Die "Zwei Körper des Königs" in den westsemitischen Kulturen : Ugarit, aramäische Königreiche, Phönizien, Ammon, Moab, Israel und Juda / Dagmar Kühn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kühn, Dagmar, author.

Series:

Kasion ; Bd. 4.

Kasion ; Band 4

Language:

German

Subjects (All):

Human body.

History.

Religion and state.

Kings and rulers.

Middle East--Kings and rulers--Religious aspects--History.

Middle East.

Middle East--Kings and rulers--History.

Religion and state--Middle East--History.

Human body--History.

Middle East--Antiquities.

Antiquities.

Kings and rulers--Religious aspects.

Middle East Region.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xiii, 437 pages : illustrations, plans ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Münster : Zaphon, 2018.

Summary:

Dagmar Kühn examines the Ancient Near Eastern and the Old Testament concept of kingship with reference to the concept of "The king's two bodies", established by the historian Ernst H. Kantorowicz regarding the European Middle Ages. According to this concept the king had both a mortal body and an immortal body, joint inseparable in his person. It was developed in Elizabethan Tudor Period to conceptualize an immortal person of the king (body politic) unaffected by imperfection, weakness and death of the natural person of the king (body natural). The West Semitic cultures developed various strategies of outfitting the body politic with insignia and images of representation to maintain and preserve the body politic when the body natural is threatened by crisis, death and disease. In Ugarit, this concept becomes apparent in the Epics of Kirta and Aqhatu with their human protagonists as well as in the Epic of Baal with its divine protagonists. The continuity of the royal dynasty and the welfare of the body natural depended on the blessing of the gods. The Ahirom sarcophagus from Byblos is the most obvious example of the concept of "The king's two bodies" in Phoenician realm. While the body of the king (body natural) was buried within the sarcophagus an en-throned effigy en relief symbolised the immortal body politic. The texts of the Old Testament bear witness of the knowledge of the Ancient Near Eastern ideology of kingship both in their eternal (body politic) and human components (body natural) and the ability to use them in theological conceptualizations. In particular, the Psalms and sapiential texts have preserved the ideal image of the king (body politic), who was considered the son of God after enthronement and could even be denoted as god with regard to his office.

Dagmar Kühn examines the Ancient Near Eastern and the Old Testament concept of kingship with reference to the concept of "The king's two bodies", established by the historian Ernst H. Kantorowicz regarding the European Middle Ages. According to this concept the king had both a mortal body and an immortal body, joint inseparable in his person. It was developed in Elizabethan Tudor Period to conceptualize am immortal person of the king (body politic) unaffected by imperfection, weakness and death of the natural person of the king (body natural). The West Semitic cultures developed various strategies of outfitting the body politic with insignia and images of representation to maintain and preserve the body politic when the body natural is threatened by crisis, death and disease. In Ugarit, this concept becomes apparent in the Epics of Kirta and Aqhatu with their human protagonists as well as in the Epic of Baal with its divine protagonists. The continuity of the royal dynasty and the welfare of the body natural depended on the blessing of the gods. The Ahirom sarcophagus from Byblos is the most obvious example of the concept of "The king's two bodies" in Phoenician realm. While the body of the king (body natural) was buried within the sarcophagus an en-throned effigy en relief symbolised the immortal body politic. The texts of the Old Testament bear witness of the knowledge of the Ancient Near Eastern ideology of kingship both in their eternal (body politic) and human components (body natural) and the ability to use them in theological conceptualizations. In particular, the Psalms and sapiential texts have preserved the ideal image of the king (body politic), who was considered the son of God after enthronement and could even be denoted as god with regard to his office.

Notes:

Originally presented as the author's Habilitationsschrift.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-393) and indexes.

ISBN:

9783963270529

3963270527

OCLC:

1082317420