Sacred symbols in art

By Elisabeth Goldsmith

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Title: Sacred symbols in art

Author: Elisabeth Goldsmith

Release date: June 22, 2026 [eBook #78921]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1912

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[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE MADONNA DEL CARDELLINO.—RAPHAEL
(Uffizi, Florence.)
]

SACRED SYMBOLS
IN ART

BY
ELIZABETH E. GOLDSMITH

_With Fifty-three Illustrations_

_SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED
FOURTH IMPRESSION_

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
The Knickerbocker Press

[Illustration]

Made in the United States of America

“Let him [the traveller] not trust to his impressions from his general
reading; there is nothing so treacherous; he may have general reading
enough to sink a ship, but unless he has a cargo taken newly on board
he will find himself tossing without ballast on those billowy slopes of
the Palatine, where he will vainly try for definite anchorage.”

W. D. HOWELLS’s _Roman Holidays and Others_.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

In preparing the first edition the author was strongly influenced by
the belief _qui trop embrasse, mal étreint_. She had in mind primarily
the traveller, who wants his information in a nutshell, is bored by
an explanation of something that explains itself, and bewildered and
confused by long and learned dissertations for which he has not the
time. Thus with a subject so overwhelmingly broad, and a book that to
be useful must necessarily be small, it seemed best to keep rigorously
to that which, in the writer’s opinion, would add the most essentially
to the intelligent enjoyment and appreciation of the more famous works
of Christian art—excluding the too obvious as well as the too remote.

The book has been so cordially received by students and those other
than the traveller, that in this second edition a little additional
matter of more general interest has been added in an appendix, whereby
it is hoped that its value and usefulness will be increased. Certain
suggestions courteously and helpfully extended by some of the reviewers
have been included in this, and to them for their interest, the author
wishes to express her warmest appreciation and thanks.

E. E. G.

NEW YORK, February, 1912.

PREFACE

The visitor who frequents the art galleries and churches of Europe soon
learns to distinguish certain saints in a picture by certain symbols;
but unless he has a knowledge also of the meaning or story that is
conveyed by these symbols, the real beauty and significance of the
early works of art are lost. To arrive at this knowledge, however,
it is necessary to consult so many books that these become a serious
encumbrance to one, going from place to place. It is hoped, therefore,
that this handbook, designed for the use of the student and the
traveller, may supply a genuine need.

A closer study into the meaning of the early works of Christian art
is only another outcome of the keen revival of interest in biblical
history that is everywhere manifesting itself to-day; and indeed one
cannot view those pictured stories of the past, those naïve and lovely
examples of an earlier faith, without a broadening sympathy that
finally deepens into tender reverence the more one comprehends.

Believing that a clearer idea of the whole religious series of pictures
will be obtained, the subjects here considered are treated generically
rather than alphabetically. Thus, the symbols of the Godhead are given
first; then the symbols of the Archangels, the symbols and legends of
the Madonna, of John the Baptist, the Four Evangelists, the Apostles,
and the Four Latin Fathers, and after that follow the legends of
certain saints.

The general symbols and what they expressed in religious art are given;
also when symbols were used as _emblems_, and when they were merely
_attributes_, and what characteristics or incidents in the life of a
saint they expressed.

A considerable portion of the book is devoted to the symbols and
legends of the Madonna and what these were supposed to express in the
Church and in the life of Christ. The subjects of the historical and
devotional pictures in which she appears, with or without her divine
Son, are given as they come in their natural order.

The book includes a brief description of the significance of colours as
employed in the early religious pictures, as well as an account of the
general plan of dress and arrangement that was followed, more or less
arbitrarily, by the artists of a given period. The monastic orders are
given and the habits worn by the members of the different orders are
described, who thus (by their dress) may be readily distinguished in
pictures.

For use and reference in the galleries, an alphabetical list of symbols
is placed in the fore part of the book, followed by an alphabetical
list of all but the more obscure saints, with their distinguishing
emblems. Only the legends of the best known saints, who are constantly
found in art, have been touched upon, the aim being to bring together
in compact form only those facts and legends pertinent to Christian
art. No attempt has been made to locate or describe any of the famous
works of art, except as they are indicated under the illustrations, as
this has been well and ably done in the guide books of Baedeker, Hare,
and Grant Allen.

In preparing this book the works of Mrs. Jameson, Didron’s _Christian
Iconography_, Lord Lindsay’s _Sketches of Christian Art_, and the
_Golden Legend_ in French and English have been largely drawn upon.

E. E. G.

NEW YORK, January, 1911.

CONTENTS

PAGE

SYMBOLS OF THE SAINTS 1

SAINTS AND SYMBOLS 30

III

HISTORICAL AND DEVOTIONAL SUBJECTS 64

How these may be distinguished in art.

GENERAL SYMBOLS 67

COLOURS AS EMBLEMS 76

What colours signified in early art, and how they were
associated with certain personages.

SYMBOLS OF GOD THE FATHER, THE SON, THE
HOLY GHOST, THE TRINITY 78

VII

THE SEVEN ARCHANGELS. THE THREE ARCHANGELS:
ST. MICHAEL, ST. GABRIEL, AND
ST. RAPHAEL 81

VIII

SYMBOLS AND ATTRIBUTES OF THE VIRGIN 86

Also the Seven Joys and the Seven Sorrows of the
Virgin, and the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary.

LEGENDS OF THE MADONNA AS REPRESENTED
IN THE HISTORICAL SERIES 91

These follow in regular sequence, beginning with the
Legend of Joachim and Anna; then the Nativity,
the Presentation, and the Marriage of the Virgin;
the Annunciation; the Visitation; the Sibyl Prophesying
to Augustus Cæsar the Coming of Christ;
the Nativity of Christ; the Adoration of the Shepherds;
the Adoration of the Magi; the Purification
of the Virgin; the Presentation and the Circumcision
of Christ; the Flight into Egypt; the Repose
of the Holy Family; the Dispute in the Temple;
the Death of Joseph; the Marriage at Cana;
the Procession to Calvary; the Crucifixion; the
Descent from the Cross; the Deposition; the Entombment;
the Apparition of Christ to His Mother
and to Mary Magdalene; the Ascension; the Descent
of the Holy Ghost; the Death and Assumption
of the Virgin; the Coronation of the Virgin. (How
the Coronation may be distinguished from the
Incoronata.)

DEVOTIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE VIRGIN
MARY 122

In these she appears as the Enthroned Virgin without
the child, as type of heavenly wisdom; L’Incoronata,
the type of the Church Triumphant; the Virgin of
Mercy, as represented in the Last Judgment; the
Mater Dolorosa, the Stabat Mater, La Pietà; the
Lady of the Immaculate Conception; the Virgin,
and Child Enthroned; the Mater Amabilis.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST 134

XII

THE FOUR EVANGELISTS 137

Giving their legends and attributes from the earliest
times. ST. MATTHEW, ST. MARK, ST. LUKE, ST.
JOHN.

XIII

THE TWELVE APOSTLES 146

Their legends and attributes. ST. PETER and ST.
PAUL, ST. ANDREW, ST. JAMES MAJOR, ST. PHILIP,
ST. BARTHOLOMEW, ST. THOMAS, ST. JAMES MINOR,
ST. SIMON ZELOTES, ST. JUDE (THADDEUS or LEBBEUS),
ST. MATTHIAS, JUDAS ISCARIOT, ST. BARNABAS.

XIV

ST. MARY MAGDALENE 169

THE LAST SUPPER 175

XVI

THE FOUR LATIN FATHERS 177

Their legends and attributes. ST. JEROME, ST. AMBROSE,
ST. AUGUSTINE, ST. GREGORY.

XVII

THE PATRON SAINTS OF CHRISTENDOM 191

Their legends and attributes. ST. GEORGE, ST. SEBASTIAN,
ST. CHRISTOPHER, SS. COSMO and DAMIAN,
ST. ROCH, ST. NICHOLAS OF MYRA, ST. CATHERINE,
ST. BARBARA, ST. URSULA, ST. MARGARET.

XVIII

THE FOUR GREAT VIRGINS OF THE LATIN
CHURCH 223

Their legends and attributes. ST. CECILIA, ST. AGNES,
ST. AGATHA, ST. LUCY.

XIX

LEGENDS OF THE SAINTS MOST FREQUENTLY
FOUND IN ART 234

ST. STEPHEN PROTOMARTYR, ST. LAURENCE, ST.
VINCENT, ST. ANTHONY HERMIT, ST. BENEDICT,
ST. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, ST. FRANCIS OF
ASSISI, ST. CLARA, ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, ST.
BONAVENTURA, ST. LOUIS OF FRANCE, ST. LOUIS
OF TOULOUSE, ST. BERNARDINO OF SIENA, ST. DOMINICK,
ST. PETER MARTYR, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS,
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA.

THE MONASTIC ORDERS, AND THE HABITS BY
WHICH THEY MAY BE DISTINGUISHED 275

APPENDIX 281

INDEX 293

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

The Madonna del Cardellino (Raphael). _Uffizi,
Florence_ _Frontispiece_

The Baptism of Christ by St. John (Verrocchio). _Academy,
Florence_ 79

The Three Archangels and Tobias (Botticelli). _Academy,
Florence_ 82

The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple (Titian).
_Academy, Venice_ 93

The Annunciation (Botticelli). _Uffizi, Florence_ 97

The Visitation (Albertinelli). _Uffizi, Florence_ 99

Sibyl Prophesying to Augustus Cæsar the Coming of
Christ (B. Peruzzi). _Church of the Fontegiusta, Siena_ 101

The Adoration of the Shepherds (Ghirlandajo). _Academy,
Florence_ 104

The Adoration of the Magi (Botticelli). _Uffizi, Florence_ 106

Repose of the Holy Family—“Madonna del Sacco”
(Andrea del Sarto). _Church of the Annunziata,
Florence_ 111

The Crucifixion (Perugino). _Convent of Santa Maria
Maddalena dei Pazzi, Florence_ 115

The Saviour Appears to Mary Magdalene—“Noli me
tangere” (Lorenzo di Credi). _Uffizi, Florence_ 117

Coronation of the Virgin (Fra Filippo Lippi). _Academy,
Florence_ 123

The Madonna Crowned (Botticelli). _Uffizi, Florence_ 124

The Madonna Enthroned (Filippino Lippi). _Uffizi,
Florence_ 127

The Virgin and Child (Fra Filippo Lippi). _Pitti, Florence_ 129

The Madonna del Granduca (Raphael). _Pitti, Florence_ 131

The Adoration of the Child (Perugino). _Pitti, Florence_ 133

John the Baptist in the Desert (Titian). _Academy,
Venice_ 135

Christ and the Four Evangelists (Fra Bartolommeo).
_Pitti, Florence_ 139

Madonna of the Harpies with St. Francis and St. John,
Evangelist (Andrea del Sarto). _Uffizi, Florence_ 143

St. Peter Baptising (Masaccio). _Brancacci Chapel, Santa
Maria del Carmine, Florence_ 149

St. James Major (Titian). _Church of S. Lio, Venice_ 155

La Disputa della Trinità (Andrea del Sarto). _Pitti,
Florence_ 171

The Last Supper (Ghirlandajo). _Ognissanti, Florence_ 175

St. Augustine and St. Jerome (Crivelli). _Academy, Venice_ 179

St. Ambrose (Borgognone). _Certosa, Pavia_ 181

St. Augustine at School (Benozzo Gozzoli). _Church of San
Agostino, San Gimignano_ 185

Miracle of the Brandeum (Andrea Sacchi). _Vatican,
Rome_ 189

St. George (Donatello). _The Bargello, Florence_ 192

St. Sebastian (Sodoma). _Uffizi, Florence_ 195

St. Christopher (Giovanni Bellini). _Church of SS. Giovanni
e Paolo, Venice_ 197

An Episode in the Life of St. Cosmo and St. Damian (Fra
Angelico). _Academy, Florence_ 201

Four Saints.—St. Roch, St. Sebastian, St. Augustine (?),
St. Bernardino of Siena (Carlo Crivelli). _Academy,
Venice_ 202-203

St. Nicholas (Titian). _Church of San Sebastiano, Venice_ 207

St. Catherine (Lucas Cranach). _Dresden Gallery_ 209

St. Barbara (Lucas Cranach). _Dresden Gallery_ 212

Detail from the Martyrdom of St. Ursula (V. Carpaccio).
_Academy, Venice_ 215

St. Margaret (School of Correggio). _Dresden Gallery_ 221

St. Cecilia (Carlo Dolci). _Dresden Gallery_ 224

St. Agnes (Spagnoletto). _Dresden Gallery_ 227

Santa Lucia (Carlo Dolci). _Uffizi, Florence_ 231

St. Anthony with the Fire (Palma Vecchio). _Church of
S. Maria Formosa, Venice_ 239

St. Benedict (Hans Memling.) _Uffizi, Florence_ 245

The Madonna Appearing to St. Bernard (Filippino Lippi).
_Church of the Badia, Florence_ 249

St. Francis (Simone Martini). _Church of S. Francesco,
Assisi_ 251

St. Clara (Simone Martini). _Church of S. Francesco,
Assisi_ 255

St. Anthony (School of Giotto). _Basilica of S. Antonio,
Padua_ 257

St. Bonaventura (A. Bronzino). _Academy, Florence_ 261

St. Dominick. Detail from the Crucifixion (Fra Angelico),
_San Marco, Florence_ 267

St. Peter Martyr (Fra Angelico). _San Marco, Florence_ 269

St. Thomas Aquinas (Fra Angelico). _San Marco, Florence_ 271

St. Catherine of Siena (Vanni). _Church of San Domenico,
Siena_ 273

A Vallombrosan Monk (Perugino). _Academy, Florence_ 276

SACRED SYMBOLS IN ART

Sacred Symbols in Art

I.—SYMBOLS OF THE SAINTS

ANCHOR in his hand, or at his St. Clement, Martyr, A. D.
side, or suspended around 100. Third Bishop of
his neck. Pope’s or Bishop’s Rome.
robes.

ANCHOR. Three balls, or three St. Nicholas of Myra, A. D.
purses. Three children in a 326. Patron saint of Russia,
tub. Bishop’s robes. Ship. Venice, and Freiberg, of
children, sailors, travellers,
etc.

ANGEL or man. Purse, or bag St. Matthew, Apostle and
of money. Book. Pen and Evangelist, Martyr.
ink-horn.

ANGEL. Organ. Musical instruments. St. Cecilia, Virgin Martyr,
Crown of red A. D. 280. Patron saint of
and white roses. Palm. music and musicians.
Scroll of music.

ANGEL holding a book. Benedictine St. Francesca Romana, A. D.
habit. 1440.

ANGEL holding basket with St. Dorothea of Cappadocia,
apples and roses. Crown. Virgin Martyr, A. D. 303.
Palm. Sometimes roses in
her hand or crowned with
roses.

ANGEL with flame-tipped arrow. St. Theresa, A. D. 1582. Patron
Dove. Carmelite saint of Spain. Founder
habit. Heart with I. H. S. of the Scalzi, reformed
Lily. Crucifix. Carmelites.

ANGEL with two captives. St. John de Matha, A. D.
Fetters in his hand, or at 1213. Founder of the
his feet. White habit. Trinitarian Order for the
Blue and red cross upon redemption of captives.
his breast.

ANGEL with pyx. Franciscan St. Bonaventura, A. D. 1274.
habit. Cardinal’s hat at
his feet, or on a tree.

ANGEL holding a shield on St. Clotilda of Burgundy,
which are three fleur-de-lys. A. D. 534.

ANGEL ploughing in the St. Isidore the ploughman,
background. Spade. Found in A. D. 1170.
Spanish art.

ANGELS crowning her with St. Rosalia of Palermo,
roses. Crucifix. A. D. 1160.

ANVIL in hands, or at feet. St. Adrian, Martyr, A. D. 290.
Sometimes lion, sometimes Patron saint of Flanders
sword or axe lying beside and Germany, of soldiers,
anvil. and against the plague.

ANVIL. Blacksmith’s tools. St. Eloy, Lo, or Sant’ Eligio,
Blacksmith’s or Bishop’s A. D. 659. Patron saint of
dress. Crozier. Book. Bologna, blacksmiths,
goldsmiths, and of horses.

ARROW. Crown. Banner with St. Ursula, Virgin Martyr,
a red cross. Dove. Mantle 237 or 383 or 451. Patron
sheltering virgins. saint of young girls, and
teachers.

ARROW, hind pierced by, in St. Giles, Hermit, A. D. 725.
his arms or at his feet. Old. Patron saint of Edinburgh,
Benedictine habit. of woods, cripples, beggars,
and lepers.

ARROW in his hand. Royal St. Edmund, King and Martyr,
robes. Wolf. A. D. 870. Patron
saint of Bury St. Edmunds.

ARROWS, pierced by. Bound St. Sebastian, Martyr, A. D.
to a column. Angel with 288. Patron saint against
crown and palm. pestilence.

ARROWS. Palm. Crown. St. Christina, Virgin Martyr,
Millstone. A. D. 295. Patron saint of
Bolsena, and Venice.

AWL or shoemaker’s knife. St. Crispin and St. Crispianus,
Palms. Two saints together. Martyrs, A. D. 300. Patron
saints of Soissons.

AXE, lictor’s. Two-pronged St. Martina, Virgin Martyr,
fork. Young. A. D. 230.

AXE in his hand. Sometimes St. Proculus, Martyr, A. D.
an angel holds the axe. 303. Patron saint of
Sword. Carrying a head in Bologna.
both hands.

BALLS (three). Bishop’s St. Nicholas of Myra, A. D.
robes. Sometimes three 326. Patron saint of Russia,
purses, or three children in Venice, Freiberg, of children,
a tub. Sometimes ship in school-boys, sailors,
the background. travellers, merchants,
and against thieves.

BANNER, with red cross. St. Ursula, Virgin Martyr.
Crown. Dove. Arrow. Dates uncertain, 237, 383,
Mantle sheltering virgins, or 451. Patron saint of
or surrounded by virgins. young girls, and women
teachers.

BANNER with black Imperial St. Wenceslaus of Bohemia,
eagle. Palm. Royal robes. Martyr, A. D. 938.

BANNER. Young. Richly St. Julian of Cilicia, Martyr.
dressed. Sword. Palm. Patron saint of Rimini.

BANNER, white with a red St. Torpé, Martyr, A. D. 70.
cross. Roman armour. Patron saint of Pisa.
Found only in churches of
Pisa.

BANNER, white with a red St. Reparata, Virgin Martyr,
cross. Crown. Palm. third century. Formerly
Sometimes wears a red patron saint of Florence.
and white mantle.

BEASTS, surrounded by. St. Thecla, Virgin Martyr,
Young. Dark brown or first century. Patron saint
grey mantle. Palm. of Tarragona.

BEEHIVE at his feet. Books. St. Ambrose, A. D. 397. One
Knotted scourge with three of the Four Latin Fathers
thongs. Two human bones. of the Church. Patron
Bishop’s robes. Mitre. saint of Milan.
Crozier.

BEEHIVE. Demon bound. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, A. D.
Three mitres on a book or 1153. Founder of the
at his feet. Pen, papers, Cistercian Order of Reformed
ink-horn. White habit. Benedictines.

BEGGAR, kneeling at his feet. St. Juan de Dios, A. D. 1550.
In his hands a pomegranate Founder of the Hospitallers,
surmounted by a cross. or Brothers of Charity.
Long beard. Capuchin
habit.

BEGGAR at feet, or dividing St. Martin of Tours, A. D.
his cloak with a beggar. 397. Patron saint of
Goose. Bishop’s robes, or Tours, Lucca, and penitent
as a soldier. drunkards.

BEGGAR, or cripple, at her feet. St. Elizabeth of Hungary,
Sometimes three crowns. A A. D. 1231.
lapful of roses. Robes of royalty,
or Franciscan habit.

BEGGAR’S dish. Pilgrim’s St. Alexis, A. D. 400. Patron
habit, worn and ragged. saint of beggars and pilgrims.
Palm. Cross.

BEGGARS, giving alms to. St. Elizabeth of Portugal,
Widow’s veil. Crown. A. D. 1336.
Old. Franciscan habit.

BELL. Sometimes cruse and St. Pol-de-Léon, A. D. 573.
loaf. Driving dragon into
the sea.

BELL. Crutch. Asperges. St. Anthony, Hermit, A. D. 357.
Hog. Skull. Crucifix.
Flames of fire. Monk’s habit.

BLACKSMITH with anvil, hammer, St. Eloy, Lo, or Sant’ Eligio,
tongs and bellows. A. D. 659. Patron saint
Sometimes Bishop’s robes of Bologna, of goldsmiths,
and blacksmith’s tools. locksmiths, blacksmiths,
and horses.

BLOOD flowing from his head. St. Thomas à Becket, A. D. 1170.
Benedictine habit or Bishop’s robes.

BLOOD trickling from his head. St. Peter Martyr, A. D. 1252.
Sometimes with sword or
axe in his head. Palm.
Dominican habit.

BONES, two human. Beehive. St. Ambrose, A. D. 397. One
Knotted scourge. Books. of the Four Latin Fathers.
Bishop’s robes. Mitre. Crozier. Patron saint of Milan.

