Holy Kinship
Encyclopedia
Holy Kinship was a popular theme in religious art throughout Germany
and the Low Countries
, especially during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Holy Kin were the extended family of Jesus
descended from his maternal grandmother St. Anne. According to this tradition, St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, was grandmother not just to Jesus but also to five of the twelve apostles: John the Evangelist
, James the Greater, James the Less
, Simon
and Jude
. These apostles, together with John the Baptist
, were all cousins of Jesus. The genealogy holds that Anne’s sister, Hismeria (or Esmeria), was the mother of John the Baptist’s mother Elizabeth
and of a second child, Eliud, who was in turn the grandfather of St. Servatius.
The basis for this family tree rests upon the trinubium, the tradition that Anne had married three times. The exact lineage, as laid out in Jacobus de Voragine’s
Golden Legend
(Latin: Legenda Aurea), runs thus:
The first theologian to set forth the concept of the trinubium was Haymo of Halberstadt, in his Historiae sacrae epitome, in which he outlined the family tree described above.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, especially during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Holy Kin were the extended family of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
descended from his maternal grandmother St. Anne. According to this tradition, St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, was grandmother not just to Jesus but also to five of the twelve apostles: John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
, James the Greater, James the Less
James the Less
James the Less is a figure of early Christianity. He is also called "the minor", "the little", "the lesser", or "the younger", according to translation. He is often confused with James the Great and may or may not be James the Just.- Sources :...
, Simon
Simon (brother of Jesus)
Simon was the brother of Jesus in the New Testament. It is implied that his mother was Mary, and his other brothers were James the Just, Joses and Jude....
and Jude
Jude, brother of Jesus
Jude was the brother of Jesus, according to the New Testament. He is traditionally identified as the author of the Epistle of Jude, a short epistle which is reckoned among the seven General epistles of the New Testament and considered canonical by Christians.-Sources: and write of Jesus family:...
. These apostles, together with John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, were all cousins of Jesus. The genealogy holds that Anne’s sister, Hismeria (or Esmeria), was the mother of John the Baptist’s mother Elizabeth
Elizabeth (Biblical person)
Elizabeth is also spelled Elisabeth or Elisheva...
and of a second child, Eliud, who was in turn the grandfather of St. Servatius.
The basis for this family tree rests upon the trinubium, the tradition that Anne had married three times. The exact lineage, as laid out in Jacobus de Voragine’s
Jacobus de Voragine
Blessed Jacobus de Varagine or Voragine was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of Legenda Aurea, the Golden Legend, a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the medieval church that was one of the most popular...
Golden Legend
Golden Legend
The Golden Legend is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that became a late medieval bestseller. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived, compared to twenty or so of its nearest rivals...
(Latin: Legenda Aurea), runs thus:
- Anna solet dici tres concepisse Marias,
- Quas genuere viri Joachim, Cleophas, Salomeque.
- Has duxere viri Joseph, Alpheus, Zebedeus.
- Prima parit Christum, Jacobum secunda minorem,
- Et Joseph justum peperit cum Simone Judam,
- Tertia majorem Jacobum volucremque Johannem.
The first theologian to set forth the concept of the trinubium was Haymo of Halberstadt, in his Historiae sacrae epitome, in which he outlined the family tree described above.