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6
TheImageandtheFigure
thatledtotheappearanceoftheso-calledimages"notmadebyhumanhand”
(Greekacheiropoietoi).3
Thefirsthistoricalreferencestotheacheiropoietoicomefromthemid-sixth
century.4Initially,thesewerepicturesofChrist,which–accordingtolegends–
cametoearthmiraculouslyandwereregardedandworshipedasholy.5Oneofthe
mostfamousstoriesisconnectedwiththeimagefromCamuliana(asmallcityin
Cappadocia),whereitissaidthattheportraitofChristfelltoearthfromthesky.6
Supposedlyawomanfounditinapondinhergarden.Themiraculousoriginal
wassaidtohavethepowertomultiplyitself–itprinteditselfonthecloththatit
wasattachedto.Soonthedistinctionbetweena"true”acheiropoietosanditscop-
iesbecamehazy.Thesubsequentimagesprintedonpiecesofclothattainedthe
statusofan"authenticacheiropoietos”andassuchwerevenerated.Inaddition,
craftsmenandartistsbegantoproduce"genuineimages”ofChristbasedonthe
imagefromCamuliana.Inawaysimilartotheinitialmodel,theywereequally
ascribedwiththelegendofbeingmiraculouslysentfromheaven.
Thepowerconnectedwithacheiropoieticimagescamefrombeliefintheirdi-
vineorigins.Theiraccreditationwithdirectcontactwithsacrumatthemomentof
theircreationconstituted,forreligiouspeople,irrefutableevidenceoftheirpower.
Images,whoseauthorshipwasbelievedtobeconnectedwiththeinterventionof
higherpowers,wereconsideredtobenotmerelyportraitsofChristbutgenuine
representationsofhim.
Asimilargroupofimagesaretheso-calledsudariums(Latin"sweatcloths”)
andveraicons(Latin"trueimages”)depictingthefaceofJesusChristprintedon
ashawlorshroud.Theso-calledMandylionofEdessa,referredinsixth-century
sources,isaveryintriguingexampleofveraicon.Theimagewasbelievedtobe
3
Acheiropoietos–asingularform.
4
Seee.g.Kuryluk,VeronicaandHerCloth,pp.28–29.Seealso:H.J.Rothemund,Ikonen-
kunst.EinHandbuch(München,1954),p.9.
5
Intimealsootherholyfigures(especiallytheVirginMary)weredepictedinimages
knownas"notmadebyhumanhand.”
6
Thepatternofthelegendaboutacheiropoietos–whichfellfromtheskytoearth–canbe
interpretedasasynthesisofearlier,mostlyGreek,beliefsandritualsadoptedbytheChristian
imagination.InancientGreecemeteorsthatfelltoearthwerehallowedandknownasdiipetes
–theworksofthegodsthathadfallentoearth.Thestonesthatfelltoearthwereconsidered
tobeamuletsassociatedwithPallasAthena.Theywerecalledpalladionsandwereascribed
thepowertoprotectcertaincitiesandtowns.Interestingly,inByzantium,thetermpalladion
startedtobeconnectedwithsomeimages(oftenknownas"notmadebyhumanhand”),which
weretreatedasprotectiveobjects.InthecontextoftheimageofOurLadyofCzęstochowa,it
isalsoimportanttoconsiderthatthisimagewas,forcenturies,treatedasapalladion–protec-
tiveimage–oftheJagielloniandynasty.Formoreaboutacheiropoietosandthelinkswiththe
GreekcultofmeteorsseeKurylyk,VeronicaandHerCloth,pp.30–31andD.Freedberg,The
PowerofImages.StudiesintheHistoryandTheoryofResponse(ChicagoandLondon,1989),
pp.66–67.Ontheenduringstoryabouttheimage"fallingfromthesky,”seeJ.Tokarska-Bakir,
Obrazosobliwy.Hermeneutycznalekturaźródełetnograficznych.Wielkieopowieści(Kraków,
2000),pp.319–320.
