David and Goliath: Comparing Medieval Manuscript and Modern Graphic Novel

The biblical story of David and Goliath epitomizes the triumph of the underdog. The story attests to the strength of the Israelites and foretells David's power, as he eventually becomes King of Israel. A medieval manuscript known as the Bible of Stephen Harding depicts David's heroic life and, interestingly, illustrates the battle between David and Goliath in the form of a comic strip. Goliath appears in only a few verses in the Old Testament and two panels in the Bible of Stephen Harding. He is also the focus of the contemporary graphic novel, Goliath by Tom Gauld, where Gauld applies a character trait to Goliath completely unlike the original: passiveness. Comparatively analysing both Gould's graphic novel and the medieval manuscript, which I studied in person in Dijon in France over the summer of 2024, I show the different stylistic choices, art styles, and tones both artists used to narrate different stories to their intended audiences. Harding sought to preserve the biblical story, and Gauld strove to rewrite it. Despite this difference, what remains similar is that both stories reach persuasiveness by combining text and image and encourage their readers to open their minds to their biases. Harding's graphic narration sheds light on the issues in medieval manuscripts at a time where writers would impose superfluous details to the biblical stories and threaten the original meaning. Gauld visualizes the story such that it points out the biases in biblical stories and the importance of considering alternate perspectives. Both of these authors' intentions speak to the current state of society as people struggle to find certain meaning in stories that guide their worldviews. Now more than ever, my comparison between a medieval and a modern visual narration of David and Goliath highlights how different meanings can emerge from the same text and urge us to consider the relationship between the traditional perspectives instilled in us and the new perspectives entering our society and minds.