Thursday, August 23, 2012

Jael, Sisera and Tent Pegs

In the Book of Judges, Jael drives a tent stake into the temple of the Canaanite general Sisera. It would seem that that medieval depictions of this scene would be a good source for what a medieval tent stake looked like.

Alas, no. The Vulgate Latin translation of the Bible available to all but the most erudite medieval Christians renders the item in question as a "nail of the tent" and Jael is almost always shown in medieval and renaissance art holding a large iron nail.

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