The pool of Bethsaïda: the cultural history of a holy place in Jerusalem

Abstract

This article deals with developments at the site of the Piscina Probatica near Saint Anne’s church in Jerusalem (John 5.1–9) from the fourth until the fifteenth century, on the basis of archeological evidence and literary sources such as pilgrims’ accounts and liturgical sources. The Piscina Probatica combines topographical symbolism and commemoration of the miraculous cure of the cripple, the meeting between Anna and Joachim, the birth of Mary, and the discovery of the wood of the true cross. The author argues that these functions infiltrated different levels of cultural history, and treats the little-known iconographical tradition of the Piscina Probatica in miniatures, wall paintings, and tapestry. It is noteworthy that the pool becomes “purified” from its rich typological symbolism at the dawn of the Renaissance: thus the literary and iconographical phenomenon of the Piscina Probatica adds to the debate concerning the “caesura” between the Middle Ages and the early modern period.