BOOK stained with blood, or St. Boniface, A. D. 755.
transfixed by a sword. Bishop’s Archbishop of Mayence, and
robes over the Benedictine habit. Apostle of Germany.

BOOKS at his feet. Infant by St. Augustine, A. D. 430. One
seashore. Heart flaming or of the Four Latin Fathers of
transfixed by an arrow. the Church.
Bishop’s robes. Mitre. Crozier.

BOOKS, his magical, trampling St. Cyprian of Antioch, Martyr,
under his feet. Sword. A. D. 304.
Palm. Bishop’s robes
(without the mitre).

BOTTLE on the end of a staff. St. James the Great, Apostle
Cloak. Wallet. Scallop-shell. and Martyr. Patron saint
of Spain.

BOTTLES or Flasks. Loose St. Omobuono. Patron saint
tunic and cap, trimmed with of Cremona, and of tailors.
fur. Giving alms to the (Sometimes difficult to
poor. distinguish from St. Roch.)

BOX or vase of alabaster. St. Mary Magdalene, A. D.
Long fair hair. Skull. 68. Patron saint of
Crucifix. Marseilles, Provence, and of
frail, and penitent women.

BOX of ointment. Surgical St. Cosmo and St. Damian,
instruments. Two men Martyrs, A. D. 301. Patron
together in red robes. saints of medicine,
and of the Medici family.

BRANCH of olive in his hand. St. Bernard of Tolomei, A. D.
White habit. 1319. Founder of the
Order of Olivetani, reformed
Benedictines.

BRANCH, encircling his loins. St. Onofrio, Hermit of Thebes,
Old, wasted, half-naked, fourth or fifth century.
long hair and beard.

BUILDINGS in his hand. Bishop’s St. Petronius, A. D. 430.
robes. Patron saint of Bologna.

CALDRON of oil. Cock. Lion. St. Vitus, Martyr, A. D. 303.
Wolf. Palm. Young and Patron saint of Sicily,
beautiful. Bohemia, Saxony, of actors
and dancers, and against
nervous diseases and late
rising.

CANDLE, lighted. Demon St. Geneviève, A. D. 509.
trying to extinguish it with Patron saint of Paris.
bellows. Book. Basket
of provisions and holding
loaf of bread. Sheep.
Distaff. Spindle.

CANDLE on his head, or in St. Erasmus, or Elmo, Martyr,
his hand. Small wheel. A. D. 296.
Old. Bishop’s robes.

CAPTIVE kneeling at her feet. St. Radegunda, A. D. 587.
Broken fetters in her hands. Protectress of the Order of
Royal crown. Long veil. Trinitarians for the
redemption of captives.

CARDINAL’S HAT, near him St. Jerome, A. D. 420. One
or at his feet. Cardinal’s of the Four Latin Fathers.
robes, or old, ragged, long Founder of Monachism in
beard. Skull. Books. the West. Patron saint of
Lion. Church in his hand. learning, theology,
scholars.

CARDINAL’S HAT on the bough St. Bonaventura, A. D. 1274.
of a tree or at his feet.
Franciscan habit. Pyx.

CARDINAL’S robes (only found St. Bernard degli Uberti, Abbot
with other Vallombrosan of Vallombrosa.
saints).

CARPENTER’S or builder’s St. Thomas, Apostle and Martyr.
square. Patron saint of architects
and builders.

CENSER. Book. Benedictine St. Maurus, A. D. 584.
habit or dressed as a deacon.
Usually with St. Benedict
and St. Placidus.

CHALICE or sacramental cup. St. Thomas Aquinas,
Sun on his breast. Books. A. D. 1274.
Pen. Dove. Dominican habit.

CHECKERED HABIT, Cord of St. Margaret of Cortona,
St. Francis. Dog at her feet. A. D. 297.

CHILD in his arms or at his St. Vincent de Paule, A. D.
feet. Franciscan habit. 1660. Founder of the
Nun kneeling at feet. Sisters of Charity.

CHILD on his shoulders, walking St. Christopher, A. D. 364.
through water. Huge
staff. Monk in background.

CHILD-CHRIST in his arms St. Anthony of Padua,
or on a book. Book. Lily. A. D. 1231.
Crucifix. Flame in his
hand or on his breast.
Mule kneeling.

CHILDREN, three, in a tub. St. Nicholas of Myra, A. D.
Three balls, or three purses. 326. Patron saint of Russia,
Anchor. Bishop’s robes. Venice, Freiberg, school-boys,
Sometimes ship in the background. sailors, travellers,
merchants, and against
thieves.

CHURCH in her hand. Royal St. Cunegunda of Bavaria,
robes. Walking over A. D. 1040.
ploughshares.

CHURCH in his hand. In St. Henry of Bavaria,
armour. Crown. Sword. A. D. 1024.
Orb of sovereignty.

CHURCH with two towers in St. Sebald, A. D. 770.
his hand. Pilgrim’s dress.
Staff. Wallet. Shell.

CLOAK, dividing with a beggar. St. Martin of Tours, A. D.
Beggar at his feet. Goose. 397. Patron saint of
Bishop’s robes, or as a soldier. Tours, Lucca, and of
penitent drunkards.

CLUB. St. James Minor, Apostle and
Martyr.

COMB, iron, Bishop’s robes. St. Blaise, Martyr, A. D. 289.
Patron saint of
wool-combers, wild animals,
and against diseases of the
throat.

CROSS, transversed, shaped St. Andrew, Apostle and Martyr.
thus—❌. Gospel. White Patron saint of Scotland
hair and beard. and Russia.

CROSS. Crutch. Beardless. St. John Gualberto, A. D.
Light grey habit. 1073. Founder of the
Vallombrosan Order of
Reformed Benedictines.

CROSS at the end of a staff or St. Philip, Apostle and Martyr.
crozier, or small cross in his
hand or T-shaped.

CROSS, blue and red, on his St. John de Matha, A. D.
breast. White habit. 1213. Founder of the Order
Angel leading captives. of Trinitarians.

CROSS. Lily. Javelins. Palm. St. Miniato, Martyr, A. D. 254.
Crown. Cross T-shaped. Scarlet robe.

CROSS. Pyx. Lily. Franciscan St. Clara, A. D. 1253. Founder
habit. Black veil. of the Order of Poor
Clares, Franciscan nuns.

CROSS. Dragon under her feet. St. Margaret, Virgin Martyr,
Crown. Palm. A. D. 306.

CROSS, red, on his breast. In St. Maurice, Martyr, A. D.
armour. Sometimes as a 286. Patron saint of Austria,
Moor, or with eagle on Savoy, and Mantua,
banner or shield. and of foot soldiers.

CROSS, large. Robes of royalty. St. Oswald, A. D. 642.

CROSS, large. Royal robes. St. Helena, A. D. 328. Mother
of Constantine the Great.

CROWN and sceptre at his St. Procopius, A. D. 1053.
feet. Doe by his side.
Hermit’s garb.

CROWN and sceptre at his feet. St. Louis of Toulouse,
Young. Beardless. Fleur-de-lys A. D. 1297.
embroidered on
Bishop’s robes. Mitre.
Sometimes Franciscan habit.

CROWN and sceptre at his St. Casimir of Poland,
feet, or by his side. Lily. A. D. 1483.
Royal robes. Young.

CROWN. Palm. In the Benedictine St. Flavia, Martyr, A. D. 540.
groups.

CROWN OF THORNS. Stigmata. St. Catherine of Siena,
Lily. Dominican habit. A. D. 1380.

CROWN OF THORNS in his St. Louis IX., King of France,
hand. Sword. Sceptre. A. D. 1270.
Crown. Franciscan habit
or royal robes.

CROWNS, three, embroidered St. Charlemagne, A. D. 814.
on his robe. Globe. Cross.
In armour. Ermine mantle.

CRUCIFIX wreathed with a St. Nicholas of Tolentino,
lily. Star on his breast. A. D. 1309.
Gospel. Augustine habit.

CRUCIFIX. Sometimes wings. St. Vincent Ferraris,
Dominican habit. A. D. 1419.

CRUCIFIX. Lily. Surplice St. Francis Xavier, A. D. 1552.
over black habit. Patron saint of India.

CRUCIFIX. Pyx. Dominican habit. St. Hyacinth, A. D. 1257.

CRUTCH, sometimes with a St. Anthony, Hermit, A. D. 357.
bell suspended from it.
Hog. Asperges. Flames
of fire in the background.
Skull. Crucifix. Monk’s
habit.

CRUTCH. Long white beard. St. Romualdo, A. D. 1027.
White habit. Founder of the Order of
Camaldolesi, reformed
Benedictines.

CUP, with serpent. Eagle. St. John, Apostle and
Pen. Book. Evangelist.

CUP, or pitcher broken. Thorn St. Benedict, A. D. 543.
bush. Broken sieve. Raven Founder of the Benedictine
with a loaf in its beak. Order.
Asperges. Mitre. Staff.
Black habit.

CUP, broken. Palm. St. Donato of Arezzo, Martyr.

CUP, and sponge with drops St. Pudentiana, A. D. 148.
of blood.

CUP and wafer. Tower with St. Barbara, Virgin Martyr,
three windows. Book. A. D. 303. Patron saint
Sword. Palm. Feather. of Ferrara, and Mantua,
armourers, fortifications,
and against thunder and
lightning.

DATES, cluster of, on palm. St. Ansano, Martyr. Patron
Cross. Young. Richly saint of Siena.
dressed.

DEMON, bound. Beehive. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, A. D.
Pen, papers, ink-horn. 1153. Founder of the
White habit. Three mitres Cistercian Order of Reformed
on a book, or at his feet. Benedictines.

DEMON trying to blow out a St. Gudula, A. D. 712. Patron
lantern. saint of Brussels.

DEMON, holding bellows, and St. Geneviève, A. D. 509.
trying to blow out lighted Patron saint of Paris.
taper. Distaff. Sheep.
Spindle. Book. Sometimes
basket of provisions.

DISH. Pilgrim’s habit, old St. Alexis, A. D. 400. Patron
and worn. Cross. Palm. saint of pilgrims and beggars.

DISH, eyes on. Lamp. Awl. St. Lucy, Virgin Martyr,
Sword or wound in her A. D. 303. Patron saint of
neck from which stream Syracuse and against
rays of light. Palm. diseases of the eye.

DOG, with a torch in its St. Dominick, A. D. 1221.
mouth. Lily. Book. Founder of the Dominican
Star on his forehead. Rosary. Order.
Dominican habit.

DOG. Pilgrim’s habit. Staff. St. Roch, A. D. 1327. Patron
Wallet and cockle-shell. saint of prisoners, and those
Pointing to wound in his stricken with plague.
leg.

DOG at her feet. Checkered habit. St. Margaret of Cortona,
A. D. 1297.

DOVE. Lily. Benedictine habit. St. Scholastica, sister of St.
Benedict, A. D. 543.

DOVE on his shoulder or St. Gregory, A. D. 604. One
close to his ear. Pope’s of the Four Latin Fathers
robes. Tiara. Crozier of the Church.
with double cross. Book.

DRAGON at his feet. In armour. St. George, Martyr, A. D. 303.
Standard. Lance. Palm. Patron saint of England,
Germany, Venice,
soldiers and armourers.

DRAGON, small, its mouth St. Sylvester, Pope, A. D. 335.
bound with threads. Bull.
Holding or pointing to the
portraits of St. Peter and
St. Paul. Pope’s robes.
Mitre. Sometimes triple
tiara.

DRAGON under his feet. In St. Theodore, Martyr,
armour. A. D. 319. Patron saint of
Venice.

DRAGON at his feet. Bishop’s St. Mercuriale, second century.
robes. Bishop of Forli.

DRAGON under her feet. St. Margaret, Virgin Martyr,
Crown. Cross. Palm. A. D. 306.

DRAGON, bound at her feet. St. Martha of Bethany,
Asperges. Pot of holy A. D. 84. Patron saint of
water. Bunch of keys. cooks and housewives.
Skimmer or ladle.

DRAGON, driving into the sea. St. Pol-de-Léon, A. D. 573.
Bell. Sometimes loaf and
cruse.

EAGLE by her side. Lion. St. Prisca, Virgin Martyr,
Palm. A. D. 275.

EAGLE. Sometimes cup with St. John the Evangelist.
serpent. Pen. Book.

EYES, on a dish. Sword or St. Lucy, Virgin Martyr,
wound in her neck. Lamp. A. D. 303. Patron saint of
Palm. Syracuse, and against
diseases of the eye.

EYES, two, on a book. Crozier, St. Ottilia, Martyr, A. D. 720.
or palm. Benedictine habit. Patron saint of Alsace, and
Strasburg, and against
diseases of the eye.

FACE of Christ on a napkin. St. Veronica, Martyr.

FALCON. In armour, or as a St. Bavon, A. D. 657. Patron
hermit praying in a hollow saint of Ghent, and Haarlem.
tree. Huge stone.

FETTERS and chains. Crozier. St. Leonard, A. D. 559. Patron
Book. Deacon’s dress, or saint of prisoners, and
Benedictine habit. captives.

FETTERS and chains in her St. Balbina, A. D. 130. She
hand. Found only in Rome. was the daughter of the
Prefect Quirinus, and
discovered the lost chains
of St. Peter.

FINGER on his lip. Sometimes St. John Nepomuck, A. D. 1393.
with mouth padlocked. Patron saint of
Five stars over his head. bridges, and running water,
of silence, and against
slander.

FIRE near him or in the background. St. Anthony, Hermit, A. D. 357.
Crutch with bell.
Hog. Asperges. Skull.
Crucifix. Monk’s habit.

FIRE, throwing water on a St. Florian, Martyr. Patron
burning house. Millstone. saint of Austria.

FISH. Keys. Cross. Cock. St. Peter, Apostle and Martyr.

FISH with a key in its mouth. St. Benno, A. D. 1100.
Bishop’s robes.

FISH. Bishop’s robes. St. Ulrich, A. D. 973. Patron
saint of Augsburg.

FISH suspended from his crozier. St. Zeno, A. D. 380. Patron
Bishop’s robes. saint of Verona.

FISH at his feet. Bishop’s robes. St. Corentin of Brittany,
A. D. 495.

FLAME OF FIRE in his hand St. Anthony of Padua,
or on his breast. Infant A. D. 1231.
Christ in his arms or on
his book. Lily. Crucifix.
Mule kneeling. Franciscan
habit.

FLEUR-DE-LYS embroidered St. Louis of Toulouse,
on Bishop’s robes. Mitre. A. D. 1297.
Crown and sceptre at his
feet. Young and beardless.
Sometimes Franciscan habit.

FLEUR-DE-LYS embroidered on St. Louis IX., King of France,
royal robes. Crown and A. D. 1270.
sceptre at his feet. Holding
crown of thorns. Sometimes
Franciscan habit.

FLOWERS, three. Swan. Carthusian St. Hugh of Lincoln,
habit. A. D. 1126.

FORK, two-pronged. Lictor’s St. Martina, Virgin Martyr,
axe. A. D. 230.

FOUNTAIN. Sometimes head St. Alban, A. D. 305.
in his hand. Sword. England’s protomartyr.

GLOBE and cross. Three St. Charlemagne, A. D. 814.
crowns embroidered on his
robe. In armour. Ermine mantle.

GOOSE. Dividing his cloak St. Martin of Tours,
with a beggar. Beggar at A. D. 397. Patron saint of
his feet. Sometimes as Tours, and Lucca, and of
soldier, or in Bishop’s robes. penitent drunkards.

GRIDIRON. Deacon’s robes. St. Laurence, A. D. 258.
Sometimes gridiron embroidered Patron saint of Nuremberg,
on his robe. Palm. and Genoa.

HAIR and beard long. Half-naked. St. Paul, the Hermit of
Very old. Sometimes Thebes, A. D. 344.
a raven near.

HALBERD (in Germany). St. Jude or Thaddeus, Apostle
and Martyr.

HARROW. Bishop’s robes. St. Frediano of Lucca,
A. D. 560.

HAT, Cardinal’s, near. Sometimes St. Jerome, A. D. 420. One
Cardinal’s robes. of the Four Latin Fathers
Old. Wasted. Long beard. of the Church.
Books. Skull. Crucifix.
Lion. Church in his hand.

HAT, Cardinal’s, hanging on St. Bonaventura, A. D. 1274.
a tree or at his feet. Angel
with pyx. Book. Cardinal’s
robes, or Franciscan habit.

HAWK. Shield with nine balls. St. Quirinus the Tribune,
A. D. 130.

HEAD, blood flowing from, St. Peter Martyr, A. D. 1252.
or pierced by an axe or
sword. Palm. Crucifix.
Dominican habit.

HEAD, blood flowing from, or St. Thomas à Becket,
pierced by a sword. Benedictine A. D. 1170.
habit or Bishop’s robes.

HEAD of a man under her St. Catherine of Alexandria,
feet. Wheel. Crown. Virgin Martyr, A. D. 307.
Palm. Book. Receiving Patron saint of Venice,
ring from the Christ-Child. philosophy, science,
students, and against
diseases of the tongue.

HEAD, carrying his own. St. Clair, Martyr, third
Found only in Rouen. century.

HEAD, carrying in both hands, St. Proculus, Martyr,
or axe in his hand, or angel A. D. 303. Patron saint of
holding an axe. In armour. Bologna.
Sword.

HEAD in his hand. Sword. St. Alban, A. D. 305. England’s
Fountain. protomartyr.

HEAD, carrying his own. Bishop’s St. Denis, Martyr,
robes. first century.

HEAD, carrying her own. Palm. St. Valerie, Martyr.

HEAD, carrying St. Alexander’s, St. Grata, A. D. 300.
accompanied by St. Adelaide
as Queen with a veil,
St. Lupo with crown, and
St. Alexander in armour. Palm.

HEART, flaming or transfixed St. Augustine, A. D. 430. One
by an arrow. Infant by the of the Four Latin Fathers of
seashore. Book in his hand the Church.
or at his feet. Bishop’s
robes. Mitre. Crozier.

HEART with I. H. S. Angel St. Theresa, A. D. 1582.
with flame-tipped arrow. Patron saint of Spain.
Dove. Lily. Crucifix. Founder of the Scalzi,
Carmelite habit. reformed Carmelites.

HEART, crowned by thorns. St. Ignatius Loyola, A. D.
I. H. S. in the skies, or on 1556. Founder of the
a tablet borne by angels. Jesuit Order.

HERMIT praying in a hollow St. Bavon, A. D. 657. Patron
tree, or as a prince in saint of Ghent and Haarlem.
armour, with falcon in his
hand. Huge stone.

HIND, pierced by an arrow, St. Giles, Hermit, A. D. 725.
in his arms or at his feet. Patron saint of Edinburgh,
Old. Benedictine habit. of woods, cripples, beggars,
lepers.

HOG. Bell and crutch. Asperges. St. Anthony, Hermit, A. D. 357.
Flames of fire in Patron saint against
the background. Skull. fire, here and hereafter.
Crucifix. Monk’s habit.

HORSES, tied to wild. Bunch St. Hippolytus, Martyr,
of keys. Sometimes iron A. D. 258. The jailer of
comb. In armour. St. Laurence.

I. H. S. on a tablet surrounded St. Bernardino of Siena,
by rays. Sometimes three A. D. 1444. Founder of the
mitres, or three mounds Order of Observants,
surmounted by a standard reformed Franciscans.
or cross. Franciscan habit.

I. H. S. on heart. Angel with St. Theresa, A. D. 1582.
flame-tipped arrow. Dove. Patron saint of Spain.
Lily. Crucifix. Carmelite Founder of the Scalzi,
habit. reformed Carmelites.

I. H. S. in the sky, or on a St. Ignatius Loyola,
tablet borne by angels. A. D. 1556. Founder of the
Heart crowned by thorns. Jesuits.

INSTRUMENTS, surgical. Box St. Cosmo and St. Damian,
of ointment. Two men in Martyrs, A. D. 301. Patron
red robes. Palms. saints of medicine, and the
Medici family.

JAVELIN, with the point reversed. St. Filomena, Martyr,
Lily. Palm. A. D. 303.

JAVELIN or lance at his feet. St. Lambert, Martyr,
Palm. Bishop’s robes. A. D. 709.

JAVELINS. Lily. Crown. St. Miniato, Martyr,
T-shaped cross. Palm. A. D. 254.
Scarlet robe.

JUDGE or Doctor of Laws. St. Ives of Bretagne,
Sometimes surrounded by A. D. 1303. Patron saint of
widows and orphans. Sometimes lawyers.
wears the Franciscan
cord around his furred robe.

KEYS. Fish. Cross. Cock. St. Peter, Apostle and Martyr.

KEYS at her girdle. Dragon St. Martha of Bethany,
bound at her feet. Pot of A. D. 84. Patron saint of
holy water. Asperges. cooks and housewives.
Skimmer or ladle.

KNIFE. Sometimes carrying St. Bartholomew, Apostle and
his own skin. Martyr.

KNIFE, shoemaker’s, or awl. St. Crispin and St. Crispianus,
Palm. Two saints together. Martyrs, A. D. 300. Patron
saints of Soissons.

