“The medieval worldview is a harmonized amalgamation of pieces from a range of cultures.” Basically the beginning of scholasticism, right? For me, scholasticism marks the beginning of the end for the early Church phronema. How long is it before the Gospels are on the same level as Amor and Psyche? Along with its sculpture—overtly love-as-eros (erotic!)—seen in every art museum’s neoclassical section? Or Apollo and Daphne? Kinda like Goethe’s eternal feminine? Is Caravaggio’s gritty realism really breathing life into martyrdom, or just satisfying the early modern’s materialistic fascination?
I think the two pics are still swimming in Orthodox imagery though
The second one seems like the apocalyptic eschaton *within* Creation. Like Revelations and Genesis going on at the same time. The middle circle has the first day with Light and Dark divided, surrounded by the firmament. Count the divisions out and the layer corresponding to the 4th day has the sun, moon and stars. From Rev 12 and Phlp. 2:15, interpret the sun as Christ, the moon as Mary (so this is subtle Mary symbolism - that’s why the sun is in the moon’s womb), and the stars as the Church. Obviously the “I am the Light” symbolism sticks out like a sore thumb.
Now it seems like correspondence breaks down here, but four is coincidentally the number of the Earth, and the Earth is not literally the Earth in Genesis, more like “formed Creation.” Count out two more layers and we only have 6 - yikes. The 5th layer is maybe like Rev 13:13? It’s almost like whatever those things are, hailstones or rocks, they’re feeding off the fire and bringing it down to Earth. 5 is also the number of Man, and the day in Genesis that God begins to make creatures. The 6th layer then is the layer of fire. Not a mistake, I think this is a picture of God as a consuming fire, most especially for “the goats on the left.”
Hell as a devouring head is a medieval symbol. All those figures with three heads probably indicate the parody of the trinity (unholy triumvirate) in Revelations—the dragon, the beast from the sea, and the beast from the earth—at different spiritual levels. Notice the one head, the dragon, trying to “devour her child” (Rev 12:4)
More support: since there’s a departure from the Genesis creation poem at layer 4, which contains Christ, we should make note of the psalm for the fourth day of the week (corresponding to the fourth day of Creation - Psalm 93 in the OSB) — “The Lord is the God of vengeance; The God of vengeance declares Himself boldly.” The whole psalm is a plea to separate the wheat from the chaff. The inevitable flip side of the coin of righteousness. Very eschatological in the Light of Christ.
The first image seems a bit simpler. Almost like a snapshot of Genesis 2:15. The sea is like chaos, potential, destruction, which the demons (“powers and principalities”) are sucking Man into on all four corners of the Earth. Pulling formed Creation into the unformed. Hildegard paints herself staring at it.
I haven’t read her stuff, do you know why she was so apocalyptic? Was she a chiliast?
so much going on here - wish I had better insight on the Scholastics (just picked up a book so hang on) and Hildegard. Certainly possible your interpretation of the first image is correct, but I also think the fiery ring may be the lighted region or band of the heavens, compared to which our day is as night.
"You cannot, moreover, separate the brightness of fire from the virtue of burning which it possesses; but God, who wished to attract His servant by a wonderful sight, set a fire in the burning bush, which displayed all the brilliancy of flame while its devouring property was dormant. It is that which the Psalmist affirms in saying, 'The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire.' Thus, in the requital which awaits us after this life, a mysterious voice seems to tell us that the double nature of fire will be divided; the just will enjoy its light, and the torment of its heat will be the torture of the wicked."
the same relativized ambiguity, a consequence of the Fall, is seen in the 6 symbolism I mentioned. 6 is like incompleteness taken as completeness. It's essentially pride, the sin of the right hand. Also seen as a "forgetting", or being forgotten by God. The temporal not properly relating to the eternal.
but remember Leviticus 23:22 - leave the corners of your field? don't take the completeness for yourself? there's also the incompleteness, shown through the Light of Christ, of ourselves, in a self-aware and non-forgetful way (how could you take the incomplete as complete if you were aware of its incompleteness?), in comparison to the top of the ladder of divine ascent. what does Jonah say during his prayer in the belly of the beast? "I remembered the Lord" -- that is, he became *correctly* connected to God.
similarly, of the prosphora, the communion bread in liturgy, a square piece representing Christ "the Lamb" is cut from the circular bread, which is then distributed during communion. the part outside the circle is what's given to visitors/the non-baptized after service.
but to tie in the burning bush quote from St Basil and the Mary symbolism of the moon in the Hildegard, check out the burning bush icons that represent Mary as the burning bush, and/or the fiery faced Mary (ognevidnaya) -- Mary who gave birth to God the Word (the fire that does not consume). This Hildegard image is basically like a burning bush icon that depicts more of the consuming aspect via the heads
what book did you pick up? i actually haven't read that much about the history tbh
Really soulful, interesting post. I just sent The Discarded Image to my Kindle. And can only wonder what C.S. Lewis would think about the way we think about and use "The Cloud."
