Building Name

:

Saint-Pierre de Moissac  

Location

:

Cloister

Capital

:

14

Subject

:

Alphabet and psalm

Description

:

East gallery; floral décor

Reference

:

The alphabet may reference the dedication ceremony, in which the alphabet is traced on the floor. However, Psalm 53 is not sung during the dedication ritual. Medieval liturgists thought that the alphabet signified the intelligence of Scripture, the letter was the same as a soul, and they contain all of knowledge. This explanation is given by Remi of Auxerre, Bruno of Asti, Honorius of Autun, Hugh of St. Victor, and articulated by Sicard of Cremona: Post haec in pavimento duo alphabeta describit [pontifex], per quae utriusque Testamenti scientiam vel sacrae scripturae intelligentiam, scilicet litteram et spiritum intellegimus. Paucae quidem litterae sunt, veruntamen in eis omnis plenitudo scientiae continebatur.

Corpus Ref.

:

Vol. 8 Ariège, Haute Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn-et-Garonne, 153-4