An
aureola or
aureole (diminutive of
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
aurea, "golden") is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in
paintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . In art, the term describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay or concrete...
s of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure. In the earliest periods of
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
artArt is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings...
this splendour was confined to the figures of the persons of the
Christian GodheadIn Christianity, the term Godhead is a form of the word "godhood", and denotes the divine character of the Christian God. The term the Godhead may also be used as a title for God, or the Trinity....
, but it was afterwards extended to the
Virgin MaryThe Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to the Blessed Virgin or the Virgin Mary, is a traditional title used by most Christians and most specifically used by liturgical Christians such as Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics, and some others to...
and to several of the
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s.
The aureola, when enveloping the whole
bodyWith regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
, generally appears
ovalIn mathematics, an ellipse is the bounded case of a conic section, the geometric shape that results from cutting a circular conical or cylindrical surface with an oblique plane...
or elliptical in form, but occasionally circular or
quatrefoilThe word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
.
An
aureola or
aureole (diminutive of
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
aurea, "golden") is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in
paintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . In art, the term describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay or concrete...
s of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure. In the earliest periods of
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
artArt is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings...
this splendour was confined to the figures of the persons of the
Christian GodheadIn Christianity, the term Godhead is a form of the word "godhood", and denotes the divine character of the Christian God. The term the Godhead may also be used as a title for God, or the Trinity....
, but it was afterwards extended to the
Virgin MaryThe Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to the Blessed Virgin or the Virgin Mary, is a traditional title used by most Christians and most specifically used by liturgical Christians such as Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics, and some others to...
and to several of the
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s.
The aureola, when enveloping the whole
bodyWith regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
, generally appears
ovalIn mathematics, an ellipse is the bounded case of a conic section, the geometric shape that results from cutting a circular conical or cylindrical surface with an oblique plane...
or elliptical in form, but occasionally circular or
quatrefoilThe word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
. When it appears merely as a luminous
diskIn geometry, a disk is the region in a plane bounded by a circle.A disk is said to be closed or open according to whether or not it contains the circle that constitutes its boundary...
round the head, it is called specifically a
haloA halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
or
nimbus, while the combination of nimbus and aureole is called a
gloryA glory is an optical phenomenon appearing much like an iconic Saint's halo about the head of the observer which is produced by light backscattered towards its source by a cloud of uniformly-sized water droplets...
. The strict distinction between nimbus and aureole is not commonly maintained, and the latter term is most frequently used to denote the radiance round the heads of saints,
angelAngels are spiritual beings found in many religious traditions. They are broadly viewed as messengers of God, sent to do God's tasks. Traditions vary as to the precise nature and role of these messages and tasks...
s or Persons of the
TrinityThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Each of the persons is understood as having the one...
.
This is not to be confused with the specific
motif in art of the Infant
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
appearing to be a source of light in a
NativityThe Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the 4th century. The artistic depictions of the Nativity or birth of Jesus, celebrated at Christmas, are based on the narratives in the Bible, in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and further elaborated by written, oral and...
scene. These depictions derive directly from the accounts given by Saint
Bridget of SwedenBirgitta Birgersdotter was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettine Order after the death of her husband of twenty years...
of her visions, in which she describes seeing this.
The nimbus in Christian art first appeared in the 5th century, but practically the same motif was known from several centuries earlier, in pre-Christian Hellenistic art. It is found in some Persian representations of kings and gods, and appears on coins of the Kushan kings
KanishkaKanishka was a king of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
,
HuvishkaHuvishka was a Kushan emperor from the death of Kanishka until the succession of Vasudeva I about forty years later. His rule was a period of retrenchment and consolidation for the Empire...
and
VasudevaIn Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
, as well as on most representations of the
BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
in
Greco-Buddhist artGreco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, and the Islamic...
from the 1st century AD. Its use has also been traced through the
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
ians to the
ancient GreekAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
s and
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
s, representations of
TrajanMarcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from A. D. 98 until his death in A. D. 117...
(
arch of ConstantineThe Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312...
) and
Antoninus PiusTitus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus , generally known in English as Antoninus Pius was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors and a member of the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
(reverse of a medal) being found with it.
Roman emperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
s were sometimes depicted wearing a radiant
crownA crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art the crown may be shown being offered to those...
, with pointed rays intended to represent the rays of the sun.
In the circular form the nimbus constitutes a natural and even primitive use of the idea of a
crownA crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art the crown may be shown being offered to those...
, modified by an equally simple idea of the emanation of
lightLight is electromagnetic radiation, particularly radiation of a wavelength that is visible to the human eye ....
from the head of a superior being, or by the meteorological phenomenon of a
haloA halo is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. Many are near the sun or moon but others are elsewhere and even in the opposite part of the sky...
. The probability is that all later associations with the symbol refer back to an early astrological origin (compare Mithras), the person so glorified being identified with the
sunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass....
and represented in the sun's image; so the aureole is the
Hvareno of
MazdaismZoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster , after whom the religion is named. The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism, i.e...
. From this early
astrologicalAstrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details can provide information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters. A practitioner of astrology is called an astrologer...
use, the form of "glory" or "nimbus" has been adapted or inherited under new beliefs.
Mandorla
A
Mandorla is a
Vesica PiscisThe Vesica piscis is a shape which is the intersection of two circles with the same radius, intersecting in such a way that the center of each circle lies on the circumference of the other. The name literally means the "bladder of a fish" in Latin...
shaped aureola which surrounds the figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary in traditional Christian art. It is especially used to frame the figure of
Christ in MajestyChrist in Majesty, or Christ in Glory, in Latin Majestas Domini, is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership changes over time and according to...
in early medieval and
Romanesque artRomanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
, as well as
Byzantine artByzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 4th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
of the same periods. The term refers to the
almondThe Almond is a species of tree native to the Middle East. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated nut of this tree...
like shape: "mandorla" means almond nut in Italian. In
iconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism...
s of the
Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
, the mandorla is used to depict sacred moments which transcend time and space, such as the Resurrection,
TransfigurationThe Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported by the Synoptic Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upon a mountain . Jesus became radiant, spoke with Moses and Elijah, and was called "Son" by God. Peter, James, son of Zebedee and John the Apostle were with Jesus upon the mountain. The...
