Didron Adolphe Napoléon, Stokes Margaret. Christian Iconography or the history of Christian art in the Middle Ages. V. 2: The Trinity. Angels. Devils. Death. The soul. The Christian scheme. Appendices

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s
CHEISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY;
os,
THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN ART
IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
BY THE LATE
ADOLPHE NAPOLEON DIDRON.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY E. J. MILLINGTON, AND COMPLETED
WITH ADDITIONS AND APPENDICES
MARGARET STOKES.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
Vol. II.
THE TRINITY: ANGELS: DEVILS: DEATH: THE SOUL: THE CHRISTIAN SCHEME!
APPENDICES.
WITS NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS,
LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STREET,
COVENT GARDEN.
1891.
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
PAGE
The Trinity 1
History op the Doctrine of the Trinity . . 1
Definition of the Divine Persons .... 6
Manifestations of the Trinity 13
Worship of the Trinity 28
Chronological Iconography of the Trinity . . 34
Attributes of the Trinity ...... G3
Iconography of Angels ....... 85
Iconography of Devils 109
Iconography of Death . .153
Iconography of the Soul .... 173
Iconography of the Christian Scheme . . .188
MythologicalLegendsintheSpeculumHuman*Salvationis 211-
Influence of the Drama on Iconography .... 233
Medieval Art and the Antique 244
Appendix I.: Additional Notes ...... 255
Appendix II.: 'Byzantine Guide to Painting' . . . 265
Appesdix III.: Text of the Biblia Pauperum . . . 403
Descriptive List of Illustrations in Vols. I. and II. . 431
Index 440

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS TO VOL. II.
PAGK
As Ansel Assisting the Creator 14
The Trinity in combat with Behemoth and Leviathan . 17
The Trinity at the Baptism op Christ .... 19
The Trinity op Evil 22
The Trinity op Absolute Evil 23
Figure op Time with Three Faces 25
The Trinity in Three Human Persons op identicalFigure 42
The Three Divine Persons fused one into the other . 44
The Trinity under the Form op Three Circles. . . 46
The Divine Triplicity, contained within the Unity . . 51
The Three Faces op the Trinity on one single Head and
one single body 53
The Three Divine Faces with two Eyes and one single.
Body 57
The Divine Persons distinct 64
The Holy Ghostdescendingpromthe Fatheruponthe Son 69
The Holy Ghost proceedingprom theFatherand the Son,
and re-ascending prom the Son to the Father . . 70
The Holy Ghost, not proceeding either from the Father
or the Son 72
The Three Divine Heads within a single Triangle . . 73
The Trinity in One God supporting the World. . . 76
The Trinity in one single God holding the Balances and
the Compasses 78
The Trdsity in Human Form with Cruciform Nimbus and
Aureole of Flame 81
Seraph of St. Francis 90
Thrones: Fiery Two-Winged Wheels..... 91
Sculptured Angel, Chartres, Thirteenth Century . . 92
Angels (Piero della Francesca) 93
Angel without Feet or Legs 94
Angel of the Ascension ....... 95
vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Six-winged Angel holding Lance,Wings grossedon Breast,
ARRAYED IN ROBE AND MANTLE . 97
Angels from Cathedral of Chartres. 100, 101, 102
St. John the Baptist . 108
Lucifer before the Fall .... . 109
Fall of Lucifer...... . 111,112
Fodr-headed Demon ..... . 113
Personification of Eiver .... . 115
Fire Demon. ...... . 117
Satan in Missal of Poitiers . 119
Devil in Campo Santo, Pisa . 120
Persian Devil ." 122
Egyptian Devil . 123
Turkish Devil . 124
Satan with Serpent Horns. . 125
The Abyss ....... . 127
Christ tempted ...... . 128
Temptation of St. Paphnctius . . 129
St. Juliana and the Devil. . 130
Demons on the Tomb of Dagobert . 131
Chartres: the Demon in Man . 133
The Demon as Satyr ..... . 134
Beast with Seven Heads .... . 137
The Devil as Serpent .... . 139
The Temptation of Adam and Eve . 140
Vampire, Campo Santo, Pisa . 141
Demon on tiie Casque of Goliath . 142
Diabolism, Himorocs Figures of. . 143,144
Exorcism ..... . 145
Seal of Lucifer ...... . 147
Writing of Asmodeus ..... . 148
Impiety: Amiens Cathedral . 149
Covetousness: Amiens Cathedral . 150
Thanatos . 154
Triumph of Death ..... 156, 160, 161
Death as a Woman ..... . 158, 159
Death as a Demon ..... . 162
Wicked Soul cast into Hell . 164
Satan of Job, Campo Santo,Pisa . 165
The Ladder of the Soul .... . 167
Death as a Crowned Skeleton on Tomb . . 169
Death as Ecce Homo ..... . 169
Death and the Fool . 170
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. vii
PAGE
The Dance of Death ........ 171
Death as a Skeleton ........ 172
Psyche in despair, seated on a Rock and bewailing the
Flight of Cupid ........ 174
The Butterfly and the Soul . . . . . 175, 176
Martyrdom of St. Stephen: Sculpture on Porch of St.