“The medieval worldview is a harmonized amalgamation of pieces from a range of cultures.” Basically the beginning of scholasticism, right? For me, scholasticism marks the beginning of the end for the early Church phronema. How long is it before the Gospels are on the same level as Amor and Psyche? Along with its sculpture—overtly love-as-eros (erotic!)—seen in every art museum’s neoclassical section? Or Apollo and Daphne? Kinda like Goethe’s eternal feminine? Is Caravaggio’s gritty realism really breathing life into martyrdom, or just satisfying the early modern’s materialistic fascination?
I think the two pics are still swimming in Orthodox imagery though
The second one seems like the apocalyptic eschaton *within* Creation. Like Revelations and Genesis going on at the same time. The middle circle has the first day with Light and Dark divided, surrounded by the firmament. Count the divisions out and the layer corresponding to the 4th day has the sun, moon and stars. From Rev 12 and Phlp. 2:15, interpret the sun as Christ, the moon as Mary (so this is subtle Mary symbolism - that’s why the sun is in the moon’s womb), and the stars as the Church. Obviously the “I am the Light” symbolism sticks out like a sore thumb.
Now it seems like correspondence breaks down here, but four is coincidentally the number of the Earth, and the Earth is not literally the Earth in Genesis, more like “formed Creation.” Count out two more layers and we only have 6 - yikes. The 5th layer is maybe like Rev 13:13? It’s almost like whatever those things are, hailstones or rocks, they’re feeding off the fire and bringing it down to Earth. 5 is also the number of Man, and the day in Genesis that God begins to make creatures. The 6th layer then is the layer of fire. Not a mistake, I think this is a picture of God as a consuming fire, most especially for “the goats on the left.”
Hell as a devouring head is a medieval symbol. All those figures with three heads probably indicate the parody of the trinity (unholy triumvirate) in Revelations—the dragon, the beast from the sea, and the beast from the earth—at different spiritual levels. Notice the one head, the dragon, trying to “devour her child” (Rev 12:4)
More support: since there’s a departure from the Genesis creation poem at layer 4, which contains Christ, we should make note of the psalm for the fourth day of the week (corresponding to the fourth day of Creation - Psalm 93 in the OSB) — “The Lord is the God of vengeance; The God of vengeance declares Himself boldly.” The whole psalm is a plea to separate the wheat from the chaff. The inevitable flip side of the coin of righteousness. Very eschatological in the Light of Christ.
The first image seems a bit simpler. Almost like a snapshot of Genesis 2:15. The sea is like chaos, potential, destruction, which the demons (“powers and principalities”) are sucking Man into on all four corners of the Earth. Pulling formed Creation into the unformed. Hildegard paints herself staring at it.
I haven’t read her stuff, do you know why she was so apocalyptic? Was she a chiliast?
so much going on here - wish I had better insight on the Scholastics (just picked up a book so hang on) and Hildegard. Certainly possible your interpretation of the first image is correct, but I also think the fiery ring may be the lighted region or band of the heavens, compared to which our day is as night.
ya that's essentially the same image
from St Basil's commentary on the Hexameron:
"You cannot, moreover, separate the brightness of fire from the virtue of burning which it possesses; but God, who wished to attract His servant by a wonderful sight, set a fire in the burning bush, which displayed all the brilliancy of flame while its devouring property was dormant. It is that which the Psalmist affirms in saying, 'The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire.' Thus, in the requital which awaits us after this life, a mysterious voice seems to tell us that the double nature of fire will be divided; the just will enjoy its light, and the torment of its heat will be the torture of the wicked."
the same relativized ambiguity, a consequence of the Fall, is seen in the 6 symbolism I mentioned. 6 is like incompleteness taken as completeness. It's essentially pride, the sin of the right hand. Also seen as a "forgetting", or being forgotten by God. The temporal not properly relating to the eternal.
but remember Leviticus 23:22 - leave the corners of your field? don't take the completeness for yourself? there's also the incompleteness, shown through the Light of Christ, of ourselves, in a self-aware and non-forgetful way (how could you take the incomplete as complete if you were aware of its incompleteness?), in comparison to the top of the ladder of divine ascent. what does Jonah say during his prayer in the belly of the beast? "I remembered the Lord" -- that is, he became *correctly* connected to God.
similarly, of the prosphora, the communion bread in liturgy, a square piece representing Christ "the Lamb" is cut from the circular bread, which is then distributed during communion. the part outside the circle is what's given to visitors/the non-baptized after service.
there's also lots of symbolism with square/circle... : https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/heaven-round-earth-square/
but to tie in the burning bush quote from St Basil and the Mary symbolism of the moon in the Hildegard, check out the burning bush icons that represent Mary as the burning bush, and/or the fiery faced Mary (ognevidnaya) -- Mary who gave birth to God the Word (the fire that does not consume). This Hildegard image is basically like a burning bush icon that depicts more of the consuming aspect via the heads
what book did you pick up? i actually haven't read that much about the history tbh
Really soulful, interesting post. I just sent The Discarded Image to my Kindle. And can only wonder what C.S. Lewis would think about the way we think about and use "The Cloud."