LABARUM or Standard of the St. Constantine, A. D. 335.
Cross. As Roman Emperor
or warrior.

LAMB. Reed cross. Scroll. St. John the Baptist. Patron
Camel’s hair garment. saint of Florence, and all
who are baptised.

LAMB. Hair as a cloak. St. Agnes, Virgin Martyr,
Olive branch. Crown. Palm. A. D. 304.

LAMB. Stigmata. Lily. St. Francis of Assisi,
Skull. Crucifix. Franciscan habit. A. D. 1226. Founder of the
Franciscan Order.

LAMP. Eyes on a dish. Sword St. Lucy, Virgin Martyr,
or wound in her neck. Palm. A. D. 303. Patron saint of
Syracuse, and against
diseases of the eye.

LILY. Crutch or stick. St. Joseph, husband of the
Blessed Virgin.

LILY. Lamb. Stigmata. St. Francis of Assisi,
Skull. Crucifix. Franciscan habit. A. D. 1226. Founder of the
Franciscan Order.

LILY. Flame of fire in his St. Anthony of Padua,
hand or on his breast. A. D. 1231.
Infant Christ in his arms
or on his book. Mule kneeling.
Crucifix. Franciscan
habit.

LILY. Star on his forehead. St. Dominick, A. D. 1221.
Dog with torch in its mouth. Founder of the Dominican
Rosary. Book. Dominican habit. Order.

LILY. Crown and sceptre St. Casimir of Poland,
at his feet. Royal robes. Young. A. D. 1483.

LILY. Crucifix. Surplice over St. Francis Xavier,
black habit. A. D. 1552. Patron saint of
India.

LILY. Pyx. Cross. Franciscan St. Clara, A. D. 1253. Founder
habit. Black veil. of the Order of Poor Clares,
Franciscan nuns.

LILY. Crown of thorns. St. Catherine of Siena,
Stigmata. Dominican habit. A. D. 1380.

LILY. Sword. Palm. Lion St. Euphemia, Virgin Martyr,
at her side. A. D. 307.

LION, generally winged. St. Mark, Evangelist and
Bishop’s robes. Book. Martyr.

LION. Old, ragged, wasted. St. Jerome, A. D. 420. One
Long beard. Skull. Crucifix. of the Four Latin Fathers
Book, or Cardinal’s of the Church. Founder of
robes. Church in his hand. Monachism in the West.
Cardinal’s hat near. Patron saint of scholars.

MILLSTONE. In armour. St. Victor of Marseilles,
Martyr, A. D. 303.

MILLSTONE. Throwing water St. Florian. A patron saint
on a burning house. of Austria.

MILLSTONE. Crown. Arrows. Palm. St. Christina, Martyr,
A. D. 295. Patron saint of
Bolsena and Venice.

MITRES, three, on a book St. Bernard of Clairvaux,
or at his feet. Beehive. A. D. 1153. Founder of the
Ink-horn, pen, and papers. Cistercians, reformed
Demon bound. White habit. Benedictines.

MITRES, three. I. H. S. on St. Bernardino of Siena,
a tablet surrounded by A. D. 1444. Founder of the
rays. Three mounds surmounted Order of Observants,
by the Standard reformed Franciscans.
or Cross. Franciscan habit.

MOOR, in armour, or with St. Maurice, Martyr, A. D. 286.
eagle on banner and shield. Patron saint of
Large red cross on his breast. Austria, Mantua, Savoy,
and of foot-soldiers.

MOOR, in armour. St. Victor of Milan, Martyr,
A. D. 303.

MULE KNEELING. Flame in his St. Anthony of Padua,
hand or on his breast. A. D. 1231.
Infant Christ in his arms
or on his book. Crucifix.
Lily. Franciscan habit.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. Crown St. Cecilia, Virgin Martyr,
of red and white roses. A. D. 280. Patron saint
Angel. Palm. Scroll of music. of music and musicians.

NUN. Crozier. Pilgrim’s St. Bridget of Sweden, A. D.
staff. Dove. Black and 1373. Founder of the
white habit. White veil Order of Brigittines.
with red band across the
forehead.

OTTER by his side. Bishop’s St. Cuthbert of Durham,
robes. Crowned head of A. D. 687.
King Oswald in his arms.

OX (winged). Book. Portrait St. Luke, Evangelist, Martyr.
of the Virgin.

OX at his feet. Small dragon St. Sylvester, Pope,
in his hand. Sometimes A. D. 335.
portraits of St. Peter and
St. Paul. Pope’s or Bishop’s
robes.

PINCERS, holding a tooth. St. Apollonia of Alexandria,
Palm. Virgin Martyr, A. D. 250.
Patron saint against
toothache.

PINCERS, holding tongue in. St. Lieven, Martyr, A. D. 656.
Bishop’s robes.

PLOUGHSHARES, walking over. St. Cunegunda of Bavaria,
Church in her hand. Royal A. D. 1040.
robes.

POTS, earthenware. Sometimes St. Justa and St. Rufina,
the Giralda (tower) Martyrs, A. D. 304.
of Seville between them.
Two young girls with
palms.

PRIESTS, two. Palms. St. Peter Exorcista and St.
Marcellinus, Martyrs,
A. D. 304.

PYX. Cross. Lily. Franciscan St. Clara, A. D. 1253. Founder
habit. Black veil. of the Poor Clares,
Franciscan nuns.

RAVEN with a loaf in its beak. St. Benedict, A. D. 543.
Broken pitcher or cup. Founder of the Benedictine
Broken sieve. Thorn bush. Order.
Asperges. Mitre and staff.
Black habit, sometimes white.

RAVEN. Very old. Half St. Paul the Hermit of Thebes,
naked. Long hair and beard. A. D. 344.

RAVEN or crow sometimes on St. Vincent, Martyr, A. D. 304.
a millstone. Palm. Young. Patron saint of
Deacon’s dress. Valencia, Saragossa, Lisbon,
Milan, and Chalons.

RING. Royal robes. Sceptre St. Edward the Confessor,
surmounted by a dove. A. D. 1066.

ROPE around his neck. Barefooted. St. Charles Borromeo,
Cardinal’s robes. A. D. 1584. Archbishop of
Milan.

ROSES, red and white, in her St. Elizabeth of Hungary,
lap. Cripple or beggar at A. D. 1231.
her feet. Sometimes three
crowns. Royal robes or
Franciscan habit.

ROSES, crown of red and white. St. Cecilia, Virgin Martyr,
Angel. Palm. Musical A. D. 280. Patron saint
instruments. Organ. of music and musicians.

ROSES, crown of, or in her St. Dorothea of Cappadocia,
hand. Angel holding basket Virgin Martyr, A. D. 303.
with three apples and three
roses. Palm.

ROSES falling from his mouth. St. Angelus the Carmelite,
White over brown habit. A. D. 1220.

ROSES, chaplet of. Franciscan habit. St. Rosa di Viterbo,
A. D. 1261.

RULE, builder’s or carpenter’s. St. Thomas, Apostle and Martyr.
Patron saint of builders
and architects.

SAW. St. Simon Zelotes, Apostle.,
Martyr.

SCOURGE with three knotted St. Ambrose, A. D. 397. One
thongs. Beehive. Two of the Four Latin Fathers
human bones. Books. of the Church. Patron
Bishop’s robes. Mitre. Crozier. saint of Milan.

SEA, walking over, or in the St. Raymond of Peñaforte,
background. Dominican habit. A. D. 1275.

SERPENTS at her side or St. Verdiana, A. D. 242.
feeding from a basket.

SEVEN youths surrounding St. Felicitas and her seven
her. Palm. Veil. sons, Martyrs, A. D. 173.
Patron saint of male heirs.

SHEARS. Dish with female St. Agatha, Virgin Martyr,
breast. Palm. Veil. A. D. 251. Patron saint
of Malta and Catania, and
against fire and diseases of
the breast.

SKIN, carrying his own. Knife. St. Bartholomew, Apostle.
Martyr.

SKULL. Stigmata. Lily. St. Francis of Assisi,
Crucifix. Lamb. Franciscan habit. A. D. 1226. Founder of the
Franciscan Order.

SPADE. Old. St. Phocas of Sinope, Martyr,
A. D. 303. Patron saint
of gardens and gardeners.

SPEAR or lance. Roman soldier. St. Longinus, A. D. 45. The
centurion at the crucifixion.
Patron saint of Mantua.

SPIDER over a cup. Sometimes St. Norbert, A. D. 1134.
demon bound. White Founder of the Order of
over black habit. Premonstratensians.

STAG. Hunting horn. Richly St. Julian Hospitator,
attired. River and boat A. D. 313. Patron saint of
in the background. boatmen, travellers, and
wandering minstrels.

STAG with crucifix between St. Eustace, Martyr, A. D. 118.
its horns. In armour.

STAG with crucifix between St. Hubert, A. D. 727. Bishop
its horns. Hunting horn. of Liège. Patron saint of
Book. Huntsman’s dress, the chase and of dogs.
or Bishop’s robes. (Seldom
found in Italy.)

STAR on his forehead. Dog St. Dominick, A. D. 1221.
with torch in its mouth. Founder of the Dominican
Lily. Rosary. Book. Order.
Dominican habit.

STAR. Five around his head. St. John Nepomuck, A. D. 1393.
Finger or padlock on his lip. Patron saint of bridges
and running water, of
silence, and against slander.

STAR on his breast. Crucifix St. Nicholas of Tolentino,
wreathed with a lily. Gospel. A. D. 1309.
Augustine habit.

STIGMATA. Lily. Lamb. St. Francis of Assisi,
Crucifix. Franciscan habit. A. D. 1226. Founder of the
Franciscan Order.

STONES. Palm. Deacon’s St. Stephen, Protomartyr.
robes.

STONES, chasuble full of. St. Alphege, Archbishop of
Canterbury.

SUN on his breast. Books. St. Thomas Aquinas, A. D. 1274.
Sacramental cup. Dove.

SWORD, sometimes two swords. St. Paul, Apostle, Martyr.
Book. Scroll.

SWORD. Shield. Spear. St. Michael the Archangel.
Scales. Winged. In armour.
Dragon under his foot.

SWORD at his feet. Palm or St. Pantaleon of Nicomedia,
olive. As martyr bound or Martyr, fourth century.
hands nailed over his head Patron saint of physicians.
to a tree. Young. Beardless.

SWORD or axe in his head, or St. Peter, Martyr, A. D. 1252.
gash in his head, blood
trickling from it. Palm.
Dominican habit.

SWORD. Tower with three St. Barbara, Virgin Martyr,
windows. Feather. Cup A. D. 303. Patron saint of
and wafer. Crown. Palm. Mantua and Ferrara, arms,
armourers, and
fortifications, and against
thunder and lightning.

SWORD through her breast. St. Justina of Padua, Virgin
Crown. Palm. Martyr, A. D. 303. Patron
saint of Padua and Venice.

T, blue, on his shoulder. St. Anthony the Hermit,
Crutch and bell. Asperges. A. D. 357.
Hog. Flames of fire. Skull.
Crucifix. Monk’s habit.

TOWER with three windows. St. Barbara, Virgin Martyr,
Crown. Sword. Feather. A. D. 303. Patron saint
Cup and wafer. Palm. of Mantua and Ferrara,
armourers, and
fortifications, and against
thunder and lightning.

TREE coming into leaf. Bishop’s robes. St. Zenobio of Florence,
A. D. 417.

TWO men in red robes and St. Cosmo and St. Damian,
caps. Surgical instruments. Martyrs, A. D. 301. Patron
Box of ointment. saints of medicine, and the
Medici family.

TWO men, one old, the other St. Nazarius and St. Celsus,
young. Sword. Palm. Martyrs, A. D. 69. Patron
saints of Milan.

TWO men in armour. Palms. St. John and St. Paul, brothers
(SS. Giovanni e Paolo),
Martyrs. A. D. 362.

UNICORN at her feet. Palm. St. Justina of Antioch, Virgin
(See St. Cyprian.) Martyr, A. D. 304.

VASE or box of ointment. St. Mary Magdalene, A. D. 68.
Long fair hair. Skull. Patron saint of Marseilles,
Crucifix. Provence, and of
frail and penitent women.

WHEEL. Crown. Palm. St. Catherine of Alexandria,
Sometimes trampling on Virgin Martyr, A. D. 307.
a pagan. Book. Sword. Patron saint of Venice,
Receiving ring from the colleges, philosophy,
Christ-Child. science, eloquence, and
against diseases of the
tongue.

WHEEL, small. Candle in his St. Erasmus or Elmo, A. D. 296.
hands or on his head.
Bishop’s robes.

WINGS. Crucifix. Dominican habit. St. Vincent Ferraris,
A. D. 1419.

WOLF. A boy with a palm. St. Vitus, Martyr, A. D. 303.
Sometimes a lion, or caldron Patron saint of Saxony,
of oil. Cock. Bohemia, and Sicily, of
actors and dancers, against
nervous diseases, and late
rising.

WOUND, pointing to, in his leg. St. Roch, A. D. 1327. Patron
Dog. Pilgrim’s habit. saint of prisoners and the
Wallet. Cockleshell. Staff. sick, especially the
plague-stricken.

WOUND in her neck, rays St. Lucy, Virgin Martyr,
streaming from it. Lamp. A. D. 303. Patron saint of
Sword. Palm. Sometimes Syracuse, and against
eyes on a dish. diseases of the eye.

II.—SAINTS AND SYMBOLS

ST. ADRIAN, A. D. 290. Sept. Armed. Anvil in hands or
8. Patron saint of Germany at feet. Sometimes lion,
and Flanders, of soldiers, emblem of fortitude, sometimes
and against the plague, also sword or axe lying
patron of Flemish brewers. beside anvil.

ST. AGATHA, A. D. 251. Feb. Palm. Salver with female
5. Patron saint of Malta breast. Shears. Veil.
and Catania and against fire
and diseases of the breast.

ST. AGNES, Virgin and Martyr, Hair as cloak. Lamb. Palm.
A. D. 304. Jan. 21. Olive branch. Crown.

ST. ALBAN, A. D. 305. June Fountain. Sword. Sometimes
22. England’s protomartyr. head in his hand.

ST. ALBERT the Carmelite, Episcopal robes. Palm.
A. D. 1214. April 8.
Founder of the Carmelite
Order, Bishop of Vercelli,
Patriarch of Jerusalem.

ST. ALEXIS, A. D. 400. July Pilgrim’s habit, ragged and
17. Patron saint of pilgrims worn. Beggar’s dish.
and beggars. Palm. Cross.

ST. ALPHEGE, A. D. 1012. Stones, chasuble full of.
April 19. Archbishop of
Canterbury.

ST. AMBROSE, A. D. 397. Mitre. Crozier. Beehive.
April 4. Patron saint of Two human bones. Scourge
Milan and one of the Four with three knotted thongs.
Latin Fathers. Books. Bishop’s robes.

ST. ANDREA CORSINI, A. D. Bishop’s robes.
1373. Feb. 4. Bishop of Fiesole.

ST. ANDREW the Apostle, White hair and beard. Gospel.
A. D. 70. Nov. 30. Patron Transverse cross shaped
saint of Scotland and thus—❌.
Russia. Order of the
Golden Fleece.

ST. ANGELUS the Carmelite, Red and white roses falling
A. D. 1220. May 5. from his mouth, symbols of
eloquence. White over
brown habit.

ST. ANIANUS, A. D. 86. April
5. A shoemaker of Alexandria
converted by St. Mark,
later he became Bishop of
Alexandria.

ST. ANNE. July 26. Mother Elderly woman. Veil.
of the Blessed Virgin. Patron
saint of mothers.

ST. ANSANO of Siena. Was Young. Richly dressed.
persecuted and beheaded Palm, sometimes with a
at the time of Diocletian. cluster of dates depending
He was the great patron from it. Cross.
saint of Siena until the
end of the thirteenth century.

ST. ANTHONY the Hermit, Monk’s habit. Crutch. Bell.
A. D. 357. Jan. 17. Patron Asperges. Hog. Flames of
saint against fire, here and fire. Skull. Crucifix.
hereafter.

ST. ANTHONY of Padua, A. D. Habit grey or dark brown with
1231. June 13. Belonged hood and cord. Flame of
to the Franciscan Order. fire in his hand or on
his breast. Book. Lily.
Crucifix. Infant Christ in
his arms or on his book.
Mule kneeling.

ST. ANTONINO, A. D. 1459. Episcopal robes.
May 10. Archbishop of Florence.

ST. APOLLINARIS, A. D. 79. Habit of a Greek bishop,
July 23. Was the first white and without mitre.
Bishop of Ravenna, where Cross, black, embroidered
his fame is chiefly confined. on white robe.
Martyred in the reign of
Vespasian, the basilica of
St. Apollinaris-in-Classe
was built some five hundred
years later on the site of
his martyrdom, three miles
from Ravenna.

ST. APOLLONIA, Virgin and Palm. Pincers holding tooth
Martyr, A. D. 250. Feb. in allusion to the torture
9. Patron saint against inflicted upon her.
toothache.

ST. ATHANASIUS, A. D. 373. Unpopular in art.
May 2. One of the Four
Greek Fathers of the Church,
from whom the Athanasian
Creed is named.

ST. AUGUSTINE, A. D. 430. Bishop’s robes. Mitre.
Aug. 28. One of the Four Crozier. Book at his feet or
Latin Fathers of the Church. in his hands. Heart flaming
or transfixed with an arrow.
Infant by seashore.

ST. AUGUSTINE or AUSTIN of Benedictine habit. Staff.
Canterbury, A. D. 604. Gospel in his hand. Cope,
May 26. Was sent to pallium and mitre as Bishop
England by Pope Gregory of Canterbury.
the Great, where he introduced
the Benedictine Order.

ST. BARBARA, A. D. 303. Tower with three windows.
Dec. 4. Patron saint of Palm. Book. Sword.
Ferrara and Mantua, armourers, Crown. Cup and wafer.
fortifications, firearms, Feather.
and against thunder
and lightning.

ST. BARNABAS the Apostle. Rarely appears except in
June 11. Venetian pictures. Holds in
his hand the Gospel of St.
Matthew.

ST. BARTHOLOMEW the Apostle. Knife. Carrying his own
Aug. 24. skin.

ST. BASIL the Great, A. D. The Greek Fathers have no
380. June 14. One of the distinguishing attributes.
Four Greek Fathers.

ST. BAVON, A. D. 657. Oct. 1. Sometimes represented as a
Patron saint of Ghent hermit seated and praying
and Haarlem. in a hollow tree, or as a
prince in armour with a
falcon in his hand. A huge
stone which he carried as a
penance is sometimes
introduced.

ST. BENEDICT, A. D. 543. Black habit, sometimes white.
Mar. 2. Founder of the Raven with loaf in its beak.
Benedictine Order. Mitre and staff. Asperges.
Pitcher. Thorn bush.
Broken sieve.

ST. BENNO, A. D. 1100. Bishop’s robes. Fish with key
June 16. Bishop of Meissen, in its mouth.
Saxony.

ST. BERNARD of Clairvaux, White habit. Ink-horn, pen,
A. D. 1153. Aug. 20. and papers. Beehive.
Demon bound. Three mitres
on a book or at his feet.

ST. BERNARD of Menthon,
A. D. 1008. June 15. Was
a Savoyard of noble birth,
who became Archdeacon of
Aosta and founded the two
hospitals of the Great and
Little St. Bernard, where the
monks with the assistance of
dogs rescue travellers who
are lost in the snow.

ST. BERNARD DEI TOLOMEI, White habit. Olive branch
A. D. 1319. Founder of the in his hand.
Olivetani.

ST. BERNARD DEGLI UBERTI. Represented in Cardinal’s
Cardinal and Abbot of robes in pictures with other
Vallombrosa. Vallombrosan saints.

ST. BERNARDINO of Siena, Franciscan habit. I. H. S. on
A. D. 1444. May 20. a tablet surrounded by rays.
Founder of the Order of Sometimes three mitres, or
Observants. three mounds surmounted
by a cross or standard.

ST. BLAISE, A. D. 289. Feb. 3. Bishop’s robes. Mitre.
Popular in France and England. Crozier. Old, with white
Patron saint of wool-combers, beard. Iron comb, instrument
of wild animals, and of his torture. Not
against diseases of the throat. often represented in art.

ST. BONAVENTURA, A. D. Franciscan habit. Cardinal’s
1274. July 14. hat at his feet or hanging
on a tree. Cardinal’s
robes. Book. Pyx.

ST. BONIFACE, A. D. 755. Bishop’s robes over the black
June 5. Archbishop of Benedictine habit. Holding
Mayence and first apostle book stained with blood
of Germany. or transfixed by a sword.
Crozier.

ST. BRIDGET or BRIGIDA of
Ireland, A. D. 500. Feb.
1. Baptised by St. Patrick.

ST. BRIDGET of Sweden, A. D. Of mature age. Nun with
1373. Oct. 8. Founder of white veil, which has red
the Order of the Brigittines. band. Crozier as first
abbess of the order. Sometimes
pilgrim’s staff and
wallet. Sometimes dove,
denoting inspiration.