, and the
Dormition of the TheotokosThe Dormition of the Theotokos is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Theotokos . It is celebrated on August 15 The Dormition of the Theotokos ( Koímēsis, often anglicized as Kimisis) is a...
. These mandorla will often be painted in several concentric patterns of color which grow darker as they come close to the center. This is in keeping with the church's use of Apophatic theology, as described by
Dionysius the AreopagitePseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, is the anonymous theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century whose Corpus Areopagiticum was pseudonymously ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, the Athenian convert of St. Paul mentioned in...
and others. As holiness increases, there is no way to depict its brightness, except by darkness.
In medieval Christianity, the mandorla generally represents the Ichthys, the wounds of Jesus, and Mary's birth canal which was the path by which Jesus entered the physical world.
The symbol is also used in non-Christian contexts. In various religions the almond seed has been associated with divine virgin birth. For instance the virgin nymph
NanaAccording to Greek mythology, Nana was a daughter of Phrygian river-god Sangarius, the river Sakarya located in present-day Turkey.She became pregnant when an almond from an almond tree fell on her lap. The almond tree had sprung where the violent and dangerous demon Agdistis was slain...
miraculously conceived
AttisAttis was in ancient mythology the lover of Cybele. He was unfaithful; in revenge she drove him mad, and he castrated himself. His priests were eunuchs.- Origins and mythos :...
by putting a ripe almond in her bosom.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/frazer/gb03400.htm
In a famous romanesque fresco of Christ in Glory at
Sant Climent de TaüllSant Climent de Taüll is a church in the town of Taüll, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. The church was dedicated in the year 1123....
the inscription "Ego Sum Lux Mundi" is incorporated in the Mandorla design.
http://www.xtec.es/~jarrimad/medieval/romanico/taull.htm
The
tympanumTympanum may refer to:* Tympanum , an architectural element located within the arch or pediment* Tympanum , a hearing organ/gland in frogs and toads, a flat red oval on both sides of a frog's head* Tympanum, in biology, the eardrum...
at
ConquesConques is a commune in the Aveyron department in south-western France.-Geography:The village is located at the confluence of the Dourdou and Ouche rivers. It is built on a hillside and has classic narrow Medieval streets. As a result, large vehicles cannot enter the historic town centre but...
has Christ, with one of those beautiful gestures carved in romanesque sculpture, indicate the angels at his feet bearing candlesticks. Six surrounding stars, resembling blossoming flowers, indicate the known planets including the moon. Here the symbolism implies Christ as the Sun.
http://www.handinaute.org/roman.img/Conques02.jpg
In one special case, at Cervon (
NièvreNièvre is a department in the center of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
), Christ is seated surrounded by eight stars, resembling blossoming flowers.
http://homepage.uvt.nl/~s239062/EDIFICES/cervon/CERVONtim.JPG At Conques the flowers are six-petalled. At Cervon, where the almond motif is repeated in the rim of the mandorla, they are five-petalled, as are almond flowers -the first flowers to appear at the end of winter, even before the leaves of the almond tree. Here one is tempted to seek for reference in the symbolism of the nine branched
ChanukkiyahThe Hanukkah Menorah is, strictly speaking, an eight-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, as opposed to the seven-branched menorah used in the ancient Temple or as a symbol...
candelabrum. It should be remembered that in the XII century a great school of
JudaicJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
thought radiated from
NarbonneNarbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon région. It lies from Paris in the Aude département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
, coinciding with the origins of the
KabbalahKabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation...
. Furthermore, at Cervon the eight star/flower only is six petalled: the Root of David, the Morningstar, mentioned at the close of
Book of RevelationThe Book of Revelation, also called the Revelation of St. John, the Apocalypse of John, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ, is the last book of the New Testament. It may be shortened to Revelation but never Revelations...
(22:16)
http://www.romanes.com/Cervon/Saint_Barthelemy_de_Cervon_0011.html ( In one of the oldest manuscripts of the complete
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic...
, the
Leningrad CodexThe Leningrad Codex is one of the oldest manuscripts of the complete Hebrew Bible produced according to the Tiberian mesorah; it is dated 1008 according to its colophon...
, one finds the
Star of DavidThe Star of David or Shield of David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.It is named after King David of ancient Israel; and its earliest...
imbedded in an octagon )
In the symbolism of Hildegarde von Bingen the mandorla refers to the
CosmosIn its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek term κόσμος meaning "order, orderly arrangement, ornaments," and is the antithetical concept of chaos. Today the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The words cosmetics and...
.
See also
- Aura
In parapsychology and many forms of spiritual practice, an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation supposedly surrounding a person or object that some people are claimed to be capable of observing by means of their third eye...
- Halo
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
- Crown of Immortality
The Crown of Immortality is a literary and religious metaphor traditionally represented in art first as a laurel wreath and later as a symbolic circle of stars...
- Glory (optical phenomenon)
A glory is an optical phenomenon appearing much like an iconic Saint's halo about the head of the observer which is produced by light backscattered towards its source by a cloud of uniformly-sized water droplets...
- Heiligenschein
Heiligenschein is an optical phenomenon which creates a bright spot around the shadow of the viewer's head. It is created when the surface on which the shadow falls has special optical characteristics. Dewy grass is known to exhibit these characteristics, and creates a Heiligenschein...