Trophimus at Arles ....... 177
Soul borne to Heaven by Angels ..... 178
Weighing of Souls in the Balance .... 179, 180
Hermes lifting the Soul from the Shades . . . 181
Hermes leading a Soul to Charon . . . .181
St. Michael and the Dragon .... 182, 184, 185
Adoration of the Cross 196
Descent of Christ into Hell ...... 198
Samson and the Lion 198
David slaying Goliath 198
Christ and the Human-headed Serpent .... 201
Hercules and the Human-headed Hydra .... 202
Daniel among Lions; Habbakkuk and the Angel . . 210
The Legend of the Ostrich 215
The Souls of the Martyrs Dionysius, Kusticus, and Eleu-
thertos appear as Doves ...... 239
Bas-relief at Notre Dame, Paris • . • . . 241

CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY.
THE TEINITY.
The three Divine Persons are merged in one single God,
just as thethreeimages representing them combine to form
one single group. The doctrines of our holy faith, and the
works of art—Theology and Iconography—walk hand in
hand, the one in describing, the other in pourtraying the
Trinity. The three Persons hare hitherto been each con
sidered separately. It now remains only to exhibit them
groupedtogether,unitedbetweenthemselves,andrepresented
as Trinities.
HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY.
The doctrine of the Trinity, which had been almost
entirelyunknowntothePagans,andbutimperfectlyrevealed
tothe Jewishrace, wasmadeclearly andcompletelymanifest
from the very earliest origin of Christianity. It unfolded
itself in all its extent,and with all the various and import
ant resultsconnectedwith it, duringthe successivecenturies,
ofthe Christian era, and conformablywith them. Consider
able research and enquiry has been made as to the ideas
entertained by Pagans on the subjectofthe Trinity, and the
amount of knowledge possessed by them of the unity of
the divine essence, and the triplicity of persons, or hypo
stases. Plato appears to have foreseen the Christian doc
trine, but only as objects perceived at a distance, which the
eyecanscarcely reach,orseizesbutimperfectly. Thedoctrine
attributed to that Greek philosopher, and which seems
rather to be deducible from his general theory, than openly
vol.n. B
2 CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY.
avowed by himself, is that the divine triplicity ought to be
called Goodness, Intelligence, and the Soul or cause of
all things.*
The Platonists, and the philosophers of the school of
Alexandria in particular, delighted in scrutinising, eluci
dating, filling up, and amplifying beyond measure, the idea
ofthe master. Plotinus and Longinus,who are followed by
Jamblichus and Porphyry, admit one single God in three
persons; butNumeriusinsists uponthree Gods. Numerius
acknowledges theFather, the Creator, and the World.f He
seems to make of each of these three Gods a trinity of
Idealism, Intelligence, and Power. Amelius and Theodore
also discover three Trinities in that of Plato, and pretend
that there are three Goodnesses, three Intelligences, three
Souls.J Seneca seems to approximate to the doctrine of
Christianityin a curious passageofhis writings, in which he
names, as primal cause of every event, first—God, who can
doallthings;next—incorporealReason,bywhichthegreatest
works are performed; lastly—the Divine Spirit circulating
throughout everything. To these three moving causes he
adds Fatality or Destiny, thatis tosay, the reciprocalunion
ofthese causes and theirmutual combination.§
Comparing this text with what Greek mythologyteaches