ST. BRUNO, A. D. 1100. July White habit. Shaven head.
18. Founder of the Carthusian
Order of Reformed
Benedictines.

ST. CASIMIR of Poland, A. D. Young. Royal robes. Lily.
1483. Patron saint of Crown and sceptre at feet.
Poland. Sometimes he holds his
hymn to the Virgin, and the
lily and crown are on a
table beside him.

ST. CATHERINE of Alexandria, Wheel. Palm. Book. Sword.
A. D. 307. Nov. 25. Patron Crown. Trampling on
saint of Venice, philosophy, pagan. Receiving ring from
science, colleges, students, the Christ-Child.
and against diseases of the
tongue.

ST. CATHERINE of Bologna, Franciscan habit, veiled.
A. D. 1463. Mar. 9.
Called also _Santa Caterina
de’ Vigri_, a maid of honour
to Margaret d’Este, who
joined the Poor Clares and
became an abbess.

ST. CATHERINE of Siena, A. D. Dominican habit. Stigmata.
1380. April 30. Lily. Crown of thorns.

ST. CECILIA, A. D. 280. Nov. Crown of red and white roses.
22. Patron saint of music Organ. Musical instruments.
and musicians. Angel. Palm.
Scroll of music.

ST. CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 814. Globe and cross. Three
Jan. 28. crowns embroidered on his
robe. In armour. Ermine
mantle.

ST. CHARLES BORROMEO, A. D. Cardinal’s robes. Barefooted.
1584. Nov. 4. Cardinal Rope around his neck.
and Archbishop of Milan.

ST. CHRISTINA, A. D. 295. Millstone. Arrows. Palm.
July 24. Patron saint of Crown. It is difficult to
Bolsena and Venice. distinguish this saint from
St. Ursula when she bears
the arrow only.

ST. CHRISTOPHER, A. D. 364. Huge staff. Christ-Child on
July 25. Patron saint his shoulders. Ankle deep
against fire, earthquake, in water. Lantern. Monk
tempests, floods, and accidents. in background.

ST. CLARA, A. D. 1253. Aug. Lily. Cross. Pyx. Franciscan
12. Founder of the Poor habit and black veil.
Clares, Franciscan nuns.

ST. CLEMENT, A. D. 100. Pope’s or Bishop’s robes. Anchor
Nov. 23. Third Bishop of in hand or suspended
Rome. around his neck.

ST. CLOTILDA, A. D. 534. Royal robes, long white veil
June 3. Princess of Burgundy and jewelled crown. Angel
and wife of Clovis, holding shield bearing three
King of France. In a vision _fleur-de-lys_.
an angel brought her three
lilies, and from this the arms
of France were changed from
three toads (_crapauds_) to the
_fleur-de-lys_. She is said to
have christianised France.

ST. CLOUD, A. D. 560. Sept. Benedictine habit. Crown at
7. Grandson of St. Clotilda. feet.

ST. CONSTANTINE, Emperor, Dressed as Roman emperor
A. D. 335. or warrior, holding _labarum_
or standard of the cross.

SS. COSMO and DAMIAN, A. D. Two men in red robes. Box
301. Sept. 27. Patron saints of ointment. Surgical
of the Medici, and the medical instruments.
profession.

ST. COSTANZO, second century. He is found with SANT’ ERCOLANO
Bishop of Perugia, in pictures of the
suffered martyrdom under Umbrian school.
Marcus Aurelius.

SS. CRISPIN and CRISPIANUS, Awl, or shoemaker’s knife.
A. D. 300. Oct. 25. Patron Palm. Two saints together.
saints of Soissons. Shoemakers
who made shoes
for the poor without reward,
angels supplying them with
leather. They went from
Rome with St. Denis to
preach the Gospel in France.

ST. CUNEGUNDA, A. D. 1040. Walking over ploughshares.
Mar. 3. Wife of St. Henry Church in her hand. Royal
of Bavaria, her story is robes.
popular in German poetry
and art.

ST. CUTHBERT, A. D. 687. Bishop’s robes. Otter.
March 20. Crowned head of King
Oswald in his arms.

ST. CYPRIAN, A. D. 258. Palm. Mitre at his feet.
Sept. 16. Bishop of Carthage.
Suffered martyrdom
under Valerian.

ST. CYPRIAN and ST. JUSTINA When represented together he
of Antioch, A. D. 304. wears the habit of a Greek
Sept. 26. St. Cyprian, a bishop (without mitre).
great magician, became Palm. Sword. Trampling
converted through his love his magical books under
for St. Justina and they his feet. She holds the
suffered martyrdom together palm, and the unicorn, symbol
in the reign of of chastity, crouches at
Diocletian. her feet.

ST. CYRIL of Alexandria, A. D. The only Greek bishop
444. Jan. 28. Patriarch of represented with his head
Alexandria and sometimes covered.
a fifth in pictures of the
Four Greek Fathers. His
name has been connected
with the murder of Hypatia,
which was committed by
his followers in a church.

ST. DENIS of France (ST. Bishop’s robes. Carrying his
DIONYSIUS the Areopagite). head in his hand.
Bishop of Paris in the third
century and patron saint
of France. The legends
confuse this saint with
Dionysius, the convert of St.
Paul, and he is thus universally
represented in art. St.
Denis was beheaded in
Paris, and taking his head
in his hand, he walked
two miles with it to a
place now called Montmartre.

ST. DOMINICK, A. D. 1221. Dominican habit. Dog with
Aug. 4. Founder of the torch in its mouth. Lily.
Order of Dominicans, or Star on forehead. Book.
Preaching Friars. Rosary.

ST. DOROTHEA of Cappadocia, Roses in her hand or crowned
A. D. 303. Feb. 6. Was with roses. Angel with
noted for her beauty and basket containing three apples
piety. At the time of the and three roses. Palm.
persecution she refused to Sometimes crown as martyr.
sacrifice to idols and was
imprisoned and condemned
to be beheaded. As she
went to execution, a young
man named Theophilus,
mocking her, asked for
flowers and fruit from the
garden to which she was
going. After her death,
a heavenly messenger appeared
to Theophilus bearing
three roses and three
apples, and telling him Dorothea
awaited him in the
garden. Theophilus then
was converted, and also
suffered martyrdom.

ST. DUNSTAN, A. D. 988.
May 19. A monk of Glastonbury
who became a favourite
of King Athelstan and was
made Archbishop of Canterbury
in the reign of Edgar.

ST. EDMUND, King and Martyr, Royal robes. Wolf. Arrow
A. D. 870. Nov. 20. in his hand.
King of East Anglia and
patron saint of Bury St.
Edmunds.

ST. EDWARD the Confessor, Royal robes. Ring. Sceptre
A. D. 1066. Jan. 5. surmounted by a dove.

ST. ELIZABETH, mother of St.
John the Baptist.

ST. ELIZABETH of Hungary, A lapful of red and white
A. D. 1231. Nov. 19. roses, symbols of love and
Famed for her beauty, sweetness, purity. Royal attire or
and charity. Franciscan habit. Cripple
or beggar at her feet.
Sometimes three crowns.

ST. ELOY (_Ital._ SANT’ ALÒ, Bishop’s robes. Crozier.
or LÒ, SANT’ ELIGIO), A. D. Book. Blacksmith’s tools.
659. Dec. 1. Patron saint Blacksmith with anvil,
of Bologna and Noyon; of hammer, tongs, and bellows.
goldsmiths, locksmiths,
blacksmiths, and all workers
in metals; of horses and
farriers.

ST. ERASMUS or ELMO, A. D. Aged. Bishop’s robes. Small
296. June 3. Invoked by wheel in his hand. Candle
the sailors of the Mediterranean on his head or in his hand.
against storms and
tempests. Suffered martyrdom
under Diocletian.

ST. ERCOLANA, A. D. 546. Found with St. Costanzo in
Bishop of Perugia. He was Umbrian pictures.
beheaded by the Goths.

ST. ETHELDREDA, A. D. 679.
June 23. Founded the
Cathedral and Monastery
of Ely.

ST. EUPHEMIA, A. D. 307. Lily. Sword. Palm. Lion
Sept. 16. One of the early at her side.
Greek martyrs.

ST. EUSTACE, A. D. 118. In armour. Stag with crucifix
Sept. 20. An officer under between its horns.
the Emperor Trajan to
whom Christ appeared in
the form of a white stag.

SAN FAUSTINO and SAN GIOVITA Pictures of these two saints
(Faustinus et Jovita), with St. Apollonius represent
A. D. 119. Feb. 15. Two the latter in bishop’s
brothers who were converts robes, the two brothers
of St. Apollonius and were dressed as deacons.
beheaded at Brescia.

ST. FELICITAS, A. D. 173. Palm. Veiled. Accompanied
Nov. 23. A Roman matron by her seven sons.
of great wealth, who with
her seven sons suffered
martyrdom in the reign of
Marcus Aurelius.

ST. FELIX DE CANTALICIO, Dark brown habit, peaked
A. D. 1587. May 8. The hood and girdle. Beggar’s
first saint of the Order of wallet with two ends like
the Capuccini. He spent a purse slung over his
forty-five years in begging shoulder.
for his convent.

ST. FERDINAND of Castile, In complete armour. Crown.
A. D. 1152. May 30. Sword. Sometimes holding
the orb of sovereignty.

ST. FILOMENA, A. D. 303. Lily. Javelin with the point
Aug. 10. reversed. Palm.

ST. FINA, A. D. 1253. Mar.
12. Patron saint of San
Gimignano.

ST. FLORIAN, May 4. One of Rarely seen in Italian art,
the eight tutelar saints of but is frequently found in
Austria. old German prints and
pictures. In armour. Sometimes
painted on the outside
of houses in Bohemia
throwing water from a
pitcher or bucket on a house
in flames. Millstone.

ST. FRANCESCA ROMANA, A. D. Benedictine habit. Angel
1440. Mar. 9. The great holding book.
female saint of the Order
of the Olivetani.

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, A. D. Franciscan habit. Stigmata.
1226. Oct. 4. Lamb. Lily. Skull.
Crucifix.

ST. FRANCIS BORGIA, A. D.
1572. Oct. 11. Third great
saint of the Jesuit Order.

ST. FRANCIS DE PAULE, A. D. Old, grey beard. Staff.
1508. April 2. Founder Franciscan habit, with short
of the Minimes, a reformed scapulary.
order of Franciscans.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES, A. D. Episcopal cope. Bareheaded.
1622. Jan. 29. Joint A heart pierced.
founder with St. Jeanne de
Chantal of the Order of
Visitation of St. Mary.

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER, A. D. Surplice over black habit.
1552. Dec. 3. Patron Crucifix. Lily.
saint and apostle of India.
Friend and associate of
Ignatius Loyola.

ST. FREDIANO of Lucca, A. D. Bishop’s robes. Harrow.
560. Patron saint of Lucca.

ST. GABRIEL. The second of Lily. Sceptre. Scroll.
the archangels.

ST. GAUDENZIO, A. D. 359.
Oct. 14. Bishop and patron
saint of Rimini. He was
scourged, then stoned to
death by the Arians.

ST. GEMINIANUS, A. D. 450. Bishop’s robes. Model of
Bishop and patron saint of city or cathedral in his
Modena. hand.

ST. GENEVIÈVE of Paris, A. D. Veiled. Lighted taper. Demon
509. Jan. 3. holding pair of bellows.
Sheep. Distaff. Spindle.
Book. Basket of provisions
or holding loaf of bread.

ST. GEORGE, A. D. 303. April In armour. Dragon at his
23. Patron saint of England, feet. Lance. Standard.
Germany, Venice, soldiers Palm.
and armourers.

ST. GERVASIUS and ST. PROTASIUS,
A. D. 69. June 19.
(_See St. Ambrose._)

ST. GILES (_Lat._ Sanctus Egidius, Old. Benedictine habit.
_Ital._ Sant’ Egidio, Fr. Hind pierced by an arrow
St. Gilles or Gil), A. D. in his arms or at his feet.
725. Sept. 1. Patron saint
of Edinburgh, of woods,
lepers, beggars, and cripples.
A hermit who lived in a
cave near Nismes. A hind,
that had fled to his cave
from the hunters and their
dogs, was pierced by an
arrow in his arms.

ST. GRATA, A. D. 300. These saints are constantly
Sept. 4. Daughter of St. represented in pictures
Lupo, Duke of Bergamo, painted by the Bergamo
and St. Adelaide his wife, artists, ST. ALEXANDER as
both of whom she converted. a Roman soldier bearing
When St. Alexander, one the palm, ST. GRATA carrying
of the Theban Legion, was the head of St. Alexander,
beheaded, she wrapped the ST. LUPO wearing a
head in fine linen and crown, ST. ADELAIDE a
reverently buried his remains. crown and long veil.

ST. GREGORY the Great, A. D. Dove on his shoulder or close
604. March 12. One of to his ear. Papal tiara.
the Four Latin Fathers. Crozier with double cross.
Book.
ST. GREGORY NANZIANZEN,
A. D. 390. May 9. One
of the Four Greek Fathers
of the Church.

ST. GUDULA, A. D. 712. Jan. Demon trying to blow out a
8. Patron saint of Brussels. lantern. Often confounded
with St. Geneviève of Paris.

ST. HELENA, A. D. 328. Aug. Royal robes. Crowned. Very
18. Is generally admitted large cross.
to have been a British
princess, who married Constantius
Chlorus and became
the mother of Constantine
the Great. It was she who
discovered the true cross.

ST. HENRY of Bavaria, A. D. In armour. Crowned. Sword.
1024. July 14. Emperor Orb of sovereignty. Holding
of Germany and husband in hand Cathedral of
of St. Cunegunda. Bamberg.

ST. HILARY (_Ital._ Sant’ Bishop’s robes. Reading the
Ilario), A. D. 363. Jan. Gospel.
13. Patron saint of Parma.

ST. HILDA, A. D. 680. Nov.
17. Abbess of Whitby.

ST. HIPPOLYTUS, A. D. 258. Often represented as jailer of
Aug. 13. Patron saint of St. Laurence, with bunch
horses. He was the jailer of keys. In armour. Sometimes
of St. Laurence, who became iron comb, or bound
converted and suffered martyrdom to horses.
by being tied to the
tails of wild horses and
dashed to pieces.

ST. HUBERT of Liège, A. D. Stag with crucifix between
727. Nov. 3. Patron saint its horns. Bishop’s robes.
of the chase and of dogs. Hunting horn. Book.
Sometimes in hunter’s
dress.

ST. HUGH of Grenoble, A. D.
1132. April 1. Bishop of
Grenoble. He gave to
St. Bruno the land on which
was built the “Grande
Chartreuse.”

ST. HUMILITY or UMILTÀ,
A. D. 1310. Founder of the
Order of Vallombrosan nuns.

ST. HYACINTH, A. D. 1257. Dominican habit. Crucifix.
Aug. 15. Pyx.

ST. IGNATIUS of Antioch, A. D.
107. Feb. 1. Thought to
have been the little child
whom Jesus “set in the
midst” and said “of such is
the Kingdom of Heaven.”
He and his friend St.
Polycarp were disciples of
St. John the Evangelist.

ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA, A. D. I. H. S. in the skies. Sometimes
1556. July 31. Founder on a tablet borne by
of the Order of Jesuits. angels. Heart crowned
with thorns.

ST. ILDEFONSO or ALPHONSO, Famous in Spanish art. Kneeling
A. D. 667. Jan. 23. A before the Virgin, while
Benedictine monk who two angels arrange the
became Archbishop of Toledo. sacred vestment.
He wrote a book
defending the perpetual
virginity of the Blessed
Virgin, and the Virgin appeared
to him in a vision
and with two angels invested
him in a wonderful chasuble.

ST. ISABELLA of France, A. D. Franciscan habit. Distributing
1270. Aug. 31. Sister of alms or food to the poor.
St. Louis and founder of
the great convent of Longchamps,
a community of
Poor Clares.

ST. ISIDORE the Ploughman, Labourer’s dress. Spade.
A. D. 1170. May 10. Patron Angel ploughing in background.
saint of Madrid and of
agriculture.

ST. IVES or YVO of Bretagne Judge. Franciscan cord.
(_Ital._ Sant’ IVO), A. D. 1303. Furred robe. Sometimes
May 19. Patron saint of all surrounded by widows and
lawyers in Europe. orphans.

ST. JAMES the Great. Apostle Cloak. Pilgrim’s staff.
and Martyr, A. D. 44. Wallet and shell.
July 25. Patron saint of
Spain.

ST. JAMES MINOR. Apostle Fuller’s club.
and Martyr. May 1.

ST. JANUARIUS, A. D. 303. Bishop’s robes. Palm. Mt.
Sept. 19. Patron saint of Vesuvius in background.
Naples. Protector against
eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius.

ST. JEROME, A. D. 420. Lion. Cardinal’s hat. Books.
Sept. 30. One of the Four Skull. Church in hand.
Latin Fathers, patron saint
of scholars and theologians.

ST. JOACHIM. March 20.
Husband of St. Anne and
father of the Virgin Mary.

ST. JOHN the Baptist. June Reed cross. Scroll. Lamb.
24. Patron saint of Florence Camel’s hair garment.
and all who are baptised.

ST. JOHN the Evangelist, A. D. Eagle. Pen. Book. Cup
99. Dec. 27. with serpent.

ST. JOHN CAPISTRANO, A. D. Turk under his feet. In one
1465. Oct. 23. A Franciscan hand a standard, in the other
monk sent by the pope to a cross.
preach a crusade against
the Turks. Canonised in
1690 to commemorate
Vienna’s deliverance from
the Turks.

ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (of the Habit of Greek bishop.
golden mouth), A. D. 407. Sacramental cup. Gospel.
Jan. 27. One of the Four Dove hovering near.
Greek Fathers of the
Church.

ST. JOHN GUALBERTO, A. D. Crucifix. Sometimes crutch.
1073. July 12. Founder of Light grey habit. Beardless.
the Vallombrosan Order of Cross.
Reformed Benedictines.

ST. JOHN DE MATHA, A. D. White habit. Blue and red
1213. Feb. 8. Founder cross on breast. Fetters
of the Trinitarian Order for in his hand or at his feet.
the redemption of captives. Angel with two captives in
background.

ST. JOHN NEPOMUCK, A. D. Augustine habit. Cross. Five
1393. May 16. Canon stars about his head.
Regular of St. Augustine. Sometimes finger on his lip
Protector of the Order of or mouth padlocked.
Jesuits. In Bohemia and
Austria the patron saint
of bridges and running
water, of silence and against
slander.

ST. JOSEPH. March 19. Husband Crutch or stick. Lily.
of the Blessed Virgin.

ST. JUAN DE LA CRUZ, A. D. Represented with St. Theresa
1591. First barefooted kneeling before the throne
Carmelite. Friend and of the Virgin.
coadjutor of St. Theresa.

ST. JUAN DE DIOS, A. D. 1550. Capuchin habit. Long beard.
March 8. Founder of the Holding a pomegranate
Hospitallers or Brothers of surmounted by a cross. Beggar
Charity. kneeling at his feet.

ST. JUDE. See ST. SIMON.

ST. JULIA and ST. AFRA. Frequently represented in
Virgin Martyrs and patron pictures of the Brescian
saints of Brescia. school with San Faustino, San
Giovita, and St. Apollonius.

ST. JULIAN of Cilicia. March Young. Flowing hair. Secular
16. Patron saint of Rimini. dress. Palm. Standard
of victory. Sword.

ST. JULIAN HOSPITATOR, A. D. Young. Courtier’s dress.
313. Jan. 9. Patron saint Hunting horn. Stag.
of travellers, boatmen, River and boat sometimes
ferrymen, and wandering seen in background.
minstrels.

SS. JUSTA and RUFINA, A. D. Palm. Earthenware pots.
304. July 19. Patron Sometimes the _Giralda_
saints of Seville. (tower) of Seville between
them, which they are supposed
to have saved by a
miracle in a thunder-storm
in 1504.

ST. JUSTINA of Antioch. _See_
ST. CYPRIAN.

ST. JUSTINA of Padua (_Ital._ Richly dressed as princess.
Santa Giustina di Padova), Crowned. Palm. Sword
A. D. 303. Oct. 7. Patron through her breast, emblem
saint of Padua and Venice. of her martyrdom. Sometimes
given the unicorn
which properly belongs to
St. Justina of Antioch.

ST. LAMBERT, A. D. 709. Sept. Bishop’s robes. Palm. Lance
17. Bishop of Maestricht. or javelin at his feet.

ST. LAURENCE, A. D. 258. Deacon’s dress. Palm. Gridiron.
Aug. 10. Patron saint of
Nuremberg, Genoa, and the
Escurial.

ST. LAZARUS, Sept. 2. Brother Bishop’s robes. Bier in
of Martha and Mary and background. Usually grouped
patron saint of Marseilles. with Mary, Martha, and
sometimes St. Marcella.

SS. LEANDER and ISIDORE, In pictures by Murillo they
sixth century. Two brothers are represented enthroned,
who were successively robed in white, wearing
Bishops of Seville and patron their mitres.
saints of the city.

