Prophecies, Violence, and Christ (Pt. 1)

The Jewish people are portrayed in a very unique light all throughout The Siege of Jerusalem. We have seen via our first discussion of the tale the ways in which they were dehumanized via the Roman conquest and the various instances of violence which were perpetrated against them throughout the first half of the tale itself. However, one of the issues that I have encountered as I read the Siege is determining its genre. The destruction of The Second Temple would seemingly tie the poem as history, yet the dramatic display of the conversion narratives seem to tie it closer to hagiography. However, the long, detailed descriptions of the various violent battle scenes seem to tie it closer to the other various romantic epics we have encountered throughout the semester. We can conclude that the Siege definitely has attributes of all three of these genres, without totally immersing itself in any one of these genres.

The ideals of vengeance and violence tie in greatly with the overall narrative. It is extremely obvious that the poem represents the vengeance of Titus and Vespasian for the death of Christ. The Siege of Jerusalem depicts the apex of Christ's prophecies in Luke's Gospel: Jerusalem (and consequently the Jewish people) did NOT recognize the visitation of Christ and were soon condemned for it. This fulfillment of revenge is best seen via the framing of Caiaphas's execution set against the siege of the city itself.  Now the only thing that remains is clear: the destruction of the Temple itself.

This destruction can also be viewed as a fulfillment of Christ's prophecy. Titus, taking the command over from his father, swears to do just this. Vespasian's response is very interesting to note:

My wele and my worschup ye weldeth to kepe,

For the tresour of my treuth upon this toun hengyth: "I nold this toun were untake, ne this toures heye, For alle the glowande golde upon grounde riche, Ne no ston in the stede stondande alofte, Bot alle overtourned and tilt, Temple and other." (1015-20)