Dominique J. PERSOONS

Original title: Duplex Spiritus Almus: la sémantique du “X” à l’époque romane

Published in Music in Antiquity, Middle Ages & Renaissance

Keywords: Double soul, Holy Spirit, Jaca, Ornate letters, Plato.

The illumination from the early thirteenth century English manuscript Harley-MS-4951 shows a curious disposition of the divine trinity. If the Father and the Son are easily identified, the Holy Spirit appears in the form of an X surmounted by two animal heads, one threatening and the other affable. This suggests that the Spirit was considered double and made up of two opposing spirits. This hypothesis is verified by the observation of the tympanum of the cathedral of Jaca.