*3.1. Mary Mediator at the Last Judgment*

From early medieval times, the Byzantines spread the model of the *Deësis* or *Deisis* (a Greek word meaning "prayer", "supplication"), in which Christ almost always majestically enthroned as Pantocrator with a book in his left hand and blessing with his right, appears flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist, both in an attitude of humble supplication. This successful Byzantine model, which in the East took form above all in mosaics, frescoes, and ivory reliefs, was adopted in the West for the Last Judgment scenes, frequently substituting Saint John the Baptist for Saint John the Evangelist. In addition, in Europe, this triple composition (Christ Pantocrator, Mary, and John the Evangelist) was frequently placed on the tympanum of some portal (almost always the central one on the main façade) of temples as the essential nucleus of the staging of the Last Judgment. In any case, the scene of the Last Judgment, with the pleading figures of Mary and John the Evangelist, was also developed in some paintings, one of which we will analyze below.

The tympanum of the central bay of the south transept of Chartres Cathedral, c. 1220–30 (Figure 1), represents the Last Judgment, with Christ half-naked (to show his wounds) enthroned between the Virgin and John the Evangelist, both seated. Above and to the sides of the three protagonists, several angels carry the eight instruments or insignia of the Passion (*Arma Christi*). Under this central set, on the lintel of the door, the archangel Saint Michael weighs the souls on the balance scale—an issue known as the *psychostasis*, of clear origin from Pharaonic Egypt—while to his right (on the left side of the lintel) the blessed head towards Heaven. To their left (on the right of the lintel), the damned are swallowed by the jaws of Leviathan/hell.

**Figure 1.** Tympanum of the central bay of south porch of Chartres Cathedral, c.1220–30.

As a perfect complement to the analyzed tympanum, the mullion of this portal shows a prominent figure of Christ dressed, carrying a book in his left hand and an attitude of blessing with his right, similar to a standing Pantocrator.

It is interesting to highlight in this Last Judgment of Chartres—a common fact for all similar scenes in many other temples—the gesture of Mary in an attitude of begging her divine Son to treat those who are going to be judged with mercy. That way, she manifests herself as the Virgin of Mercy, the Mediatrix, and the Intercessor in favor of humankind, as many of the liturgical hymns we exposed in the preceding section proclaim.

The tympanum of the Coroneria Portico, c. 1245–1257, on the north façade of Burgos Cathedral (Figure 2), exhibits a narrative-compositional structure quite similar to that of the Chartres tympanum just analyzed. At the top of this tympanum of the Coroneria, you can see the traditional scene of the *Deisis*, with Mary and John the Evangelist bowing with their hands together in prayer before the enthroned Pantocrator to implore his clemency for those in evaluation at the Last Judgment. Additionally, here the half-naked Supreme Judge appears with his arms raised, while above and on both sides of the trio of protagonists, several angels hold the insignia of the Passion. Under the leading group, the archangel Michael weighs the souls of the ones to be judged on a balance scale, which some demons to his left (to our right) try to unbalance, pushing down the pan-holder of sins so that it weighs more than the pan-holder with the good deeds of the one who is being judged. Other devils in the right sector of the strip take the damned to Hell, while to the right of the archangel (on the left of the composition), the blessed enter Heaven, symbolized by a small house with an open door. Once again, Mary shows in this scene of the Last Judgment her attitude of mercy in favor of those subjected to the Last Judgment and her power of mediation and intercession before the Supreme Judge, inducing his clemency and thus facilitating the eternal salvation of the faithful.

**Figure 2.** Tympanum of the Coroneria Portico, c. 1245–1257. North façade of the Burgos Cathedral.

Hans Memling in *The Last Judgement*, c. 1466–73 from the National Museum of Gda ´nsk in Poland (Figure 3), offers a highly complex representation of the subject. In the central panel, the Pantocrator, flanked by the twelve seated apostles, appears enthroned on a rainbow, a symbol of Heaven, and with his feet on a sphere, a symbol of the created world. In this majestic pose, Christ raises his right hand towards a lily stem, a symbol of eternal salvation. He lowers his left arm as a sign of deciding the condemnation of the reprobate, a condemnation also symbolized by the sword that levitates to the left of his head. Kneeling and with hands joined to the right of Christ (to the left of the painting), the Virgin begs the Supreme Judge for mercy, while to the left of Christ, Saint John the Baptist, also kneeling and dressed in a camel skin, shows with both hands, as Precursor, the Messiah. Under the leading group presided over by the Pantocrator in Heaven, on the earthly plane, the archangel Michael, clad in armor as head of the armies of angels, weighs with his balance scale the souls of the just resurrected, who, completely naked, have emerged from their graves across the landscape. In the left wing of the triptych, to the right of the divine Judge, the blessed, received by Saint Peter in the foreground, go up to Heaven, represented by a great Gothic cathedral full of angels. In the right wing of the triptych, to the left of Christ, the convicts fall in disorder into Hell, represented by a den full of fire.

**Figure 3.** Hans Memling, *The Last Judgement (Triptych)*, c. 1466–73. National Museum of Gda ´nsk (Poland).
