In the previous five parts of this series (part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4; part 5), we have seen images from an illuminated manuscript of the 11th century known as the Saint-Sever Beatus, produced at the abbey of Saint-Sever in southwestern France. The primary text which it illustrates, and for which it is named, is a commentary on the book of the Apocalypse written by St Beatus of Liébana, a monk who lived in northern Spain in the 8th century. Nearly thirty copies of this text survive, and the repertoire of images that accompany it are believed to have originated with Beatus himself. One line of the manuscript tradition was also expanded to include St Jerome’s commentary on the book of Daniel, which is illustrated by pictures in a similar vein to those in the Apocalypse commentary although simpler and fewer. As noted below in their respective places, two of these images are repeated on a folio within the Apocalypse commentary, but I have been unable to find any information about why was done.
Saturday, December 07, 2024
The Saint-Sever Beatus (Part 6): St Jerome’s Commentary on Daniel
Gregory DiPippoA Boy-Bishop for the Feast of St Nicholas
Gregory DiPippoFriday, December 06, 2024
Fra Angelico’s Altarpiece of St Nicolas
Gregory DiPippoThe Dominican Order has always had a strong devotion to St Nicholas, partly because in the high Middle Ages, everybody had a strong devotion to St Nicholas; as the late Fr Hunwicke put it so well, his portfolio of patronages was like that of a Renaissance cardinal. But the Dominicans also have a special attachment to him because one of their very first churches, in the city of Bologna, was originally dedicated to him, although it is now named for their founder, who died there, and whose tomb is in one of the church’s side-chapels.
Around the year 1438, the Dominican friar and painter Fra Angelico was commissioned by his order to make an altarpiece of St Nicholas for a chapel dedicated to him within their church in the Umbrian city of Perugia. Like countless other works of that era, it was dismantled, and the pieces dispersed, at the beginning of the 19th century, entailing also the loss of the original frame. In 1915, however, the panels was reassembled in a modern recreation of an appropriately Gothic frame, with copies of the first two sections of the predella, the originals of which are in the Vatican Museums. The altarpiece is now in the National Gallery of Umbria in Perugia, one of the best museums in all of Italy.In the central section, a classic Angelico Madonna and Child with Angels. The Virgin is dressed with a blue garment over a red one, to symbolize the royal dignity which is added to her human nature by becoming the Mother of God. The angels surrounding them are holding red and white flowers, which are also seen in the vases at Her feet, white to symbolize purity, and red the Passion.
On the left, Saints Dominic and Nicholas; the three bags of money from the story of the dowries which made Nicholas into Santa Claus are at his feet on the right, but not very noticeable. Note the apparel on his alb, which was pretty much standard in that era; the border of his cope is decorated with the faces of angels.
To the right of the central panel, Ss John the Baptist and Catherine of Alexandria; the latter, as a patron Saint of scholars and philosophers, is also a major patron of the Dominican Order. Her traditional legend says that she was of noble lineage, so, in contrast to the Virgin Mary, her blue garment is covered by a red one, to symbolize that her martyrdom is more important.
The Conglorified Life-Maker
Michael P. FoleyLost in Translation #114
In the Niceno-Constantinople Creed, the Holy Spirit is identified in a somewhat curious manner:
Καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ Κύριον, τὸ ζῳοποιόν,Which in Latin is:
Et in Spíritum Sanctum, Dóminum et vivificantemAnd which I translate as :
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Life-maker.I translate vivificans as “Life-Maker” rather than the more common “Giver of Life” for two reasons. First, the verb vivifico etymologically means to make life: vivus+facio. Second, as we have seen before, making and being made are important themes in the Creed. The Father is the Maker of Heaven and earth, the Son is He through whom all things are made, and now we learn that the Holy Spirit is the Maker of life. Calling the Holy Spirit a Life-Maker is a way of affirming His full and equal divinity.
We can also attribute another line of the Creed, simul adoratur et conglorificatur, to Basil’s fight with the Spirit-fighters. The latter somehow got it into their heads that no glory should not be attributed to the Holy Spirit. Basil easily refuted their argument by noting all the places in the Scriptures that even creatures are given glory and then asking them:
While so many are being glorified, do you wish the Spirit alone to be without glory? “The dispensation of the Spirit,” Scripture says, “comes in glory.” How, then, is He unworthy of being glorified? According to the Psalmist, great is the glory of the just, but according to you, the glory of the Spirit is nothing. How, then, is there not an evident danger that from such words they bring inevitable sins from themselves? If the man who is saved by works of righteousness glorifies even those who fear the Lord, he would not defraud the Spirit of the glory that is owed to Him. [3]The Creed is one of the ways that we do not defraud the Spirit of the glory that is owed Him.
