Initial A with the Battle of the Maccabees

Initial A with the Battle of the Maccabees

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Medieval Christians considered the Maccabees, who regained the Temple in Jerusalem for Jewish worship, as early models for the Christian Crusaders, fighting to recapture the Holy City from Muslim control. This page illustrates a text that would have been sung during worship in a monastery. The Maccabees, dressed as medieval knights and carrying a banner marked "M," triumphantly rout the Greek army from the city.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Initial A with the Battle of the MaccabeesInitial A with the Battle of the MaccabeesInitial A with the Battle of the MaccabeesInitial A with the Battle of the MaccabeesInitial A with the Battle of the Maccabees

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.