Bibliotheca Hertziana [Hrsg.]; Bruhns, Leo [Gefeierte Pers.]; Wolff Metternich, Franz [Gefeierte Pers.]; Schudt, Ludwig [Gefeierte Pers.]: Miscellanea Bibliothecae Hertzianae: zu Ehren von Leo Bruhns, Franz Graf Wolff Metternich, Ludwig Schudt (Römische Forschungen der Bibliotheca Hertziana, München: Schroll, 1961)

44 Knut Berg. The early Iconography of the Crowning with Thorns
It is of course impossible to be sure of the composition of these miniatures. The first one is clearly the
Crowning with Thorns, with a soldier placing the Crown on His head. The second is more problematic.
It is unlikely to be the Ecce Homo, because in that connection Christ never is hailed as King of the Jews.
According to Matthew and Mark Christ is hailed as King of the Jews only once, namely by the soldiers
when they were mocking Him after they had crowned Him. But according to John He was hailed as King
also a second time, when Pilate hands Christ over to the Jews saying: Behold your King. It is impossible
to decide if the composition of this scene is according to the Ecce Homo scene of the Codex Egberti, to
the St. Augustine type or according to the Crowning with Thorns in later Byzantine manuscripts. But
the inscription clearly indicates that Christ would be represented wearing the Crown of Thorns.
As the manuscript was copied in the ninth Century, it was most likely pre-iconoclastic. It can thus be
taken as an additional proof that in Early Christian manuscripts there existed a cycle of illustrations
showing Christ Crowned with Thorns twice. The first time is shown the actual crowning, the Coronatio,
and the second time, the Acclamatio, with Christ wearing the Crown and the soldiers saluting Him:
Ave rex Judaeorum.