Posted Friday, December 06, 2024
Labels: creed, Holy Spirit, Lost in Translation series, Michael Foley
Thursday, December 05, 2024
The Feast of St Sabbas
Gregory DiPippoAn aerial view of the lavra. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by Andrew Shiva, CC BY-SA 4.0) |
As in many of Rome’s older churches, the colonnade of the nave is made of “spolia”, i.e., materials taken from various ruins; hence the complete lack of uniformity. The Annunciation above the apse was painted in the mid-15th century, when the monastery became the residence of Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini, a nephew of Pope Pius II, and the future Pius III, who reigned for 3 weeks in September and October of 1503.
The Crucifixion scene over the throne at the back is the only part of the apsidal decoration that has not been badly restored. Nevertheless, the effect of the painted apse as a whole remains impressive.
Wednesday, December 04, 2024
The Feast of St Barbara
Gregory DiPippo
An altarpiece painted for the church of St Barbara in Wrocław, Poland, by Wilhelm Kalteysen (1420-96), dated 1447, now in the National Museum in Warsaw. In the central panel, St Barbara is shown holding her tower, accompanied by Ss Felix and Adauctus. Upper left panel: her father discovers that Barbara has broken his idols; lower left: the torments of St Barbara; upper right, she flees from her father; lower right, she is stripped of her garments, but clothed by an angel. (Public domain image from Wikipedia.)
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Dioscorus, learning upon his return of his daughter’s conversion and refusal to marry, flew into a rage, and attempted to strike her with a sword. In one version of the story, Barbara fled from her father, and as she ran up a hill, was temporarily hidden from him in a cave which miraculously opened on it, whence her patronage of miners. There follow various accounts of the torments to which she was then subjected, her trial before a judge, and her eventual beheading by her own father’s hand. As Dioscorus walked away from the site of the execution, “fire fallen from heaven, by the just vengeance of God, so consumed (him) that there remained of him not even a tiny bit of dust.” From this last detail comes St Barbara’s role as protectress against lightning and thunder, and her patronage of military gunners, etc.
St Barbara crushing her father, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, ca 1471, from the parish church of St Andrew in Cercina, Italy.
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“Almighty and merciful God, who didst adorn Thy Saints George, Blase, Erasmus, Pantaleon, Vitus, Christopher, Denys, Cyriacus, Acacius, Eustace, Giles, Margaret, Barbara and Catherine with special privileges above all others, so that all who in their necessities implore their help, according to the grace of Thy promise, may attain the salutary effect of their pleading: grant us, we beseech Thee, forgiveness of our sins, and with their merits interceding, deliver us from all adversities, and kindly hear our prayers.”
The words “according to the grace of Thy promise” refer to the tradition that during their passion, each of these Saints received a promise from God that their intercession would be exceptionally effective on behalf of those who honored them.
In the 1501 Breviary according to the Use of Bamberg, before St Barbara is killed, she prays, “Lord Jesus Christ, Whom all things obey, Whose will nothing resisteth: grant me this petition, that if anyone shall remember my name and honor the day of my passion, Thou remember not his sins on the day of judgment, and be merciful to those who love the memory of me, and do Thou set in peace the end of the life of those that love me.” To this, a voice from heaven replies, “Come, my dearest, rest in the chambers of My Father; and concerning that which thou hast asked, it is given to thee.” The proper Collect of her office and Mass also refers to this: “We ask, o Lord, our God, that the glorious intercession of the blessed Barbara, Thy Virgin and Martyr, may protect us from every adversity of mind and body; so that through her intervention, we may merit before departing from this life to receive with sincere faith and a pure confession the most glorious Sacrament of the all-holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The altarpiece of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, from the now-suppressed Heilbronn Abbey in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany, 1498.
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However, her feast continued to be kept on many locals calendars; for example, before the reform of 1911, it was included on the calendars of both Carmelite Orders, with the Collect given above. In the post-Conciliar reform, her feast is completely suppressed from the General Calendar, but she may still be celebrated where she is honored as a patron Saint. Some years ago, a friend of mine attended Mass on her feast day in her church in the town of Villasalto, Sardinia. As the preacher recounted the manner of the Saint’s death, killed by her own father, an elderly woman shouted out in Sardinian, “Indignu – disgraceful!”
