Massacre of the Innocents French, 12th Century Chartres, Cathedral |
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| Massacre of the Innocents French, 12th Century Chartres, Cathedral |
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| Master of the Dresden Prayerbook, Massacre of the Innocents From a Book of Hours Flemish (Bruges), c. 1470-1490 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 1077, fol. 94v |
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| Master of the Dresden Hours, Massacre of the Innocents From the Crohin-La Fontaine Hours Flemish (Bruges), c. 1480-1485 Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum MS Ms. 23, fol. 106v |
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| Sano di Pietro, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c.1470 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
There are so many medieval images of this subject, often coupled with other images from the Nativity story in the Gospels, that it may reflect the sufferings of ordinary people in an era when wars, even if small scale, could devastate the children of the area in which they were fought, and in which disease accounted for the vast majority of childhood deaths. The death of children was a frequent fact of life and we may assume that the loss of any child caused as much grief to parents in the twelfth century as it does in the twenty-first.
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| Flight into Egypt and Massacre of the Innocents From a Psalter French (Paris), c. 1228-1234 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 153, fol. 17r |
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| Adoration of the Magi and Massacre of the Innocents From a Psalter French (Paris), mid-13th Century Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 10434, fol. 14r |
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| Scenes from the Infancy of Christ Top: Presentation in the Temple and Flight into Egypt Bottom: The Angel Warning the Magi and Massacre of the Innocents From a Psalter French (Paris), c.1270 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 101, fol. 16v |
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| Adoration of the Magi and Massacre of the Innocents Drom a Book of Hours French (Rouen), Second half of the 15th Century Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquisition latine 3134, fol. 57v |
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| Robinet Testard, Flight into Egypt and Massacre of the Innocents From a Book of Hours French (Poitiers), c. 1470-1480 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 1001, fol. 57r |
As artistic skills developed, Herod became a less frequent participant in these scenes, although the subject remained as popular as ever. Artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods focused more frequently on the extreme violence of the scene, and on the confrontations between the soldiers and the mothers. The living children also become more active, trying to flee, to hide or to ward off the blows that are aimed at them. The development of scientific perspective added a new element of realism to these images.
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| Giovanni Pisano, Massacre of the Innocents (detail) Italian, 1301 Pistoia, Church of Sant'Andrea |
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| Giotto, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1304-1306 Padua, Arena/Scrovegni Chapel |
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| Giotto, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1315-1320 Assisi. Basilica of San Francesco. Lower Church, North Transept |
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Andrea di Bartolo, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, 1380s Baltimore, Walters Museum of Art |
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| Master of the Ashmolean Predella, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1380-1385 Fiesole, Museo Bandini |
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| Hans Strigel the Elder, Massacre of the Innocents German, c.1450 Zell, Catholic Church of Saint Bartholemew |
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| Fra Angelico, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1451-1452 Florence, Museo di San Marco |
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| Hans Memling, Massacre of the Innocents (detail) German, c.1480 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek |
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| Matteo di Giovanni, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, 1482 Siena, Church of Sant'Agostino |
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| Benvenuto di Giovanni di Meo del Guasta, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, 1483 Avignon, Musée du Petit Palais
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| Daniele da Volterra, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1555 Rome, Church of Santissima Trinitá dei Monti |
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| Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Massacre of the Innocents Flemish, c. 1575-1600 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
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| Tintoretto, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1582-1587 Venice, Scuola Grande di San Rocco |
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| Cornelis Van Haarlem, Massacre of the Innocents Dutch, 1590 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
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| Guido Reni, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, 1611 Bologna, Pinocoteca Nazionale |
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| Nicolas Poussin, Massacre of the Innocents French, c. 1631-1632 Chantilly, Musée Condé |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Massacre of the Innocents Flemish, c.1637 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek |
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| Sebastien Bourdon, Massacre of the Innocents French, c. 1640s St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum |
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| Charles Le Brun, Massacre of the Innocents French, c. 1647 London, Dulwich Picture Gallery |
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| Valerio Castello, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1650-1655 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
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| Luca Giordano, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1670s Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
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| Alessandro Magnasco, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, c. 1715-1740 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
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| Gaspare Diziani, Massacre of the Innocents Italian, 1733 Venice, Church of Santo Stafano |
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| Francois-Joseph Navez, Massacre of the Innocents French, 1824 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Leon Cogniet, Massacre of the Innocents French, 1824 Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
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| Joseph Noel Paton. Massacre pf the Innocents English, c. 1880 Paisley, Paisley Museum and Art Galleries |
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| James Tissot, Massacre of the Innocents French, c. 1886-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
Only towards the end of the century do we get a hint of a different
interpretation of the story. This is
William Holman Hunt’s rather odd take on the story. In his picture “The Triumph of the Innocents”
the souls of the recently dead babies accompany the Holy Family as it flees to
Egypt.
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| William Holman Hunt, The Triumph of the Innocents English, c.1883-1884 London, Tate Britain |
In the twentieth century one artist, the Franco-American
known as Arman (born Armand Fernandez in France) created a series of images
called “Massacre des Innocents”. These
works, which he called “accumulations” and in which he crammed doll body parts
into specially constructed boxes, are uncomfortably realistic.
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| Arman (Armand Fernandez) Massacre des Innocents II from Accumulations series French-American, 1961 Copyright Estate of the Artist |
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| Arman (Armand Fernandez), Massacre des Innocents French-American, 1961 Paris, Galerie Natalie Seroussi |
Shorn of the context provided by the mothers and the soldiers these “accumulations” suggest the grisly products of late term abortions or the results of bombings and are all too real reminders of the reality of the kind of “kindermorder”3 in which modern times perpetuates the Massacre of the Innocents.
So, in a period in which we have just recently seen the effects of bombing on the littlest citizens of Aleppo, this feast offers us a reminder that the same cruelty that would order the death of all the children under two in one village out of fear of one child only is still alive and active today.
© M. Duffy, 2016
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- Holweck, Frederick. "Holy Innocents." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 27 Dec. 2016 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07419a.htm
- I am indebted to the following article for pointing out the figures on the capitals at Chartres. Kathleen Nolan, "Ploratus Et Ululatus": The Mothers in The Massacre of the Innocents at Chartres Cathedral”, Studies in Iconography, Vol. 17 (1996), pp. 95-141.
- Meaning “child murder”. This is the partial title in German of the Massacre of the Innocents, which is called Die Bethlehmische kindermord.
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