Heaven’s vengeance and human destinies. Judas in the manuscript of Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, L.II.14 (1311)

Abstract

The Turin manuscript, BNU, L.II.14 (1311) brings together in a single collection hagiographic and epic texts, between which multiple echoes are woven. The article proposes to read this collection following a red thread: that of a «cycle of vengeance» against the enemies of God, comparable to that discerned by A. Boureau in the Legenda Aurea. This «cycle» is based on two elements: the fate of the damned and the motif of betrayal. The character of Judas, as developed in medieval legends, is representative of these two elements, and each of them is illustrated in the Turin manuscript. An episode from the chanson de geste Esclarmonde recounts how the hero Huon witnesses the eternal punishment of the damned; at the end of the manuscript, a Life of Judas recounts the traitor's itinerary, from the evil premonition that preceded his birth to his betrayal of Christ. In each case, the article offers a study of the passage, then broadens the perspective to the rest of the collection. Beyond the role of Judas, it shows how, through the ordering of the texts and their writing, the destinies of men and the vengeance of heaven are linked together.