Another Look Inside the Restored Notre-Dame de Paris
Gregory DiPippoFollowing up on a post which I made last Friday about the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, the American news program 60 Minutes posted an interesting video on the same subject two days ago. I thought it would be worth sharing because it is longer than the French one in my other post, and shows not just the final results, but also tells us a good amount about the restoration process, including some views of murals in the side chapels (predominantly the work of the last great restoration, in the 19th century.) A good portion of it involves an interview with the French president Emmanuel Macron, who, from what I have seen, really deserves credit for pushing to make sure that the restoration would be faithful to the traditional architectural form and decorative style of building, within certain inevitable limits. (I have just read an article this morning that the French government is currently spiraling through a major political crisis; some of what Mr Macron says towards the end of this may seem rather self-serving, and should perhaps be considered in light of that fact. Politicus politicat...)
What ever else might be said about the role which the French government has had in this project, one can only thank God that most of it was not in the hands of the people who thought that these vesselsSpeaking of relics, by the way, today, December 4th, is the day when the church of Paris originally celebrated a feast called “Susceptio Reliquiarum – the Receiving of the Relics”, instituted in 1194 to commemorate some of Notre-Dame’s most significant relics. As I have described in a previous article, this feast was later transformed into a general commemoration of all relics, and moved to the octave day of All Saints. The Crown of Thorns, however, was not among those that were originally celebrated by this feast, since it was acquired later, in the 13th century, by St Louis IX, and belonged not to Notre-Dame, but to the famously magnificent chapel which he built to house it, the Sainte-Chapelle.
St Louis IX receiving the relics of the Crown of Thorns, the Holy Lance, a part of the True Cross, and others from Constantinople, as depicted in a manuscript of the 14th century (1332-50), now in the British Library. (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.) |
Tuesday, December 03, 2024
The Saint-Sever Beatus: An Illustrated Commentary on the Apocalypse (Part 5)
Gregory DiPippoThis is the fifth part of our series on the Saint-Sever Beatus, an illuminated manuscript of the 11th century produced at the abbey of Saint-Sever in southwestern France. The primary text which it illustrates, and for which it is named, is a commentary on the book of the Apocalypse written by Saint Beatus of Liébana, a monk who lived in northern Spain in the 8th century; for further details, see part 1. This article completes the book with the illustrations from the last six chapters of the Apocalypse, 17 to 22. The sixth and final post will give the images from the second text in the book, St Jerome’s commentary on the prophet Daniel.
In the manuscript, this picture of the woman sitting on the scarlet beast (Apocalypse 17, 3) seems to have been displaced from its original location; it is placed between the opening chapter of the book and the letters to the churches in chapters 2-3. The artist has taken great liberty with the beast, whom St John says “seven heads and ten horns.”Chapter 17, 12: “And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but shall receive power as kings one hour after the beast.”
Chapter 17, 14: “These shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because he is Lord of lords, and King of kings...” In the middle band is the slaying of the false prophet, and in the lower band, of the beast, the devil and the dragon.
Chapter 18, 9-10: “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication, and lived in delicacies with her, shall weep, and bewail themselves over (Babylon), when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for fear of her torments, saying, ‘Alas! alas! that great city Babylon, that mighty city: for in one hour is thy judgment come.’ ”
Chapter 18, 21: “And a mighty angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, ‘With such violence as this shall Babylon, that great city, be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.’ ”
A Choral Concert Featuring Rediscovered Early Eastern and Western Polyphony
David ClaytonPrinceton Theological Seminary Chapel, Princeton, New Jersey, December 5th, 8 pm: non-ticketed, entrance is free.
In what promises to be a wonderful concert, the choral group Demestvo will present “Lost Polyphonies,” a program showcasing the earliest traditions of vocal polyphony from Europe, performed alongside contemporary compositions that engage with these chant traditions. The concert will feature music from Russia, Georgia, Byzantium, France, and England, including world premieres of newly transcribed chants that have not been heard for over 300 years. Alongside these pieces, Demestvo and guest artists will perform new works by Princeton graduate composers Justin Wright, Lucy McKnight, and Caroline Shaw.