ST. LEONARD, A. D. 559. Deacon’s dress, or Benedictine
Nov. 6. Patron saint of habit. Crozier. Book.
prisoners and slaves. Fetters.

ST. LONGINUS, A. D. 45. Roman soldier. Lance or
March 15. Patron saint of spear.
Mantua. Was the centurion
who pierced the side
of Christ at the crucifixion.
He became a Christian and
suffered martyrdom.

ST. LORENZO GIUSTINIANI,
A. D. 1455. Sept. 5. Bishop
of Castello and Patriarch
of Venice.

ST. LOUIS BELTRAN, A. D.
1581. Oct. 9. A celebrated
Dominican preacher and
friend of St. Theresa.

ST. LOUIS, King of France, Crown of thorns. Sword.
A. D. 1270. Aug. 25. Sceptre. Royal crown.

ST. LOUIS of Toulouse (_Ital._ Young. Beardless. _Fleur-de-lys_
San Ludovico), A. D. 1297. embroidered on
Aug. 19. bishop’s robes. Sometimes
Franciscan habit. Mitre.
Crown and sceptre at his
feet.

ST. LUCY, A. D. 303. Dec. Lamp. Eyes on salver.
13. Patron saint of Syracuse Sword in her neck or wound
and against diseases in neck from which stream
of the eye. rays of light. Palm. Awl.

ST. LUKE, Evangelist. Oct. 18. Ox (winged). Book. Portrait
Patron saint of painters. of the Virgin.

ST. MARCELLA or MARTILLA,
A. D. 68. The handmaid
of Mary and Martha.

ST. MARCELLINUS and ST. Represented together in art,
PETER EXORCISTA, A. D. bearing their palms.
304. June 2. Two priests
who were persecuted and
suffered martyrdom together.

ST. MARGARET of Antioch, Dragon under her feet. Cross.
A. D. 306. July 20. Crown. Palm.

ST. MARGARET of Cortona, Checkered habit. Cord as
A. D. 1297. girdle. Dog at her feet.

ST. MARK the Evangelist, Lion, generally winged. Bishop’s
A. D. 68. April 25. Patron robes. Book.
saint of Venice.

ST. MARTHA of Bethany, A. D. Pot of holy water. Asperges.
84. July 29. Patron saint Dragon bound at her feet.
of cooks and housewives. Bunch of keys. Skimmer
or ladle in her hand. When
with the Magdalene plainly
dressed in blue, dark brown,
or grey.

ST. MARTIN of Tours, A. D. Bishop’s robes. Beggar at
397. Nov. 11. Patron feet or as soldier dividing
saint of Tours, Lucca, and his cloak with beggar.
penitent drunkards. Goose at his side. (This
attribute alludes to the
season of his festival, called
Martinmastide, when geese
are killed and eaten.)

ST. MARY of Egypt, A. D. Old, wasted, with long hair,
433. April 2. grey or black. Three small
loaves.

ST. MARY MAGDALENE, A. D. Long, fair hair. Box of
68. July 22. Patron saint ointment. Skull. Crucifix.
of Provence, Marseilles, and
of penitent women.

ST. MATTHEW, Apostle and Angel or man. Book or pen.
Evangelist, A. D. 90. Sept. Purse or money-bag.
21.

ST. MATTHIAS, Apostle. Feb. Lance or axe.
24.

ST. MAURICE (_Ital._ San St. Maurice is represented in
Maurizio), A. D. 286. armour, palm in one hand,
Sept. 22. Patron saint of the standard in the other.
Savoy, Mantua, and Austria. Sometimes as a Moor, his
This saint was commander name signifying “a Moor.”
of the Theban Legion of the In Italian art he bears a
Roman Army, numbering large red cross—badge of the
6666 soldiers, all Christians. Sardinian Order of St.
These were slain to a man Maurice—on his breast. St.
by order of Emperor Maximin Gereon is in armour, and
for refusing to enter bears the standard and palm.
into battle against other Sometimes the Emperor
Christians. The place Maximin is portrayed prostrate
where the martyrdom occurred under his foot, expressing
has since been called spiritual victory
St. Maurice. St. Gereon over tyranny.
was another of the Theban
Legion, who, with his comrades,
suffered martyrdom
in Cologne. St. Gereon
and St. Maurice are most
honoured in Germany.

ST. MAURUS, A. D. 584.
Jan. 15. _See_ ST. BENEDICT.

ST. MICHAEL the Archangel. Winged. In armour. Sword.
Sept. 29. Spear. Shield. Dragon
under his foot. As Lord of
souls, holding the balance.

ST. MINIATO, A. D. 254. Scarlet robe. Crown. Palm.
Javelins. T-shaped cross.

ST. MONICA, A. D. 387. May
4. Mother of St. Augustine.

ST. NATALIA, wife of ST.
ADRIAN and one of the great
martyrs of the Greek Church.

ST. NAZARIUS and ST. CELSUS, Always represented together,
A. D. 69. July 28. Two St. Nazarius old, St. Celsus
martyrs of Milan. young. Each bears the
palm and sword.

ST. NICHOLAS of Myra or Bishop’s robes. Three balls.
Bari, A. D. 326. Dec. 6. Anchor. Three children in
Patron saint of Russia, a tub. Ship.
Freiberg, Venice, of children,
sailors, merchants, and
against robbers.

ST. NICHOLAS of Tolentino, Augustine habit. Star on his
A. D. 1309. Sept. 10. breast. Gospel. Crucifix
wreathed with a lily.

ST. NORBERT, A. D. 1134. Bishop’s robes. Sacramental
May 6. Founder of the Order cup with spider over it.
of Premonstratensians. Sometimes demon bound.

ST. OMOBUONO. Patron saint Loose tunic trimmed with
of Cremona, of tailors, and fur. Fur cap. Is seen
all good citizens. Noted distributing food and alms
for his charity. to the poor. Sometimes
wine flasks stand near him
in allusion to the legend
that after giving his own
provisions to some starving
pilgrims, he filled the empty
wine flasks with water which
poured out wine, and angels
filled his wallet with bread.

ST. ONOFRIO, fourth or fifth Old, wasted, long grey hair
century. June 12. A and beard. A leafy branch
hermit of Thebes who dwelt encircles his loins. Stick
alone in a cave for sixty in his hand.
years and never spoke except
to pray.

ST. OTTILIA, A. D. 720. Dec. Abbess of the Benedictine
13. Patron saint of Alsace Order. Crozier or Palm.
and Strasburg and against Book upon which rest two
diseases of the eye. She eyes.
was the blind daughter of the
Duke of Alsace and built the
convent of Hohenburg.

ST. PANTALEON, fourth century. Young. Beardless. Wears
July 27. Patron loose robe. Palm. Olive.
saint of physicians. Was As martyr bound to an olive
the favourite physician of tree. Sword at his feet.
Emperor Galerius Maximian.
Martyred for his faith.

ST. PATRICK, A. D. 464.
March 17. Apostle and
patron saint of Ireland.

ST. PAUL the Apostle, A. D. Sword. Sometimes two swords.
65. June 29. Book. Scroll. Next to
Virgin or Saviour enthroned.

ST. PAUL the Hermit of Thebes, Very old, half naked. Long
A. D. 344. hair and beard. Raven.

ST. PETER the Apostle, A. D. Keys. Fish. Cross. Cock.
65. June 29.

ST. PETER of Alcantara, A. D. Often represented thus, or
1562. A Franciscan monk with dove hovering over his
who through faith was able head.
to walk on the water.

ST. PETER EXORCISTA. _See_
ST. MARCELLINUS.

ST. PETER MARTYR, A. D. Dominican habit. Gash in
1252. April 28. his head or blood flowing
from it. Sometimes sword
or axe. Palm.

ST. PETER NOLASCO, A. D. Old. White habit; on his
1258. Jan. 13. Founder of breast the arms of King
the Order of Our Lady of James of Aragon, the badge
Mercy, for the redemption of the Order.
of captives.

ST. PETRONILLA, first century.
May 31. The daughter of
St. Peter.

ST. PETRONIUS, A. D. 430. Bishop’s robes. City of Bologna
Oct. 4. Bishop and patron in his hand.
saint of Bologna.

ST. PHILIP, Apostle. May 1. Staff or crozier surmounted
Patron saint of Luxembourg by a cross, or small cross
and Brabant. in his hand.

ST. PHILIP BENOZZI, A. D.
1285. Aug. 23. Chief
saint of the Order of the
Servi.

ST. PHILIP NERI, A. D. 1595.
May 26. Founder of the
Order of the Oratorians.

ST. PHOCAS of Sinope. Martyr. Found in Byzantine art. As
Greek patron saint of gardens gardener. Spade.
and gardeners.

ST. PLACIDUS, A. D. 584. Jan.
15. _See_ ST. BENEDICT.

ST. POL or PAUL DE LÉON, Bell. Sometimes loaf and
A. D. 573. March 12. First cruse. Driving dragon into
Bishop and patron saint of the sea.
Léon and founder of the
cathedral at St. Pol-de-Léon,
Brittany.

SS. PRAXEDES and PUDENTIANA,
A. D. 148. July 21
and May 19. The daughters
of a Roman patrician named
Pudens, with whom St.
Peter lodged. They were
Christians, and during the
first persecution they ministered
to the tortured ones,
sheltering them in their
own home. They themselves
escaped martyrdom.

ST. PRISCA, A. D. 275. Jan. Lion. Palm. Eagle.
18. A Roman virgin who
was denounced as a Christian
when but thirteen and
thrown to the lions. These,
instead of attacking her,
humbly licked her feet. She
was then taken and beheaded.
An eagle guarded
her body until it was buried.

ST. PROCOPIUS, A. D. 1053.
July 4. A King of Bohemia
who gave up his crown and
became a hermit. His story
is similar to St. Giles’s.

ST. PROCULUS, A. D. 303. Soldier, axe in his hand.
Military patron saint of Sometimes an angel holds
Bologna. One of the warrior the axe. Sword. Carrying
saints who slew with a head in both hands.
an axe an officer sent to
enforce the imperial edict
against the Christians and
was then himself immediately
beheaded.

ST. RANIERI, A. D. 1161.
July 17. Patron saint of
Pisa.

ST. RAPHAEL the Archangel. Winged. Wallet. Staff.
Guardian angel of travellers. Sword. Casket (with fishy
charm). Pilgrim’s garb.

ST. RAYMOND DE PEÑAFORTE, Dominican habit. Gliding
A. D. 1275. Jan. 23. A over the sea on his mantle.
Spanish nobleman who entered
the Order of St.
Dominick. He is said to
have safely crossed the sea
on his mantle, setting his
staff in the middle with the
corner of the cloak for a sail.

ST. REPARATA, third century. Crown. Palm. Sometimes a
Patron saint of Florence banner with red cross on a
before 1298. white ground. Difficult
to distinguish from St. Ursula
unless latter has arrow.

ST. ROCH, A. D. 1327. Aug. Pilgrim’s habit. Wallet.
16. Patron saint of prisoners Cockleshell. Staff. Dog.
and the sick, especially Often pointing to wound
the plague-stricken. in his leg.

ST. ROMAIN, A. D. 639. Oct.
23. Bishop of Rouen under
Clovis I. Considered the
Apostle of Normandy. The
dragon legend is related of
him also.

ST. ROMUALDO, A. D. 1027. White habit. Long white
Feb. 7. Founder of the beard. Crutch.
Order of the Camaldolesi,
reformed Benedictines.

ST. ROMULO, first century.
July 23. Convert of St.
Peter and first Bishop of
Fiesole. Martyred under
Nero.

ST. ROSA DI VITERBO, A. D. Franciscan habit. Chaplet of
1261. May 8. roses.

ST. ROSALIA of Palermo, A. D. Brown tunic. Hair loose.
1160. Crucifix. Angels crowning
her with roses.

ST. SABINA, second century. Palm. Crown. Richly
Aug. 29. A Roman matron dressed.
martyred in the time of the
Emperor Hadrian.

ST. SCHOLASTICA. _See_ ST.
BENEDICT.

ST. SEBALD or SIWARD, A. D. Pilgrim’s dress. Shell in his
770. One of the early hat. Rosary. Staff.
German saints, especially Wallet. In one hand his
venerated in Nuremberg. church with its two towers.

ST. SEBASTIAN, A. D. 288. Pierced by arrows. Bound
Jan. 20. Patron saint against to a tree or column. Angel
plague and pestilence. with palm and crown.

ST. SIMON and JUDE or St. Simon the saw. Thaddeus
THADDEUS. Oct. 28. the halberd.

ST. STEPHEN. Protomartyr. Stones. Deacon’s robes.
Dec. 26. Palm.

ST. SWITHIN, A. D. 862. July
2. Bishop of Winchester
and preceptor of Alfred the
Great. He desired to be
buried among the poor outside
the church. When his
clergy, however, on July
15th, wishing to do him
honour, attempted to remove
his body to a magnificent
tomb inside the church, the
rain fell in such torrents
they were unable to proceed.
The storm continued forty
days. Then, the clergy
saw it was a sign, and left
the saint’s body undisturbed.

ST. SYLVESTER, A. D. 335. Pontifical robes. Mitre.
Dec. 31. Bishop and Patriarch Sometimes triple tiara.
of Rome. Always Small dragon, its mouth
associated with the conversion bound with threads. Bull
of Constantine. crouching at his feet.
Sometimes holding or pointing
at the portraits of St. Peter
and St. Paul.

ST. THECLA, first century. Young. Palm. Wild beasts.
Sept. 23. Patron saint of
Tarragona. A Greek virgin
and martyr who was a convert
of St. Paul.

ST. THEODORE, A. D. 306. In armour. Dragon under
Nov. 9. Formerly patron his feet.
saint of Venice.

ST. THERESA, A. D. 1582. Corpulent. Infirm. Flame-tipped
Oct. 17. Patron saint of arrow in her breast.
Spain and founder of the Dove. Angel.
Scalzi, a reformed order of
the Carmelites.

ST. THOMAS, Apostle. Dec. Builder’s rule or square.
21. Patron saint of Parma Lance.
and Portugal, and of
builders and architects.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, A. D. Dominican habit. Books.
1274. March 7. Pen. Sacramental cup.
Sun on his breast within
which is sometimes a human
eye. Dove.

ST. THOMAS À BECKET of Blood flowing from his head.
Canterbury, A. D. 1170. Bishop’s robes or Benedictine
Dec. 29. habit.

ST. THOMAS of Villaneuva, At his canonisation it was
A. D. 1555. Sept. 17. ordained that he should be
Archbishop of Valencia, represented with an open
called the Almoner because purse in his hand instead
of his charities. of a crozier.

ST. TORPÈ or TROPÈS, A. D. Roman soldier. White banner
70. May 17. with a red cross.

ST. URSULA, A. D. 237 or Crown. Arrow. Pilgrim’s
383, or 451. Oct. 21. Patron staff surmounted by a white
saint of teachers and banner with the red cross.
young girls. Dove. Mantle sheltering
virgins.

ST. VERONICA. There is an Always represented in art
old tradition that when displaying the sacred napkin.
Jesus was on his way to
Calvary, staggering under
the weight of his cross,
he met a woman who,
filled with compassion,
wiped the drops of agony
from his face with a napkin,
or as some say with her
veil. And the face of Christ
was miraculously printed on
the cloth. The name of
_Vera Icon_, the true image,
was given to this, and the
cloth was called the _Sudarium_
(_Fr._ Le Sainte Sudaire;
_Ital._ Il Sudario).
In time the name of the
cloth was given to the
woman of whom the legend
is related. The festival of
St. Veronica occurs on
Shrove Tuesday.

ST. VICTOR of Marseilles, A. D. In armour. Millstone.
303. July 21. A Roman
soldier who suffered martyrdom
under Diocletian, being
crushed by a millstone and
then beheaded.

ST. VINCENT. Deacon and Young. Deacon’s dress
Martyr, A. D. 304. Jan. Palm. His peculiar attributes
22. Patron saint of Lisbon, a crow or raven
Valencia, Saragossa, Milan, sometimes perched upon a
and Chalons. millstone. Difficult to
distinguish from St. Laurence
and St. Stephen.

ST. VINCENT FERRARIS, A. D. Dominican habit. Crucifix.
1419. April 5. Sometimes represented with
wings, symbolising
inspiration.

ST. VINCENT DE PAULE, A. D. Franciscan habit. Infant in
1660. July 19. Founder his arms. Sister of Charity
of hospitals for deserted kneeling at his feet.
children and of the Order
of Sisters of Charity.

ST. VITUS, A. D. 303. June Palm. Lion. Cock. Wolf.
15. Patron saint of Bohemia, Caldron of oil. Young
Saxony, and Sicily, and beautiful.
of dancers and actors,
against nervous diseases and
late rising (hence the _cock_
as an attribute).

ST. WALBURGA, A. D. 728. Benedictine habit. Crozier
May 1. Niece of St. Boniface as abbess. Vial or flask
and accompanied him to in her hand.
Germany and became abbess
of a Benedictine convent
at Heidenheim. The night
of her festival is the famous
_Walpurgisnacht_ referred to
in _Faust_.

ST. ZENO, A. D. 380. April Bishop’s robes. Fish suspended
12. Patron saint of Verona. from his crozier.

ST. ZENOBIO, A. D. 417. May Scenes from his life are
25. Bishop of Florence. frequently represented in
Florentine art. He has no
particular attribute.

III.—HISTORICAL AND DEVOTIONAL SUBJECTS

The sacred subjects as represented in art become _historical_
when they record any event or story of the Bible, or express the
actions, miracles, or martyrdoms of saints. Yet a story may become a
_symbol_—thus the Last Supper may be treated as an event, or it may
express the symbol of our redemption.

Devotional pictures are those in which no action or event takes place,
and where the sainted personages are represented solely in their sacred
character, whether standing singly or grouped with others. Such a group
is called in Italian a _sacra conversazione_—meaning a society in which
there is communion. The most important of these devotional subjects are
those in which the whole celestial hierarchy are represented, such as
the _Paradiso_ so often met with in ecclesiastical decoration, where
Christ sits enthroned in glory; the Coronation of the Virgin, the old
and accepted symbol of the triumph of the Church; the Last Judgment,
from the Apocalypse, and the Adoration of the Lamb. The order of
arrangement in these pictures was fixed and absolute, having been early
decided by the Church authorities. The Virgin Mary and John the Baptist
come first after the Trinity; then in their order the evangelists,
patriarchs, prophets, the apostles, the fathers, the bishops, martyrs,
monks, and nuns.

This order might sometimes be varied in order to exalt a favourite
saint, as when sometimes St. Augustine is enthroned, with St. Peter
and St. Paul on each side; or St. Barbara is represented enthroned,
attended by Mary Magdalene and St. Catherine. Frequently the patron
saint of the votary or the locality is represented enthroned, and other
saints (of a superior rank under other circumstances) are here placed
on each side or lower down in the picture, and become accessories. In
these pictures the donor is frequently introduced kneeling before his
patron saint, sometimes accompanied by his wife and family. And to show
his lowliness and self-abasement, he is often so small as to be out of
all proportion with the other figures in the picture.

A bishop kneeling among a group of saints is usually the donor of
the picture. When he stands with other saints, he is one of the
bishop-martyrs or patrons. There are some hundreds of these, and they
are the most difficult to distinguish of all the pictured saints.

The _anachronisms_ found in many of the devotional pictures where those
saints and sacred personages who lived at widely different times are
found grouped together, is explained by the spiritual conception that
there is no such thing as time in heaven. So that that which at first
seems so incongruous, as to excite derision and pity for the mistakes
and ignorances of an earlier age, was instead in the highest degree
significant of the immortal life and eternal youth of those blessed
ones, who “belong no more to our earth, but to heaven and eternity.”

In the sacred subjects that come under the head of _historical_, some
are scriptural, portraying scenes from the Old or New Testament, while
others are purely legendary in character.

The historical subjects from the lives of the saints represent usually
some miracle they have performed or some scene from their martyrdom.

The martyrdoms found everywhere in all countries are those of St. Peter
and St. Paul, St. Stephen Protomartyr, St. Laurence, St. Catherine, and
St. Sebastian.

IV.—GENERAL SYMBOLS

“A symbol is an exterior formula, the representation of some dogma
or belief. The _lamb_ is the symbol of Christ, for the sacred texts
relating to the Divine lamb oblige us to receive it as the necessary
and dogmatical representation of Christ. A _figure_, on the other hand,
is an arbitrary representation of any idea. The figure is not imposed
by sacred dogma, but results simply from the free use of the human
mind.... We are required to receive a symbol, but may be persuaded to
admit a figure; the first demands our faith, the second fascinates
the mind. The _lion_, _cross_, and _lamb_ are the sole symbols of
Christ, but he has been figured by the pelican and the fish.”—Didron’s
_Christian Iconography_.

The =Nimbus=, =Aureole=, or =Glory= that is used in Christian art
to distinguish holy personages was used by the pagans, who not only
employed it as an attribute of divinity, but often gave it to the
Emperors of Rome and the Kings of Eastern Europe and Asia. It expressed
the radiance believed to emanate from the Divine Essence.

