Dual purpose

The Miser and the Devil

South central France or Limousin
Second quarter of the 12th century
Limestone
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Charles Amos Cummings Fund, 48.255

no. 81

The Miser, who, in the twelfth century, became the personification of Avarice, exemplifies the rising hostility toward money. Avarice was the most egregious sin in which men could engage; the most egregious for women was Luxuria, or Sexual Sin. Avarice and Luxuria appear in medieval sculpture, particularly in association with Death, the Devil, and Hell.

This relief may have formed part of a program on a church façade, a placement that would have made it accessible to public viewing. The figures would have reminded the churchgoers of their fate, should greed lead them astray. At about the same time, such reminders of the perils awaiting the avaricious pervaded church architecture and book illustration. Here, the Miser kneels on a cylindrical chest that presumably contains his riches; a bag full of coins hangs around his neck—a noose, of sorts. He is well dressed, and his hair and beard are elegantly coiffed. The baldheaded Devil has a misshapen skull, protruding brow, large up-turned nose, and grotesquely gaping mouth. Most of his body appears to be covered in fur, except for the skeletal part of his right forearm, which terminates in long-nailed claws seemingly ready to grasp the Miser. His left hand sits firmly on the Miser’s head, indicating the man is his. The Miser is clothed, which shows that he has not yet left this life, but the Devil’s presence implies that death may be near. These attributes and positioning suggest this Miser personifies Avarice.