Named after a Slavic polyphonic chant tradition, Demestvo is a quartet founded by Princeton University musicology PhD student and soprano Anastasia Shmytova. Conceived as part of her dissertation research on medieval Slavic chant and early polyphony, Demestvo is committed to bringing the unique sound world of this unheard music to contemporary audiences.This event is co-sponsored by scalafoundation.org (for whom I am Artist-in-Residence). I hope to see you there!
Monday, December 02, 2024
Bernini and St Bibiana
Gregory DiPippoImage from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
An exterior view of the church as Bernini would have known it, in an engraving by Giovanni Battista Falda (1667-69). The façade of the church is in fact also by Bernini, and shows very well why he was better known as a sculptor than as an architect in his youth. (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.) |
Image from Wikimedia Commons by Sailko, CC BY 3.0. (This was taken when the statue had been removed from the church for a museum show.) |
The interior of the church of St Bibiana. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by Sailko, CC BY 3.0) |
The interior of Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale, completed by Bernini in 1670, and, as recorded in the biography of him by his son Domenico, the work which he himself regarded as his greatest artistic achievement. Here, painting, sculpture and architecture are all brought together to represent the ascent of Saint Andrew through martyrdom to the glory of heaven. The darker, lower part represents earth, where the martyrdom, depicted in the painting over the altar by Guillaume Courtois, takes place; the white statue of the Apostle represents his soul, rising into the bright dome of heaven. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by Rickcarmickle, CC BY-SA 4.0) |
Sunday, December 01, 2024
The Responsory Aspiciens a Longe
Gregory DiPippoIn the Roman Divine Office, the first responsory of Matins on the First Sunday of Advent, Aspiciens a longe, is one of longest of the entire year, and unique in its arrangement. The responsory proper is divided into four parts, where two is standard, and three is rare; the second, third and fourth part are repeated after three different psalm verses, followed by the doxology and then the repetition of the whole first section. The Roman breviary also gives it a special significance by using it only once, where normally the responsories of a Sunday are repeated during the week. (In some other Uses, e.g. those of the Dominicans and Cistercians, it is repeated during the week, but in a shortened form.)
℟. Aspiciens a longe, ecce vídeo Dei potentiam venientem, et nébulam totam terram tegentem: * ite obviam ei, et dícite: * Nuntia nobis, si tu es ipse, * qui regnatúrus es in pópulo Israël.℣. Quique terrígenæ, et filii hóminum, simul in unum dives et pauper: ite obviam et, et dícite.
℣. Qui regis Israël, intende, qui dedúcis velut ovem Joseph: nuntia nobis, si tu es ipse.
℣. Tóllite portas, príncipes, vestras, et elevámini portæ æternáles, et introíbit Rex gloriæ, qui regnatúrus es in pópulo Israël.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
℟. Aspiciens a longe, ecce vídeo Dei potentiam venientem, et nébulam totam terram tegentem: ite obviam ei, et dícite: Nuntia nobis, si tu es ipse, qui regnatúrus es in pópulo Israël.
℣. All you that are earthborn, and you sons of men: both rich and poor together, go ye out to meet him and say.
℣. Give ear, O thou that rulest Israel: thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep; tell us if thou art the one.
℣. Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in, who art to rule in the people of Israel.
Glory be unto the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Looking from afar, behold I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering all the land: go ye to meet him and say: tell us if thou art the one, who art to rule in the people of Israel.
Today, I stumbled across this image from an antiphonary produced in central Italy (Umbria or Tuscany) in the first half of the forteenth century, with a particularly splendid initial A for the beginning of this text. (Public domain image from the website of the Cleveland Museum of Art; click to enlarge.)
The First Sunday of Advent 2024
Gregory DiPippoSt Gregory dictating to a scribe, an illustration at the beginning of the winter volume of the Codex Hartker, one of the oldest surviving antiphonaries of the Divine Office, ca. 990-1000. (St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 390: https://www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/csg/0390. CC BY-NC 4.0) |
In the recording, the words at the end of the trope “Eia dic, domne, eia” are replaced with a variant text “Eia parabolista, dicunt psalmista.” This variant is recorded in the Analecta hymnica (XLIX, p. 20) in a footnote to this version of the trope Gregorius praesul, with “(!)”, incidating that the reading is surprising for being basically unintelligible. The word “parabolista” seems to be a variant of “paraphonista - chorister.”