The glory around the head is the nimbus or aureole. The _oblong
glory_ surrounding the whole person (called in Italian the
_Mandorla_—almond—from its form) is used only in connection with
figures of Christ and the Virgin, or with saints as they are seen
ascending into heaven.

When used to represent one of the three divine persons of the Trinity,
the glory is often cruciform or triangular. A _cruciform nimbus_ is a
nimbus stamped with a cross, and although appropriate to the Deity,
belongs peculiarly to Christ.

The =Triangle=, the emblem of the Divine Trinity, denotes three of the
inseparable attributes of the Deity: to be; to think; to speak.

The =Square= was a geometrical symbolic figure used to indicate the
earth; the circle was the symbol of heaven. Thus eternity was shown by
a circle, life by a square, and the eternity of life by a square within
a circle.

The _Square Nimbus_ indicates that the person was living at the time
the picture was painted.

From the fifth to the twelfth century the nimbus was shaped like a disc
or plate over the head. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
it was a broad golden band behind the head, consisting of circle within
circle, frequently ornamented with jewels. The custom prevailed at this
time (especially in Germany) of inscribing the saint’s name within the
edge of the nimbus above his head. From the fifteenth century, the
nimbus became a bright fillet over the head, and its use was abandoned
in the seventeenth century.

In pictures, the nimbus or aureole is always golden, the colour of
light.

The =Fish=[1] (usually a dolphin, which had also a sacred significance
among the pagans,) was the earliest of the Christian emblems. It was
used, partly because the Greek word for fish forms the anagram of the
name of Jesus Christ; and as a symbol of water and the rite of baptism;
also in reference to the passage in the Gospel: “Follow me, and I will
make you fishers of men.” When given to St. Peter the fish signifies
his occupation as a fisherman, his conversion to Christianity, and
his vocation as an apostle—a fisher of men. It is also given as an
attribute to bishops who were celebrated for the number of their
conversions and baptisms.

[Illustration: _a_ _b_ _c_ _d_]

The =Cross=. About the tenth century the fish was superseded by the
cross, which became the universal symbol of the Christian faith.
The Latin cross (_a_), that upon which Christ was believed to have
suffered, is the form usually given to a saint. But other crosses are
used, having the same signification; as the Greek cross (_b_), in which
the arms are all the same length; the transverse cross (_c_), on which
St. Andrew is supposed to have died; the Egyptian cross (_d_), often
given to St. Philip the Apostle, was the form also of the crutch of St.
Anthony and was embroidered on his cope or robe, hence it is called St.
Anthony’s cross.

The double cross on the top of a staff instead of a crozier belongs
only to a pope. The staff with a single cross is borne by the Greek
bishops. Often the cross was made of gold or silver, the five wounds of
Christ being indicated by a ruby or carbuncle at each end and in the
centre. Not until the sixth century did the cross become a crucifix,
no longer a symbol, but an image.

The =Lamb= has been the peculiar symbol of the Saviour, as the
“sacrifice without blemish,” from the earliest times. The lamb is also
the general symbol of modesty, innocence, and meekness, and is thus
given to St. Agnes.

The =Pelican=, who tears open her breast to feed her young with her
own blood, was one of the early symbols of our redemption through the
sufferings of Christ.

The =Dragon= is the symbol of Satan and of sin. The scriptural phrase,
“the jaws of hell,” was rendered literally in early art by depicting
the dragon’s jaws as open, emitting flames. The =Serpent= also typified
sin and is sometimes placed under the feet of the Madonna with an apple
in its mouth, or winding around a globe, signifying the power of sin
over the whole world.

The =Lion=[2] is an ancient Christian symbol that frequently occurs,
especially in architectural decoration. Antiquaries differ as to the
exact meaning of the mystical lions placed in the porches of so many
old Lombard churches; sometimes with an animal, sometimes with a man
in their paws. The lion was an ancient symbol of the Redeemer, “the
lion of the tribe of Judah,” also of the resurrection of the Redeemer,
because according to an Oriental tradition the lion’s cub is born dead,
and in three days its sire licks it into life. The lion, as a creature
of the wilderness, is also an emblem of solitude, and is given to St.
Jerome and other saints who did penance, or lived as hermits in the
desert. The lion as an attribute indicated death in the amphitheatre,
and thus is given to St. Ignatius and St. Euphemia. As the type of
fortitude and resolution, the lion is placed at the feet of those
martyrs of unfaltering courage, as St. Adrian and St. Natalia.

The =Hart= or =Hind= is an emblem of solitude and purity of life, and
also of religious aspiration. “Like as the hart panteth after the
water-brooks, so panteth my soul for Thee, O God!” When the original
meaning of the lion, the hart, and other emblems had faded from the
popular mind, legends were invented to explain them and _that which
had been a symbol_ became an _incident_ or an _historical attribute_;
as the legend of the lion healed by St. Jerome, or two lions digging
the grave of St. Paul, the stag that appeared to St. Eustace and St.
Hubert, and the hind that spoke to St. Julian.

The =Peacock=, the bird of Juno, was an old pagan symbol signifying
the apotheosis of an empress. The early Christians, with this
interpretation in mind, used it as a general symbol of immortality.
It was not until modern times that the peacock became the emblem of
earthly pride.

The =Crown= in Christian art is either an emblem or an attribute. In
all ages it has been the emblem of victory and reward due to surpassing
power or virtue. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness”; and in this sense the crown became the especial symbol
of the glory of martyrdom. Among the Jews, the crown was worn by a
bride, and usually only the female martyrs wear the symbolical crown
of glory, signifying in a double sense the bride of Christ, and the
martyr. Martyrs of the other sex hold the crown in their hands or it
is borne by an angel. The crown is also the symbol of sovereignty.
The Virgin wears it as Queen of Heaven and _Regina Angelorum_. It is
important to distinguish between the _symbol_ and the _attribute_. When
the crown is given to St. Cecilia and St. Barbara it is the emblem of
their glorious martyrdom. When given to St. Catherine and St. Ursula
it is not only the _symbol_ of martyrdom but the _attribute_ of their
royal rank as princesses.

As an attribute it is frequently worn by a saint or placed at his feet,
indicating that he was of royal birth, as in pictures of Louis of
France, St. Helena, and many others.

The =Sword= is also a symbol or an attribute. In general it signifies
martyrdom by a violent death and thus is given to many saints who did
not perish by the sword. As an attribute, it shows that the martyr was
beheaded. Thus it is given to St. Paul, St. Catherine, and many others.
It is also given to the warrior martyrs typifying their military
profession.

Other symbols of martyrdom are:

The =Lance=, the =Axe=, the =Club=.

The =Arrow=, the attribute of St. Ursula, St. Christian, and St.
Sebastian.

The =Anvil= is an attribute of St. Adrian only, signifying his
martyrdom.

The =Poniard=, of St. Lucia.

The =Caldron=, given to St. Cecilia and St. John the Evangelist.

The =Pincers= and =Shears=, St. Apollonia and St. Agatha.

The =Wheels=, St. Catherine.

=Fire= and =Flames= sometimes indicate martyrdom, sometimes religious
fervour.

The =Palm= is the universal symbol of martyrdom, for which the
Christians found scriptural authority in Rev. vii., 9, 14: “And after
this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude ... stood before the throne
... clothed with white robes, and with palms in their hands.” ... “And
he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation.”
Thus in pictures of martyrdoms an angel is introduced with the palm.

The =Standard= or =Banner= is the symbol of victory. It is carried by
our Saviour after His resurrection, and is given to St. George, St.
Maurice, and other military saints; to some victorious martyrs, as St.
Julian and St. Ansano, also to St. Ursula and St. Reparata, the only
female saints.

The =Ship=. The Ark of Noah was in early times a symbol of the Church
of Christ. Later the Ark became a Ship.

The =Anchor= symbolises immovable firmness, patience, and hope.

The =Lamp=, =Lantern=, or =Taper= is the emblem of piety: “Let your
light so shine before men,” etc. Thus it is given to St. Gudula, St.
Geneviève of Paris, and St. Bridget. It also signifies wisdom, and when
given to St. Lucia typifies celestial light or wisdom.

A =Church= in the hands of a saint shows that he was the founder of
some particular church. But in the hands of St. Jerome it signifies the
whole Catholic Church, and to make the symbol more impressive rays of
light stream out from the portal.

The =Chalice=, or Sacramental Cup with the Host, signifies faith, and
is thus given to St. Barbara.

The =Scourge= in the hand of a saint or at his feet indicates the
penance he inflicted upon himself; in the hand of St. Ambrose, however,
it shows the punishment he inflicted upon others.

The =Olive=, emblem of peace and reconciliation, is found on the tombs
of the early martyrs; sometimes with, and again without, the dove. It
is carried as the attribute of peace by the Angel Gabriel, sometimes
also by the angels in a Nativity who announce “peace on earth.”

The =Dove= in sacred art is the symbol of the Holy Ghost, and is given
to certain saints who are considered to have been divinely inspired,
as St. Gregory, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Hilarius, and others. It is
also introduced into various subjects from the New Testament, as the
Annunciation, the Baptism, and the Pentecost. It also symbolises
simplicity and purity of heart, and is the emblem of the soul, and in
this sense is seen coming forth from the lips of dying martyrs.

The =Lily= is another emblem of purity and appears in pictures of the
Virgin, particularly those of the Annunciation. It belongs also to St.
Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, whose staff, according to the
legend, put forth lilies. It is given as an emblem only to St. Francis,
St. Anthony of Padua, St. Dominick, and St. Catherine of Siena, to
emphasise the great purity of their lives.

The =Unicorn= is another “ancient symbol of purity, in allusion to the
fable that it could never be captured except by a virgin stainless in
mind and life.” It is the emblem of female chastity, and is given only
to the Virgin Mary and St. Justina.

The =Flaming Heart= symbolises fervent piety and love.

The =Book=, in the hands of the evangelists and the apostles,
represents the Gospel, and is an attribute. In the hand of St. Stephen
it is the Old Testament; with any other saint it may be the Gospel, but
it may also be a symbol signifying that the saint was famous for his
learning. It is thus given to St. Catherine, the Doctors of the Church,
St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Bonaventura.

=Flowers= and =Fruit= may be simply ornamental in ecclesiastical works
of art, but in many instances they have a definite meaning. Roses are
symbolical in pictures of the Madonna, who is the “Rose of Sharon.”

The =Apple= was the accepted emblem of the fall of man and original
sin. In pictures of the Madonna and Child, in the hand of the Infant
Christ, or presented by an angel, it symbolised redemption.

The =Pomegranate= bursting open, showing the seeds, was a symbol of the
future and hope of immortality.

An _Apple_, _Pear_, or _Pomegranate_ placed in the hand of St.
Catherine as the mystical bride of Christ, alludes to the scriptural
text, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.”

A =Bell= was supposed to exorcise demons, and thus it is given to the
haunted St. Anthony.

The =Shell= signifies pilgrimage.

The =Skull=, penance.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See Appendix.

[2] See Appendix.

V.—COLOURS AS EMBLEMS

In early art colours were always used symbolically, and until the old
traditions were cast aside by later painters, certain colours were
always associated with certain subjects and certain personages. In all
the old stained glass these rules were scrupulously followed.

=White= was the symbol of light, faith, joy, life, and of religious
purity, virginity, and innocence. It signified honour and integrity in
the judge, humility in the rich man, and chastity in a woman. Christ
appears in white after His resurrection and the Virgin wears it in
pictures of the assumption.

=Red=, the ruby, denoted fire, divine love, the Holy Spirit; royalty,
creative power, and heat. Red and white roses are symbols of love and
innocence, or love and wisdom. Thus the angel crowns St. Cecilia.
Used in the bad sense, red typified blood, hatred, war. Red and white
together were the colours of the devil and of purgatory.

=Blue=, that of the sapphire, signified heaven, fidelity, constancy,
truth. Christ and the Virgin wear the blue mantle typifying heavenly
love and heavenly truth. St. John the Evangelist was given the _blue
tunic_ and the red mantle.

=Yellow= or =Gold= was the symbol of the sun, of the goodness of
God, of marriage and fruitfulness. St. Joseph wears yellow, and St.
Peter, in pictures of the apostles, wears a yellow mantle over a blue
tunic. Used in the reverse sense, yellow denoted jealousy, deceit, and
inconstancy. The traitor Judas wears a dirty, dingy yellow.

=Green=, the emerald, the colour of spring, symbolised victory and
hope—particularly hope of immortality.

=Violet=, the amethyst, signified passion and suffering, or love and
truth. It is the colour worn by the martyrs, by the Virgin after the
crucifixion, by Mary Magdalene as the penitent, and sometimes by Christ
after the resurrection.

=Grey= is the colour of humility, mourning, penance, and accused
innocence.

=Black= indicated darkness, wickedness, death, and mourning, and was
given to Satan. Black and white signified humiliation or mourning, and
purity of life, and for this reason was adopted by the Dominicans and
Carmelites.

VI.—THE TRINITY

=Symbols of God the Father.= Until the twelfth century the only symbol
used to indicate God the Father was a hand issuing from the clouds.
It was generally represented in the act of benediction, sometimes
encircled by a cruciform nimbus, sometimes entirely open with rays
proceeding from each finger. It was then supposed to be in the act of
bestowing. This symbol was followed by a face in the clouds, then a
bust, and by the end of the fourteenth century the entire figure was
represented. Then a sentiment grew into being that, as no mortal had
seen nor could see him, any attempt to represent him in human form was
profane; and since the sixteenth century the Supreme Being has been
symbolised by a triangle, the geometrical emblem of the Divine Trinity,
or by a radiating circle, itself the symbol of eternity.

=Symbols of God the Son.=[3] The symbols of Christ are the glory,
aureole, or nimbus, the cross, lamb, and lion. However, from the
beginning of Christian art, Christ has been represented by portraits
rather than symbols, and these portraits are always unmistakable.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST BY ST. JOHN.—VERROCCHIO

(Academy, Florence.)]

=Symbols of the Holy Ghost.= From the sixth century the dove has
been the universal symbol of the Holy Ghost. The representation of
the Saviour surrounded by seven doves is highly symbolical. They
are emblems of the seven gifts of the spirit with which He was
endowed—wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, piety, and
fear (Is. xi). During the Middle Ages seven was considered a mystic
number. There were seven gifts of the Holy Ghost; seven planets; seven
days of the week; seven branches on the candlestick of Moses; seven
sacraments; seven stars; seven liberal arts; seven symbolic trumpets;
seven churches of Asia; seven mysterious seals; seven heads of the
Dragon; seven penitential psalms; seven joys and seven sorrows of the
Virgin; seven deadly sins; seven canonical hours.

=Symbols of the Trinity.= In early art the Divine Three in One was
symbolised by the combination of three triangles, three circles, three
fishes, and in later art by three human figures, each with its peculiar
attribute. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the dove was
often represented hovering between the first and second persons of the
Trinity with the tips of the wings touching the lips of each.

FOOTNOTES:

[3] See Appendix.

VII.—ARCHANGELS[4]

The seven archangels who stood in the presence of God are frequently
referred to in Scripture. These are: _Michael_, _Gabriel_, _Raphael_,
_Uriel_, _Chamuel_, _Jophiel_, _Zadkiel_.

From the standpoint of art, however, it is necessary to consider only
the characteristics of the first three, who are venerated as saints
in the Catholic Church. These, by their majestic and gracious beauty,
and their accredited mission as counsellor, messenger, and healer to
mankind, have inspired some of the most poetical and beautiful works of
art.

=St. Michael.= _Lat._ Sanctus Michael Angelus. _Ital._ San Michele,
Sanmichele. _Fr._ Monseigneur Saint Michel.

Poetry and art have united in giving St. Michael pre-eminence over
all created spirits. All the glory of princedoms, powers, virtues,
dominations, and thrones radiate from him, and God manifested His glory
in him when He made him victor over the power of sin and over the
“great dragon that deceived the world.”

The worship of St. Michael became general in France from the ninth
century, and he was made the patron saint of France, and of the
military order instituted in his honour by Louis XI., in 1469. This
worship extended to England after the Norman Conquest, and churches
dedicated to St. Michael are found in all the towns and cities along
the southern and eastern shores.

St. Michael is also the angel of good counsel.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE THREE ARCHANGELS.—BOTTICELLI

(Academy, Florence.)]

He is represented in three characters in art: as patron saint and
prince of the Church Militant; as captain of the hosts of heaven and
conqueror of the powers below; as lord of souls,—the conductor and
guardian angel of the spirits of the departed.

In all representations of St. Michael in art the leading _motif_ is
the same. He is young and beautiful, with a severe, imperious beauty.
In early art he is represented in white, with large many-coloured
wings, and carries only the sceptre, or the lance surmounted by a
cross, as one who conquered sin by spiritual power alone. In later
representations—those imbued with the spirit of chivalry, he becomes
the idealised expression of knighthood, and is attired in a magnificent
coat of mail, with shield and spear and sword. Sometimes he wears a
helmet; more often his long, fair hair is confined by a jewelled tiara,
or floats loose upon his shoulders, the only angelic attribute being
the wings that spring resplendent from his shoulders.

In devotional pictures of St. Michael, he is represented as captain of
the heavenly host and conqueror of the Evil One. He is armed and stands
with his foot on the half-human, half-dragon form of Lucifer, whom he
is about to pierce with his lance or to hurl down into the infernal
regions. This representation is the universal symbol of the ultimate
victory of good over evil.

When St. Michael is portrayed as lord of souls he is unarmed. He holds
a balance and upon each scale sits a little naked figure representing
two human souls. The _beato_—the blessed one—has his hands joined in
gratitude, while the other, the rejected one, is in an attitude of
hopeless misery. Frequently a demon is seen grasping the descending
scale with his talons or a long two-pronged hook.

Whether with or without the balance, St. Michael appears as lord of
souls in the death and assumption of the Virgin. The legends assert
that he received her spirit and guarded it during the interim of her
death and assumption.

=St. Gabriel.= _Ital._ San Gabriele, San Gabriello, L’Angelo
Annunziatore.

Where the Angel Gabriel’s name occurs in Scripture it is in the
character of a messenger only. It is he who is sent to Daniel to
interpret the vision which shows the destinies of mighty nations, and
to announce the return of the Jews from captivity. In the New Testament
he foretells the birth of John the Baptist to the high-priest Zacharias
and six months later he is sent to the Virgin to proclaim the coming of
the Redeemer of the world. In the Apocryphal New Testament he foretells
to Joachim the birth of the Virgin and is thought to have foretold the
birth of Samson. He is more important in the New Testament than Michael
and as the angel who announced the birth of Christ he is reverenced as
the angel who presides over childbirth.

In devotional pictures he is represented as the second of the three
archangels. In his character of _l’angelo annunziatore_, he usually
carries a lily or a sceptre in one hand and in the other a scroll
inscribed “Ave Maria, Gratia Plena!”

=St. Raphael.= _Ital._ San Raffaello. _Ger._ Der Heilige Rafael.

Raphael is the prince of guardian spirits, the guardian angel of all
humanity and thus, according to the early traditions, he appeared to
the shepherds by night, “with good tidings of great joy, which shall
be for all people.”

Raphael in his character of guardian angel is generally represented
leading the youthful Tobias. When in order to show the difference
between the heavenly and the mortal being, Tobit is made to look like a
child, and the angel appears with wings and is not disguised, it is no
longer historical, but devotional, and Tobias with his fish represents
the Christian protected and guided by his guardian spirit.

All the pictured subjects of Raphael belong to the history of Tobit,
and incidents from this beautiful apocryphal legend have been favourite
subjects of art. Tobias dragging the fish ashore and the angel standing
by has been often painted. In such pictures the angel should be without
wings and disguised as the friendly traveller; the dog, which should
not appear in the devotional pictures, is here an attribute and belongs
to the story.

Devotional pictures represent him attired as a pilgrim or traveller,
with sandalled feet and hair confined by a fillet or diadem. He has
the pilgrim’s staff and a wallet or panetière suspended from his belt.
Often as guardian spirit he has a sword; usually, however, he bears a
small vase or casket containing the “fishy charm” against evil spirits
(Tobit, vi., 6-7).

FOOTNOTES:

[4] See Appendix.

VIII.—SYMBOLS AND ATTRIBUTES OF THE VIRGIN

The =Star= often embroidered on the right shoulder of the Virgin’s
mantle or in front of her veil refers to the most expressive of her
many titles, _Stella Maris_, “Star of the Sea,” an interpretation of
her Jewish name Miriam. Several pictures are called _La Madonna della
Stella_. She is also _Stella Matutina_, the “Morning Star”; _Stella non
Erratica_, the “Fixed Star”; and _Stella Jacobi_, the “Star of Jacob.”

The =Sun= and the =Moon=. “Who is she that looketh forth as the
morning, fair as the morn, clear as the sun” (Solomon’s Song, vi., 10).
This text is applied to the Virgin and she is also the woman of the
Apocalypse, “_A woman clothed with the sun, having the moon under her
feet_, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Hence she is portrayed
with the glory of the sun about her, and the crescent moon beneath her
feet.

The =Enclosed Garden= is a symbol borrowed from the Song of Solomon
(Cant. iv., 12) as well as a =Fountain Sealed=, a =Well of Living
Waters=, the =Tower of David=, the =Temple of Solomon=, and the =City
of David=.

