Chapter 4 - Laura Fábián

The Biblical King Solomon in Representations of Western European Medieval Royalty


King Solomon, the famously wise ruler of the Old Testament and successor to King David, was a popular model for kings of Europe’s Middle Ages. This chapter aims to examine the way in which King Solomon was employed as a royal exempla in the medieval West between the 9th and the 14th centuries.

Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious were active supporters of the biblical typology. In the Byzantine court Leo VI the Wise was also concerned to present himself as a new Solomon. In the 13th century, Saint Louis IX of France’s Solomonic image was mostly significant at the time of his canonization in creating his hagiographic portrait; his contemporary, Henry III of England, selected King Solomon for his representation in the Painted Chamber of Westminster. The magical part of the Solomonic image also featured in the 13-14th centuries, appearing, for example, at the court of Alfonso the Wise, who was interested in commissioning magical treatises that contained allusions to Solomon. Charles V “the Wise” developed his own image of the wise kingship image with the help of the biblical king. This chapter shows the expanse of using King Solomon as royal model, and focuses on the ambivalence of this biblical exempla.

By Laura Fábián


Laura Fábián

Laura Fábián is a PhD candidate at Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of History Medieval and Early Modern World History Doctoral Program. She is the author of several articles on medieval kings and the biblical king Solomon, which have appeared in Világtörténet and Micae Mediaevales VI . Fiatal történészek dolgozatai a középkori Magyarországról és Európáról, among other publications.

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Related Chapters

Manuel Alejandro Rodríguez de la Peña: The “Wise King” topos in context: Royal Literacy and Political Theology in Medieval Western Europe (c.1000-1200) (See Chapter 3)

Paul Webster: Faith, Power and Charity: Personal Religion and Kingship in Medieval England (See Chapter 12)

Estelle Paranque: Royal Representation through the Father and Warrior Figures in Early Modern Europe (See Chapter 19)

Anna Duch: Chasing St. Louis: The English Monarchy's Pursuit of Sainthood (See Chapter 20)