Into the Desert: Demons, Spiritual Focus, and the Eremitic Ideal in Morgan MS M.626

At the turn of the fourteenth century, eremitic life—typified by the third- and fourth-century saints known as the Desert Fathers—was presented as a spiritual ideal not only for mendicant friars who struggled to balance the vita activa with the vita contemplativa, but also for the laity, who were encouraged to withdraw to their own “desert” or to any space where they could connect with God. Art historians have traditionally explored the significance of the Desert Fathers during this period by examining wall and panel paintings, while illustrated copies of the tradition’s fundamental text have gone largely unremarked. This article addresses New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.626, a richly illuminated manuscript of the Vitae patrum, focusing on its abundant illustrations depicting the Desert Fathers’ battles with demons, which is an unusual feature among the illuminated manuscripts of the Vitae patrum from the period. By showing how the Desert Fathers struggled with demons, the Morgan manuscript teaches its viewers to value and exercise the skill of spiritual focus. Its illustrations, which train the viewers in the habits of the mind that make meditation, contemplation, and prayer possible, broaden our understanding of how images participated in the rise of the eremitic ideal, reinforcing and instructing the faithful in the modes of piety exemplified by the Desert Fathers.