The =Porta Clausa= or Closed Gate is taken from Ezekiel (xliv., 2).

The =Lily=, the =Rose=. “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the
valleys” (Cant. ii., 1).

The =Palm=, the =Cypress=, and the =Olive= are all emblems of the
Virgin. The first signifies victory, the second points to heaven, and
the third denotes peace, abundance, and hope.

The =Cedar of Lebanon= (“exalted as a cedar in Lebanon”), because of
its imperishable nature, its perfume, its healing qualities, and its
great height, denotes also the virtue, greatness, and beauty of the
Virgin.

The =Sealed Book=, as a symbol in the hands of the Virgin, refers to
the text: “In that book were all my members written”; also to the “book
that is sealed which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read
this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: And the
book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray
thee: and he saith, I am not learned” (Is. xxix., 11-12).

Besides these symbols, which are mystical and sacred and belong only to
the Virgin, there are others of a more general nature that appear in
pictures of the Madonna and Child.

The =Globe=, as the symbol of sovereignty, was early placed in the
hands of the divine Infant. When it is under the feet of the Madonna
with a serpent twining about it, it is the symbol of redemption.

The =Apple=, in the hands of the Infant Christ, symbolises the fall of
man; in the hands of the Virgin it indicates that she is the second Eve.

The =Serpent= is the general emblem of Satan and sin, but it is used
in reference to the prophecy, “She shall bruise thy head,” when placed
under the feet of the Madonna.

The =Pomegranate=, the ancient symbol of hope, is often placed in the
hands of the Child, who is seen presenting it to His mother.

The =Book=, when the Madonna holds it open, or has a finger between
the leaves, or when the Child is turning the pages, is the Book of
Wisdom, and is supposed to be open at the seventh chapter. When clasped
or sealed, as before explained, it is a mystical emblem of the Virgin
herself.

=Birds= represent the soul. The =Dove= is the Holy Spirit hovering
about the Virgin. The =Seven Doves=, typifying the gifts of the Spirit,
when they surround the Virgin, characterise her as _Mater Sapientiæ_,
“Mother of Wisdom.” Doves near her when she is working or reading in
the Temple express the meekness and tenderness of her nature.

* * * * *

Certain women of the Old Testament are regarded as especial types of
the Virgin, viz.: =Eve=, =Rachel=, =Ruth=, =Abishag=, =Bathsheba=,
=Judith=, and =Esther=, and it is because of this that these Jewish
heroines so often appear in religious pictures.

The correct and traditional dress of the Virgin is a blue robe or
mantle worn over a close red tunic with long sleeves. In early pictures
her head is veiled and the colours are pale and delicate. The enthroned
Madonna unveiled was introduced about the end of the fifteenth century.

In the historical pictures she is simply dressed, but in the devotional
pictures wherein she is portrayed as the Queen of Heaven, she wears a
magnificent crown wrought with jewels interwoven with roses and lilies;
her blue robe is richly embroidered with gold and gems, and lined with
ermine or stuff of gorgeous colours, carrying out the text: “The king’s
daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. She
shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework” (Ps. xlv.,
13-14).

In the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, the Virgin wears a
white tunic, or white strewn with gold stars. In all subjects that
relate to the passion and those that follow the crucifixion she should
wear violet or grey. This rule is not always followed, however.

The =Seven Joys= and the =Seven Sorrows of the Virgin= are often
painted as a series.

The =Seven Joys= are: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity,
the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation in the Temple, Christ
found by His mother, the Assumption and the Coronation.

The =Seven Sorrows= are: the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into
Egypt, Christ lost by His mother, the Betrayal of Christ, the
Crucifixion (with St. John and the Virgin only present), the
Deposition from the Cross, and the Ascension when the Virgin is left
without her Son.

The fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary are also given as a series.

The =Five Joyful Mysteries= are: the Annunciation, the Visitation,
the Nativity, the Purification, and Christ found in the Temple.

The =Five Sorrowful Mysteries= are: Christ in the Garden of Olives,
the Flagellation, Christ Crowned with Thorns, the Procession to
Calvary, and the Crucifixion.

The =Five Glorious Mysteries= are: the Resurrection, the Ascension,
the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Assumption, and the Coronation.

These series are treated mystically rather than in the limited
historical sense, the object being to induce devout religious
contemplation.

IX.—LEGENDS OF THE MADONNA

Anna, the mother of the Virgin, was early venerated as a saint in the
East, but the parents of the Virgin were never represented in early
art except in a series of the life of the Virgin. It was not until the
beginning of the sixteenth century that the increased reverence for
the Virgin Mary gave to her parents Joachim and Anna a more prominent
position as patron saints, and from that time on they were frequent
subjects in sacred groups.

A complete series of the history of the Blessed Virgin, as imaged forth
by the early artists, always begins with the =Legend of Joachim and
Anna= as it is related in the Apocryphal New Testament.

Joachim, a man of Nazareth, was of the royal race of David, and had for
his wife Anna whose family were of Bethlehem. “Their lives were plain
and right in the sight of the Lord and pious and faultless before men.”
Thus they lived for twenty years without children. Now at a certain
great feast of the Lord, when Joachim was about to offer his gifts, the
high-priest opposed him saying, “It is not lawful seeing thou hast not
begot issue in Israel.” Joachim, much concerned, found upon inquiry,
that all the righteous except himself had raised up seed in Israel. He
remembered Abraham, how that God in the end of his life had given him
his son Isaac, and he would not be seen of his wife but retired into
the wilderness where he fasted forty days and nights and vowed neither
to eat nor drink until the Lord should look down upon him. And his
wife Anna was sore distressed and mourned for her widowhood and her
barrenness.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to her saying, “Behold Joachim thy
husband is coming with his shepherds; an angel of the Lord hath also
told him that his prayer is heard.” And Anna stood by the golden gate
and saw Joachim coming with the shepherds, and she ran to him and
hanging about his neck, said: “Now I know that the Lord hath greatly
blessed me.” And they returned home together. And when her time was
come, Anna brought forth a daughter, and she said: “The Lord hath this
day magnified my soul,” and she called the child Mary.

The =Nativity of the Blessed Virgin=. _Ital._ La Nascità della B.
Vergine. _Fr._ La Naissance de la S. Vierge. _Ger._ Die Geburt Mariä.
(Sept. 8.)

This is the next historical picture, and as Joachim and Anna were
“exceedingly rich,” the scene is usually a chamber richly decorated. A
glory sometimes surrounds the head of the child. Neighbours and friends
are sometimes introduced who have come to tender their congratulations.

The =Presentation of the Virgin=. _Ital._ La Presentazione ove nostra
Signora piccioletta sale i gradi del Tempio. _Ger._ Joachim und Anna
weihen ihre Tochter Maria im Tempel; Die Vorstellung der Jungfrau im
Tempel. (Nov. 21.)

“And when the child was three years old, Joachim said: ‘Let us invite
the daughters of the Hebrews, who are undefiled, and let them take
each a lamp, and let them be lighted, that the child may not turn back
again, and her mind be set against the temple of the Lord.’

“And they did thus till they ascended into the temple of the Lord. And
the high-priest received her, and blessed her, and said, ‘Mary, the
Lord God hath magnified thy name to all generations, and to the very
end of time by thee will the Lord shew His redemption to the children
of Israel.’”

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN IN THE TEMPLE.—TITIAN

(Academy, Venice.)]

“And he placed her upon the third step of the altar, and the Lord gave
unto her grace, and she danced with her feet, and all the house of
Israel loved her.” (_Protevangelion_, vii., 3-5.)

The theme does not vary. Mary, who should be portrayed as an infant
of three years, is often represented as a child of ten or twelve.
Sometimes she wears a blue, but more generally a white garment; her
hair is long and golden, and she is seen ascending the steps which lead
to the porch of the temple. These steps are always fifteen in number.
In the account given in the Gospel of the Birth of Mary it says, “And
there were about the temple, according to the fifteen Psalms of degrees
[those Psalms are, from the 120th to the 134th, including both],
fifteen stairs to ascend. For the temple being built in a mountain, the
altar of burnt-offering, which was without, could not be come near but
by stairs.” (Chap. iv., 32.)

The life of Mary in the temple is represented in various ways. She is
seen instructing her companions, sometimes spinning or embroidering on
tapestry. Often she is attended by angels, and it was believed that
angels supplied her with celestial food. It has also been asserted that
she had the privilege which was granted to no other woman, of going
into the Holy of Holies to pray before the Ark of the Covenant.

The =Marriage of the Virgin=. _Ital._ Il sposalizio. _Fr._ Le Mariage
de la Vierge. _Ger._ Die Trauung Mariä. (January 23.)

The legend of the Marriage of Joseph and Mary is founded upon the
account given in the _Protevangelion_, which relates that “when Mary
was twelve years of age the priests met in council to know what should
be done with her, and the high-priest Zacharias entered into the Holy
of Holies, and taking away with him the breastplate of judgment made
prayers concerning her. And behold the angel of the Lord came to him
and commanded him to go forth and call together all the widowers among
the people, and let every one of them bring his rod, and he by whom
the Lord should shew a sign should be the husband of Mary. And the
criers went out through all Judæa, and the trumpet of the Lord sounded,
and all the people ran and met together. Joseph also, throwing away
his hatchet, went out to meet them; and when they were met they went
to the high-priest taking every man his rod. The high-priest received
their rods and went into the temple to pray. When he came forth and
distributed them, there was no miracle until the last rod was taken by
Joseph, and behold a dove proceeded out of the rod and flew upon the
head of Joseph. And the high-priest said to him, ‘Thou art the person
chosen to take the Virgin of the Lord to keep her for him.’ But Joseph
at first refused, saying, ‘I am an old man’; then, fearing the wrath of
the high-priest and the displeasure of the Lord, he took her unto his
house, and said unto her, ‘Behold, I have taken thee from the Temple of
the Lord, and now I will leave thee in my house; I must go to mind my
trade of building. The Lord be with thee!’”

The painters have used for their text an old legend which relates
that the suitors for the hand of Mary, among whom was the son of
the high-priest, deposited their wands overnight in the temple, and
the next morning the rod of Joseph was found to have budded forth
in flower. The disappointed suitors broke their wands in a frenzy
of wrath, and one of them, whose name was Agabus (a youth of noble
family), fled to Mount Carmel and became an anchorite.

Marriage among the Jews being a civil contract instead of a religious
rite, nearly all the early painters represent the ceremony as taking
place in the open air in a garden or landscape, or in front of the
Temple. Mary, a beautiful maiden attended by a train of virgins, stands
on the right, and Joseph is on the left; behind him are gathered the
disappointed suitors. This is the traditional treatment from Giotto
down to Raphael.

In ancient art Joseph has been sometimes represented as very old, and
again as not more than thirty. But in the best pictures of the Italian
and Spanish schools he is middle-aged, with brown hair and short, curly
beard, his face expressing infinite mildness and kindliness. The crutch
or stick became his conventional attribute from earlier times, when he
was depicted as very old, leaning upon a crutch.

The =Annunciation=. _Ital._ L’Annunciazione. _Fr._ L’Annonciation, La
Salutation Angélique. _Ger._ Die Verkündigung, Der englische Gruss.
(March 25.)

From the thirteenth century onward, the Annunciation became the
expression of a theological dogma, and formed part of every
altar-piece, whatever its subject,—whether a Nativity or Coronation, or
the Last Supper—appearing in the predella below or the spandrils of the
arches above; and was frequently painted or carved on the doors of a
triptychon or tabernacle.

It is related in the _Protevangelion_ (chap. ix., 7) that “Mary went
out to draw water and heard a voice saying unto her ‘Hail thou who art
full of grace, the Lord is with thee; thou art blessed among women.’
And she looked round to the right and to the left to see whence that
voice came, and then trembling went into her house, and laying down
the water-pot, she took the purple and sat down in her seat to work it.
And behold the angel of the Lord stood by her, and said, ‘Fear not,
Mary, for thou hast found favour in the sight of God.’”

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE ANNUNCIATION.—BOTTICELLI

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

St. Bernard gives the following version of the legend. Mary was
studying the book of Isaiah and as she came to the verse, “Behold, a
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son” she thought within herself,
“How blessed the woman of whom these words are written! Would I might
be but her handmaid to serve her, and allowed to kiss her feet!” And at
that moment the angel appeared and revealed to her that the prophecy
was fulfilled in herself.

In early art the annunciation is treated as a religious mystery. The
scene is usually a porch or portico with arcades. The Virgin stands, or
if she is seated, it is on a sort of raised throne; the angel stands
before her at a little distance; sometimes she is within the portico
and he is without. Gabriel is the commanding figure, while the Virgin’s
attitude—she is usually represented shrinking back with drooping eyes
and hands folded on her breast—is always expressive of the utmost
submission and humility. Gabriel is usually represented clothed in
white, with large many-coloured wings, his flowing hair bound by a
jewelled tiara. He holds the sceptre in his left hand, while the right
is extended in benediction as well as salutation, “Hail! thou that art
highly favoured! Blessed art thou among women!”

Sometimes the two figures were not in the same picture, but were placed
each side of the altar, that of the Virgin being usually placed to the
right. In some of the old pictures the figure of the angel is seen
flying down from heaven.

From the beginning of the fourteenth century the increased reverence
paid to the Virgin demanded that she be represented as the superior
being, the _Regina angelorum_, and the angel is depicted bowing before
her or kneeling as to a queen.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE VISITATION.—ALBERTINELLI

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

When the annunciation is an event given in the series of the Life of
the Virgin, the place is usually in the house. The fountain is rarely
introduced. Gabriel either bears the lily or it is in some other
part of the picture. Sometimes he has the olive, typical of peace,
or a sceptre with a scroll inscribed _Ave Maria! Gratia plena!_ The
work basket, expressing the industry of Mary, is rarely omitted, and
to typify her temperance a dish of fruit and a pitcher of water are
frequently introduced.

The lily in the hand of the angel is not merely the emblem of purity
but the symbol of the Virgin—“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of
the valley.” A lily is often introduced in a vase near the Virgin or in
the foreground of the picture. Sometimes the dove as the Holy Spirit
hovers over the head of the Virgin or enters by the open window.

The =Visitation=. _Ital._ La Visitazione di Maria. _Fr._ La Visitation
de la Vierge. _Ger._ Die Heimsuchung Mariä. (July 2.)

After the annunciation of the angel, we are told that “Mary arose and
went up into the hill country with haste, to the house of her cousin
Elizabeth, and saluted her.” This meeting of the two kinswomen is
usually styled in art, the _Visitation_ and, sometimes, the _Salutation
of Elizabeth_. It is important in its religious significance as being
the first recognition of the character of the Messiah. “Whence is this
to me,” exclaims Elizabeth, “that the mother of my Lord should come to
me?” (Luke i., 43.)

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

SIBYL PROPHESYING TO AUGUSTUS CÆSAR THE COMING OF CHRIST.—B. PERUZZI

(Church of the Fontegiusta, Siena.)]

In the representations of this scene the number of the figures, the
locality and circumstance vary greatly. Sometimes only the two women
are represented, without accessories of any kind. The scene is often
a garden or open porch in front of a house, and this garden is noted
in the traditions of the East. The legends relate that the Virgin, as
she walked in the garden of Zacharias during her stay with her cousin
Elizabeth, meditating deeply and reverently upon the holy destiny that
was hers, happened to touch a certain flower that bloomed there with
her most blessed hand—which, from being without odour before, became
from that moment of a delicious fragrance.

The =Nativity=. _Ital._ Il Presepio, Il Nascimento del Nostro Signore.
_Fr._ La Nativité. _Ger._ Die Geburt Christi. (Dec. 25.)

In the early Christian traditions this great event is preceded and
accompanied by several circumstances which have often been rendered in
art.

According to an old legend, the Emperor Augustus Cæsar betook himself
to the sibyl Tiburtina, to ask whether he should accept the divine
honours the Senate had decreed to him. The sibyl, after meditating
some days, took the emperor aside and showed him an altar; and above
the altar, in the opening heavens, he saw a beautiful Virgin holding
an infant in her arms, and at the same time a voice was heard saying,
“This is the altar of the Son of the living God.” Then Augustus caused
an altar to be erected on the Capitoline Hill, with this inscription,
“Ara primogeniti Dei”; and in later times the church called the
Ara-Cœli, with its flight of one hundred and twenty-four marble steps,
was built on this spot.

The sibylline prophecy is believed to have occurred a short time
before the Nativity, about the time that there went forth from the
Emperor Augustus a decree that all the Jews should be taxed who were of
Bethlehem in Judæa.

It is related that Joseph therefore saddled his ass and took his
wife to Bethlehem, the city from whence he came. As they were near
there (within three miles), Joseph, turning about, saw that Mary was
sorrowful, but when he looked again she smiled. And before they were
come there Mary said: “Take me down, for I suffer.”

The Nativity, when treated historically, is represented in a stable
or cavern, at midnight and in winter. The earlier pictures give Mary
the appearance of suffering, but from the fourteenth century, this
treatment was abandoned. “To her alone,” said St. Bernard, “did not the
punishment of Eve extend.”

The attendants and Mary are represented in the “posture and guise
of worshippers,” kneeling or bending over the Child, or pointing to
the manger in which he lies. The Virgin is bathed in the light which
surrounds the Child like a glory. Joseph is sitting or stands leaning
on his staff and often holds a taper or light to show that it is night.

The angels who sing the _Gloria in excelsis_ are never omitted. At
first these were three in number, but in later pictures the mystic
three became a band of angels.

The ox and the ass are always introduced as accessories,—according
to the prophecy: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s
crib” (Is. i., 3). The ox typified the Jews and the ass the Gentiles.
The Jews were likened unto the ox because they bore the yoke of the
law, whereas the ass represented the Gentiles because it bore Christ
willingly, when He rode into Jerusalem.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS.—D. GHIRLANDAJO

(Academy, Florence.)]

The shepherds are frequently in the background.

When other figures are introduced, they are saints or votaries for whom
the picture was painted.

The =Adoration of the Shepherds=. _Ital._ L’Adorazione dei Pastori.
_Fr._ L’Adoration des Bergers. _Ger._ Die Anbetung der Hirten.

“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto
Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord
has made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and
Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” (St. Luke ii., 15-16.)

Being come, they tender their offerings of fruits, lambs, or doves, and
with heads uncovered they acknowledge and worship the divine Child. In
some pictures their women, sheep, and even their dogs accompany them.
There is an old legend that Simon and Jude, afterwards apostles, were
with the shepherds.

Sometimes the Infant sleeps and Joseph or Mary raises the veil from His
face to show Him to the shepherds.

The flowers sometimes scattered by angels are supposed to have been
gathered in heaven.

The =Adoration of the Magi=.[5] _Ital._ L’Adorazione de’ Magi,
L’Epifania. _Fr._ L’Adoration des Rois Mages. _Ger._ Die Anbetung der
Weisen aus dem Morgenland, Die heiligen drei Könige. (Jan. 6.)

This subject, the most extraordinary incident in the early life of our
Saviour, has been set before us in every style and form of art, from
the third century to the present time.

Magi, in the Persian tongue, signifies “wise men”; and they were in
their own country kings or princes, from what country is not said. The
prophecy of Balaam had been held in remembrance by their people. “I
shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh; there
shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel.”

When the Eastern sages beheld this wondrous and long-expected star,
they rejoiced greatly; and taking leave of their relations and friends
set forth on their long and perilous journey, the star going before
them, until it stood over the place where the young Child was—He who
was born King of Kings.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.—BOTTICELLI

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

The artists made good use of the picturesque possibilities of the
story, and in their hands it grew from a symbol to a scene of dramatic
splendour. It is the oldest subject in Christian art, and taken in the
early religious sense, it signified the calling of the Gentiles.

In the earlier representations the Virgin-mother is seated and holds
the Child upright on her knee. The Wise Men, always three in number and
all alike, approach in attitudes of adoration, and behind them are seen
their camels’ heads, showing the land whence they came—the land of the
East.

But in the fourteenth century legends the Three Wise Men or Kings
became distinct characters, each with a name, and in the pictures they
represent the three ages of man. Jasper or Caspar is very old, Melchior
in the prime of life, and Balthazar young. Sometimes the latter or his
servant is black, to indicate that Christ came to save all races of
men. These pictures of the Magi reflect all the pomp and circumstance
that was the custom of the times in which the artists lived, and the
details vary with the nationality of the artist.

It is related that when they returned to the East they abandoned all
their possessions and went about preaching the new gospel; that they
were baptised by Thomas and put to death by the heathen. Their remains
were discovered and removed to Constantinople by the Empress Helena,
and after being carried to Milan during the first crusade were finally
placed in the cathedral at Cologne by the Emperor Barbarossa, and
repose there in a magnificent shrine. Wherever one sees the sign _Drei
Könige_, or _Trois Rois_, in front of Continental hotels, or _Three
Kings_ above the doors of English inns, it refers to the Magi.

The =Purification of the Virgin=, the =Presentation=, and the
=Circumcision of Christ=. _Ital._ La Purificazione della B. Vergine.
_Ger._ Die Darbringung im Tempel, Die Beschneidung Christi.