in reference to the three great divinities, who, the offspring
ofone common Father, are the supreme heads of the world
* "Tbed,6vovs,or,6K6yos,f)ifnixV Se"theEtudes%wrlaTheodiciede
Platonetd'Arktote,parM.Jules Simon,pp. 148, 151, 175. In the Greek
paintings of Mount Athos, the philosopher Plato is constantly represented
amongstthenumberofthosePaganswhohadaknowledge,althoughimperfect,
ofthetruth. Heisanoldman,withalongbeard,andappearstobeuttering
thefollowingwords,whicharepainted on a rouleauthat he holdsin hisleft
hand: "The old isnewand thenewold,the Fatherisin the Son,and the
Son is in the Father. The Unityis divided into three, and the Trinity
re-unitedinone." ThelanguageisnotliterallythatoftheGreekphilosopher,
butitisattributed to him byByzantin?artistsaspresentingtheresultof his
doctrine.
+ "rioT^p,iroiTjr^s,irohjjua."
J See a thesis in M.Jules Simon, entitled Commentaire da Timie de
Platon,parProclus,p. 105.
§ "Id actum est, mihi crede,ah illo, quisquisformator universifuit,sive
ille DEUS est,potensomnium ; siveincorporalisRATIO,ingentiumoperum
artifex; sivedivinusSP1RITUS,peromniamaxima,minimaetaequaliinten-
tionediffusus; sive FATUM et immutabili9 causarum intersecohsrentium
series."—Ap.Senecam,De ComolationeadHelviam,cap.viii.
HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. 3
which they share between them, it mustbe confessed that
the doctrine of the Trinity was at least vaguely known to
the Pagans. In fact, amongst the Hindoos, a divine "Tri-
mourti" directs all the phenomena of the Universe.*
Amongst the Greeks, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto reign
upon the three different stages composing the edifice of the
world.
At the summit, in the highest region of the air, hovers
Jupiter, the king of heaven; in the centre Neptune, com
mandingthe sea; at the foot, Pluto governs earth and hell,
which form his covering. They are all three sons of one
single parent, of the old Saturn, himself the son of Ccelus
and Terra. When any Greek deity associates in himself
universal functions, he generally has three different names.
Thus the femininepower, correspondingwiththethree male
divinities who have just been named, is called in heaven
Luna, Diana on the earth, Hecate or Proserpine in
hell.
The ancients, those more especiallywho were scholars of
Pythagoras, and scrutators of celestial arithmetic, delighted
to repeatthat Godregardedwith favour an uneven number,
andmore particularly the numberthree. Thenumberthree,
which can be divided only by itself, or by the unit, was the
image ofGod, who can be compared only with himself,that
is to saywith the absolute Unity. The Pagans seem to
have imagined that nothing couldbecomplete unless itwere
capable of being divided by three, and thus presenting
itself to the mind under a threefold aspect; beauty was
symbolised by the three Graces; life, by the three Fates;
justice by the three Judges; and vengeance by the three
Eumenides. Any combination whatever, in use among the
Greeks, willbe found to be divisible into three members;
thus every column has a basement on which the shaft is
fixed, andthe shaft againissurmounted by a capital.
The above ideas concerning numbers, and the mysterious
properties of the number three, prevailed during the entire
' The Hindoo "Trimourti" is composedof Brahma,Siva,and Vishnoo.
Brahmapresidesovertheearth,andisthecreativegod; Sivaisthedestructive
god,andreignsoverfire; toVishnoo,theconservativegod,belongstheempire
of thewater,uponwhich hemoves.—M.Guignaut,ReligionsdePAntiquM,
vol.i.,c. 2and3.
B2