Moissac - South Side - S14MS14

N E W S

  Moissac
South Side
S14MS14

N E W S
S14MS14S S

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S14MS14SW SW

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S14MS14W W

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S14MS14NW NW

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S14MS14N N

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S14MS14NE NE

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S14MS14E E

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S14MS14SE SE

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The Temptation of Christ

On the east side of this double capital a winged devil with clawed feet stands to the right and looks towards Christ, separated from him by a tree in the middle axis. At his feet lies a pile of rounded stones, to which he points and challenges Christ to turn them into loaves of bread.
On the north side the devil crouches to the right on the roof of the temple in Jerusalem, to which he has led Jesus, to tempt him to throw himself down and so test the protection of God. Jesus raises his arms up to heaven and withstands the temptation.
On the south side the same protagonists stand close together under the console block. Satan familiarly lays his arm round Christ’s shoulder and shows him “all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them”, which would be given to Jesus if he would fall down and worship him.
On the west side Christ turns to the angel, who hands him the bread with which he would break his fast in the wilderness. On the left side another angel holds up a cloth which Jesus would use to wash himself. In a metaphorical sense this is a further instance of the “spreading of the cloth” motif in the cloister. Like the scenes of “unveiling” and open books, it presumably signifies that the victory of Christ (in this case over temptation) makes it finally possible for everyone to grasp the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures. The Old Testament had admittedly contained that meaning but could not make it comprehensible. So we are told that immediately after his victory over the Tempter that: “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit […] And he taught […]” (Lk 4:14-15).
This capital is similar in style to those in the east half of the south wing.

Christ devil temptation tree Jerusalem angel bread cloth