the vision represented in the Bible ofAvibla.96 Yet this is still a conceptual source for the

Harrowing of Hell, where Christ pulls Adam and the Just from the mouth of the

Leviathan, which is the theme that is being represented in the Bible ofAvila. There are in

addition a number of motifs that could have inspired the Master of the Cycle of the Life

and Passion of Christ in the Bible ofAvila, especially the fantastic head of the Leviathan

seen from above. An example that slightly resembles the head of the Leviathan in the

Bible ofAvila is the high relief sculpture of the lion guardian head under the tympanum

of the south transept portal in the church of San Isidoro of Leon dated to the early 12th

century (Fig. 69).197 The head of the lion has every strand of hair individually depicted,

and they curl at the tips. The eyebrows are protuberant and they shadow the fierce gaze

just as in the Bible ofAvila. The lion has a short and flat snout, and the corner of the lips

arch downwards. The only difference lies in the fact that the ears are rounded and not

pointed, as they appear in the Bible ofAvila. A second example that could have been used

as a conceptual source for the leviathan is an ivory casket from Pamplona dated between

1004 and 1005 (Fig. 70).198 The casket depicts a bas relief of a hunter and two lions. The

lion that bites the shield of the hunter is seen from above. The lion has pointed ears, and

the eyebrows are very prominent. Each lock of hair has been delineated to create the


196 The Art of2~edieval Spain, ad 500-1200, pp. 298-299, John W. Williams mentions
that the large Hell Mouth of the Descend into Hell recalls the English popularity of this
theme, and that there was knowledge of the English manuscript tradition in Spain as
exemplified by the figure styles displayed in the Cardefia Beatus. Despite this stylistic
analogy, there are no iconographic examples that would relate to the Harrowing of Hell
in the Bible of Avila.

197 Vifiayo Gonzalez, A. Real Colegiata de San Isidoro: Historia, Arte y Vida, 1998, p.
51.

198 The Art of2~edieval Spain, ad 500-1200, 1993, p. 124.