“Pois por quem David santo se condena?"

Imagem e representação do poeta bíblico entre poetas de expressão medieval

Abstract

In the pictography of the medieval period, the presence of biblical characters is frequent. Iconographic and iconological studies reveal that David's motifs have adapted to both pictography and literature. If, in the images, King David was not depicted without the possession of a harp, crown or in the company of a lion or a bear, for example, in literature, the king is represented as a prophet and as an ancestor of Christ, constituting themselves as traditional themes. In Cantigas de Santa Maria, by Alfonso X and in A demanda do Santo Graal, the mention of David is explicit. Especially in relation to the theme, it is clear that the Davidic image is understood both as a representative of the human and the divine. Considering the character’s construction, both in art and literature, it is possible to perceive the sacred and profane meaning that interpenetrate. This is an aspect that stands out mainly in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Interestingly, in a random occurrence, a possible lost image of David found at the Museu de Arte Sacra in the city of Bragança, in Pará, finds correspondence in David's pictography. Taking such considerations as a parameter, this article intends to reflect on the presence of King David in literature texts, considering the medieval pictography about the monarch. For this study, the notes of Dominique Ponnau, José Alberto Morán, Francisco de Asís García, Manuel Pedro Ferreira, Márcia Mongelli, Mário Martins, Jean-Michel Roessli, Erwin Panofsky, among others, will be referred as theoretical support.
Keywords: King David; Medieval and Renaissance literature; Pictography.