The Virgin, after the birth of her Son, complied with all the
requirements of the Mosaic law. The circumcision and the naming of
Christ have often been painted to express the first of the sorrows of
the Virgin. But the Presentation in the Temple has been selected with
better taste for the same purpose, and the prophecy of Simeon, “Yea, a
sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,” becomes the first of the
Seven Sorrows.

It is related that, about 260 years before Christ, Ptolemy
Philadelphus, desiring to have the Hebrew Scriptures translated into
Greek for his famous library, asked the high-priest of the Jews to
send him scribes and interpreters. In response to his demand, six of
the most learned rabbis of the twelve tribes of Israel, seventy-two
persons in all, were sent into Egypt, among them Simeon, a man full of
learning. To him fell the book of Isaiah to translate. When he came
to the verse, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,” he
doubted in his own mind how such a thing could be, and, fearing to give
offence to the Greeks, he used the Greek word “a young woman” for the
Hebrew word “virgin.” He had no sooner written it, however, than an
angel leaned over the page and blotted it out, setting down the right
word in its place. Completely dumfounded Simeon essayed again and
again to substitute the word “young woman,” as seemed to him fitting
and proper, and each time the angel effaced the word substituting the
Greek word for “virgin” in its place.

Then it was disclosed to Simeon that the miracle that he had dared to
doubt was not only possible, but that he “should not see death until he
had seen the Lord’s Christ.” So for nearly three centuries he remained
on earth, until all had come to pass. He was brought to the Temple on
the very day that Mary came there to present her Son, and taking the
Child in his arms, he exclaimed, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word.”

Anna, the prophetess, is often introduced. She also testifies unto
Christ, but does not take Him in her arms as did Simeon, hence she was
considered to typify the Synagogue, which prophesied the Messiah, but
did not embrace Him when he came.

When represented in Greek art, this picture is often called the _Nunc
Dimittis_.

The =Flight into Egypt=. _Ital._ La Fuga in Egitto. _Fr._ La Fuite de
la Sainte Famille en Egypte. _Ger._ Die Flucht nach Aegypten.

There are many legends in connection with this journey that have been
illustrated by the artists. One is that when it became known that the
Holy Family had fled from Bethlehem, Herod sent his officers in pursuit
of them. The Holy Family, knowing they were pursued, after travelling
some distance, came to a field where a man was sowing wheat. And the
Virgin said to the husbandman: “If any shall ask you whether we have
passed this way, ye shall answer, ‘Such persons passed this way when
I was sowing this wheat.’” And lo! in the space of a single night the
seed had grown ready for the harvest! And next morning the officers of
Herod came by, and inquired of the husbandman, saying, “Have you seen
an old man with a woman and child travelling this way?” And the man,
who was reaping his wheat in great wonder and joy, replied: “Yes.” And
they asked him again, “How long is it since?” And he answered: “When I
was sowing this wheat.” And at this the officers of Herod turned back.

Another very old tradition, taken from the First Gospel of Infancy
(chap. viii.), relates that on their way they met two robbers who
protected them from their confederates, and that they were the two
thieves who were later crucified with Christ.

Another tradition is that both the ox and the ass went with the Holy
Family into Egypt, and they are occasionally introduced in some
pictures of this event, but generally the group is confined to Joseph,
Mary, and the Child.

The =Repose of the Holy Family=. _Ital._ Il Riposo. _Fr._ Le Repos de
la Sainte Famille. _Ger._ Die Ruhe in Aegypten.

This subject has been considered one of the most graceful and
attractive in the whole range of sacred art.

The _Riposo_, so called is either the rest on the journey, or at
the close of the journey, called the Flight into Egypt. Some of the
features stamp the intention at once; as, the ass grazing in the
distance; a wallet and pilgrim’s staff near Joseph; the date tree; the
fallen idols; the Virgin taking water from a fountain—the fountain
refers to a tradition that when the Holy Family came to Matarea they
rested in a grove of sycamores, and here a fountain miraculously gushed
forth for their refreshment.

In pictures of the _Riposo_ angels often minister to the comfort of
the Holy Family, and there is a legend that each night angels pitched
a tent for their protection and shelter, and watched over and guarded
them until morning.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

REPOSE OF THE HOLY FAMILY—“MADONNA DEL SACCO”—ANDREA DEL SARTO

(Church of the Annunziata, Florence.)]

When other figures than the Holy Family and attendant angels are
introduced, it is not a _Riposo_, but merely a Holy Family.

When the Holy Family are seen as on a journey and the Saviour is
represented as a child, walking, it is the return from Egypt that is
pictured.

The =Holy Family=. _Ital._ La Sacra Famiglia, La Sacra Conversazione.
_Fr._ La Sainte Famille.

After the return to Nazareth, until Jesus is twelve years old no event
is recorded of the life of the Virgin or her Son. But under the title
of Holy Family there are an endless variety of pictures representing
the imaginary life of these exalted ones.

The simplest form is that of two figures, the Virgin and Child;
frequently she is nursing the babe, sometimes she fondles him, pressing
his cheek to hers, or they sport with a rose, an apple, or a bird,
these mystic symbols being lightly used as mere playthings by the
artists. Sometimes one or more attendant angels appear or the Infant
slumbers on His mother’s knee. Sometimes Mary is represented watching
over him, “pondering in her heart” the great destiny of her Child.

Where there are three figures, the third is generally St. John,
although sometimes it is St. Joseph. Sometimes St. John and his mother,
St. Elizabeth—the two mothers and the two sons—are represented. More
rarely, four figures include St. Joseph and St. John. Five figures
include all who have been named, and sometimes Zacharias makes the
sixth.

Many of these pictures bear such names as _La Vierge aux Cerises_, _La
Vierge à la Diadème_, _La Vierge à l’Oreiller Verd_, _Le Ménage du
Menuisier_, _Le Raboteur_, etc.

The introduction of persons who could not have been contemporary, such
as St. Francis or St. Catherine, makes the group ideal and devotional.

The =Dispute in the Temple=. _Ital._ La Disputa del Tempio. _Fr._ Jésus
au milieu des Docteurs.

This subject is a scene of great importance in the life of the
Redeemer, but it is quite as often made one of the series from the life
of the Virgin.

The =Death of Joseph=. _Ital._ La Morte di San Giuseppe. _Fr._ La Mort
de St. Joseph. _Ger._ Josefs Tod.

Some chronologers place the death of Joseph in the eighteenth year of
the life of our Saviour, and others in his twenty-seventh year, when,
as they assert, Joseph was one hundred and eleven years old.

Joseph’s popularity as a patron saint of power dates from the fifteenth
century. A custom had come about of invoking him as mediator to obtain
a blessed and peaceful end, and he became in a certain way the patron
saint of death-beds.

Late in the sixteenth century the death of St. Joseph is represented as
a separate subject in art, and became a popular subject in the churches
and convents of Augustine canons and Carmelite friars whose patron
saint he was, and also in family chapels consecrated to the memory of
the dead.

The =Marriage at Cana, in Galilee=. _Ital._ La Nozze di Cana. _Fr._ Les
Noces de Cana. _Ger._ Die Hochzeit zu Cana.

There is an old Greek tradition that the Marriage at Cana, which has
often been represented in art, was that of John the Evangelist and
Mary Magdalene, and that immediately after the wedding feast St. John
and Mary separated and devoted themselves to an austere and chaste
religious life, spent solely in the service of Christ.

In the =Passion of our Lord=, certain women who attended upon Christ
during His ministry are represented as always near the Virgin, and
sustaining her with their tenderness and sympathy. The Gospels mention
three by name: Mary Magdalene; Mary, the wife of Cleophas; and Mary,
the mother of James and John. Martha, the sister of Mary Magdalene, is
also included. These women, with the Virgin, form the group of five
female figures that is usually introduced in the scriptural scenes from
the Life of Christ.

The =Procession to Calvary= (_Ital. Il Portamento della Croce_), and
the =Crucifixion= are included in the Rosary as two of the mystical
Sorrows. It was in the Via Dolorosa near the summit of the hill that
the Virgin-mother and her women companions are said to have placed
themselves, and where Mary in her anguish, seeing her divine Son,
bleeding from the scourge, and sinking under His cross, fell fainting
to the earth. This incident is called in French _Notre Dame du Spasme_,
or _du Pâmoison_; in Italian _La Madonna dello Spasimo_, or _Il Pianto
di Maria_ and becomes one of the mournful festivals of Passion Week.

In the many celebrated representations of this scene, she is sometimes
portrayed sinking to the earth, upheld by the women or St. John;
sometimes she stands with clasped hands in dumb and motionless agony;
sometimes she stretches out her arms to her Son who goes on His
sorrowful way.

In the =Crucifixion= treated as a _mystery_ Mary stands alone on
the right of the Cross and St. John on the left. She looks up with
an expression of mingled sorrow and faith or bows her head in sad
submissiveness.

When the Crucifixion is treated as an _historical event_ the Virgin
is represented in a fainting attitude, sustained in the arms of the
two Marys, assisted sometimes but not always by St. John; while Mary
Magdalene is seen kneeling at the foot of the cross or with arms
clasped around it.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE CRUCIFIXION.—PERUGINO

(Convent of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi, Florence.)]

The =Descent from the Cross= and the =Deposition= are two separate
subjects in art. In the first the Virgin should stand. In the old
legend it is said, that when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus drew out
the nails that fastened the hands of our Saviour to the cross, St. John
concealed them from His mother. Then Nicodemus took out those which
fastened His feet, and Joseph of Arimathea supported the body, and the
head and arms of our Lord hung over his shoulder. The sorrowing mother
took the bleeding hands in hers and kissed them tenderly, and then,
borne down by the weight of her woe, she sank to the ground, mourning
her Son.

The =Deposition= is that moment which succeeds the Descent from the
Cross, when the dead form of Christ is deposed or laid upon the ground,
resting on the lap of His mother, and lamented by St. John, Mary
Magdalene, and others.

The =Entombment= follows and when treated historically the
Virgin-mother is always introduced, although less conspicuously;
either she faints, or stands by with streaming eyes and clasped hands,
while the beloved Son is laid in the tomb. Then in fulfilment of the
last command of his dying Master, John the Evangelist brought to his
own house the Mother to whom he was in future to be as a son. This
beautiful subject appears first in art in the seventeenth century.

The =Apparition of Christ to His Mother=. There is a very ancient
tradition (mentioned by St. Ambrose in the fourth century, as being
then generally accepted by Christians) that Christ, after His return
from Hades, visited His mother before appearing to Mary Magdalene in
the garden.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE SAVIOUR APPEARS TO MARY MAGDALENE—“NOLI ME TANGERE.”—LORENZO DI
CREDI

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

The story is thus related in Mrs. Jameson’s _Legends of the Madonna_:
“Mary, when all was ‘finished,’ retired to her chamber, and remained
alone with her grief—not wailing, not repining, not hopeless, but
waiting for the fulfilment of the promise. Open before her lay the
volume of the prophecies; and she prayed earnestly, and she said, ‘Thou
didst promise, O my most dear Son! that thou wouldst rise again on the
third day. Before yesterday was the day of darkness and bitterness,
and, behold, this is the third day. Return then to me thy Mother: O
my Son, tarry not, but come!’ And while thus she prayed, lo! a bright
company of angels, who entered waving their palms and radiant with joy;
and they surrounded her, kneeling and singing the triumphant Easter
hymn, _Regina Cœli lætare, Alleluia_. And then came Christ, partly
clothed in a white garment, having in His left hand the standard with
the cross, as one just returned from the nether world, and victorious
over the powers of sin and death. And with Him came the patriarchs and
prophets, whose long-imprisoned spirits He had released from Hades. All
these knelt before the Virgin, and saluted her, and blessed her, and
thanked her, because through her had come their deliverance. But, for
all this, the Mother was not comforted till she had heard the voice of
her Son. Then He, raising His hand in benediction, spoke, and said, ‘I
salute thee, O my Mother!’ and she, weeping tears of joy, responded,
‘Is it thou indeed, my most dear Son?’ and she fell upon His neck, and
He embraced her tenderly, and showed her the wounds He had received
for sinful men. Then He bid her be comforted and weep no more, for the
pain of death had passed away, and the gates of hell had not prevailed
against Him. And she thanked Him meekly on her knees, for that He had
been pleased to bring redemption to man, and to make her the humble
instrument of His great mercy. And they sat and talked together, until
He took leave of her to return to the garden, and to show Himself to
Mary Magdalene, who, next to His glorious Mother, had most need of
consolation!”

This beautiful myth of the early ages has only been pictured as a
matter-of-fact scene in art. The Virgin kneels; the Saviour, with His
standard, stands before her; and generally Adam and Eve, the authors
of the fall, or Abraham and David, the progenitors of Christ and the
Virgin, are introduced, as the delivered patriarchs.

The =Ascension=, though one of the “Glorious Mysteries,” was also the
seventh and last of the sorrows of the Virgin, who was then left alone
on earth. All the old legends record her being present at this time
and saying, as she followed with uplifted eyes the soaring figure of
Christ, “My son, remember me when Thou comest to Thy kingdom! leave me
not long after Thee, my Son!”

The =Descent of the Holy Ghost= is a strictly scriptural subject. It
has been said that Mary, in her character of the divine Mother of
Wisdom, did not need any accession of intellectual light, but that the
Holy Spirit was sent to her as the Comforter.

When Mary is present she is usually placed either in front or in
the centre on a raised seat and often holds a book (as the _Mater
Sapientiæ_).

The =Death and Assumption of the Virgin=. _Lat._ Dormitio, Pausatio,
Transitus, Assumptio, B. Virginis. _Ital._ L’Assunzione, Il sonno della
Beata Vergine, Il transito di Maria. _Fr._ L’Assomption, La Mort de la
Vierge. _Ger._ Das Absterben der Mariä, Mariä Himmelfahrt.

No subject has been more popular, nor more frequently represented in
art than the Death and Assumption of the Virgin. The assumption was
indeed the manifest expression of a dogma of faith—the glorification of
the Virgin in the body as well as in the spirit, and as such it appears
in all the edifices dedicated to her.

The two subjects are often combined. The death scene is portrayed below
(_Il transito di Maria_), and the taking up into heaven of the body and
soul of the Virgin Mary—the assumption—is given above.

It is related in the legend that when the time came for Mary to die,
the apostles (who were scattered in various parts of the world) were
all assembled by a miraculous power and brought to the door of Mary’s
dwelling. When Mary saw them she blessed them and thanked the Lord,
then kneeling down they prayed together, and after that she laid
herself down in her bed prepared to die. About the third hour of the
night a great sound smote on their ears, the chamber became filled with
a heavenly fragrance, and Christ Himself appeared, followed by angels,
patriarchs, and prophets, who surrounded the bed of the Virgin singing
hymns of joy. And Jesus said to His mother, “Arise, my beloved, mine
elect! come with me from Lebanon, mine espoused! receive the crown that
is destined for thee!” And Mary replying, said: “My heart is ready; for
it was written of me that I should do Thy will.” Then all the angels
and blessed spirits who were with Jesus began to sing and rejoice. And
the soul of Mary departed from her body and in the arms of her Son
together they arose into heaven. The apostles gazing after her, said:
“O most prudent Virgin, remember us when thou comest to thy glory,” and
the angels who received her into heaven sang, “Who is this that cometh
up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved? She is fairer than all
the daughters of Jerusalem.”

There was but one absent among the apostles and when he came in haste
soon after, he could not believe in the resurrection of the Virgin. It
was this same Thomas who had doubted the resurrection of Christ. At
his desire the tomb was opened before him and in it he saw lilies and
roses. Then looking up in astonishment to heaven, he beheld the body of
the Virgin, radiant in a glory of light ascending slowly towards the
celestial regions.

It is related that in pity for his lack of faith she flung down to him
her girdle—the same _sacratissima cintola_ which is still preserved in
the Cathedral of Prato.

The “angel of death,” usually supposed to be Gabriel, but more
correctly Michael, sometimes offers her a taper—it being customary to
place a taper in the hands of one who is dying.

The mystic =Incoronata= or =Coronation=, which represents the triumph
of the Church, is distinguished by the presence not only of angels
and patriarchs, but by fathers and doctors of the Church and martyrs
and saints. It is a dramatic and historical event when it comes last
in a series of the Life of the Virgin, where her death-bed or tomb is
portrayed or the apostles and sorrowing women are introduced.

FOOTNOTES:

[5] See Appendix.

X.—DEVOTIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE VIRGIN MARY

In the most ancient examples, the maternity—the motherhood of the
Virgin is not the paramount idea. She is represented without symbols,
and veiled, occupying an inferior position on one side of her divine
Son, with St. John the Baptist or St. Peter on the other.

Later, when the worship of the Virgin spread from the East and she
was represented alone, without her Son, the apostles and saints who
surrounded her taking secondary positions, she symbolised not only the
divine Mother of Christ, but the second Eve, the mother of all the
world, the Virgin of Virgins.

When she wears a crown over her veil or holds a sceptre in her hand she
is the Queen of Heaven (_Regina Cœli_).

Attended by adoring angels, she is the Queen of Angels (_Regina
Angelorum_).

Weeping or holding the crown of thorns she is Our Lady of Sorrow
(_Mater Dolorosa_).

When she is merely veiled, with folded hands and a face of glorious
beauty and sweetness, she is the Madonna, the Blessed Virgin, the
_Santa Maria Vergine_.

It was in the days of chivalry that the title of Our Lady—_Notre Dame,
La Madonna, Unsere Liebe Frau_—was first given to the Virgin.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN.—FILIPPO LIPPI

(Academy, Florence.)]

The =Coronation of the Virgin=. (_Lat._ Coronatio Beatæ Mariæ Virginis.
_Ital._ L’Incoronata, Maria Coronata dal divin suo Figlio. _Fr._
La Couronnement de la Sainte Vierge. _Ger._ Die Krönung Maria). In
the earliest examples, Christ, with His mother seated on the same
throne, and on His right hand, places the crown upon her head. Only
the two figures are shown. Sometimes the Father looks down, and the
Holy Ghost (as a dove) hovers between them. Later examples place the
Virgin between the Father and Son, both in human form; each holds the
crown in one hand, and places it on her head, while the Holy Spirit
hovers above. Again, the Virgin is portrayed kneeling at the feet of
Christ, who places the crown on her head; rejoicing angels are seen
and paradise is disclosed beyond. Sometimes the whole army of blessed
spirits, patriarchs, and martyrs are witnesses to this solemn and
glorious ceremony.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE MADONNA CROWNED—BOTTICELLI

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

When not more than five or six saints are introduced, they are usually
the patron saints of the locality or community.

Those pictures where the Madonna is holding her Child, while angels
place a crown upon her head, are not Coronations in the accepted sense,
but an acknowledgment of and tribute to the Virgin-mother of Christ,
and Queen of Heaven (_Mater Christi_, _Regina Cœli_).

The =Virgin of Mercy=.[6] Our Lady of Succour. _Ital._ La Madonna di
Misericordia. _Fr._ Notre Dame de Miséricorde. _Ger._ Mariä Mutter des
Erbarmens.

Here she appears as intercessor, and in old pictures of the Day of
Judgment she is seated by the side of Christ, or sometimes a little
lower, but always on His right hand. She is usually seated, while the
Baptist, who is generally placed opposite to her on the left of Christ,
always stands or kneels.

As the Madonna of Mercy she rarely appears without the Child in her
arms, her motherhood typifying her sympathy with all suffering humanity.

The =Mater Dolorosa=. _Ital._ La Madre di Dolore, L’Addolorata. _Fr._
Notre Dame de Pitié, La Vierge de Douleur. _Ger._ Die Schmerzhafte
Mutter.

There are three distinct representations of the Madonna in this
character. As =Mater Dolorosa= she is represented alone, either seated
or standing, and sometimes only the head or a half-length figure of her
is given. She is overcome with sorrow, her features are stricken with
grief, and tears gush from her mournful eyes. Often a sword pierces her
bosom—sometimes _seven_ swords, in allusion to the _seven sorrows_.

In the =Stabat Mater= the position of the Virgin is invariably on the
right of the crucifix—that of St. John on the left, the crucifix here
being the mystical emblem of our belief in a crucified Christ. In this
subject the Virgin is a wholly ideal figure, personifying the Church
as well as the mother of Christ. Her head is bowed in resignation,
her figure is shrouded in a violet or dark blue mantle. Sometimes she
stands with outstretched arms and upward gaze, her faith struggling
with her anguish.

=La Pietà= is the third, and consists only of the Virgin with her dead
Son in her arms or at her feet; sometimes sorrowing angels are about,
but otherwise the Mother is alone with her dead.

Another version, less poetically touching, represents the dead form
half-emerging from the tomb, held in the arms of the sorrowing Mother,
with St. John the Evangelist on the other side.

=Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.= _Lat._ Regina sine labe
originale concepta. _Ital._ La Madonna Purissima. _Fr._ La Conception
de la Vierge Marie. _Ger._ Der Geheimniss der Unbefleckten Empfängniss
Mariä.

This picture is not found in the early schools of art, but became one
of the most popular subjects in the seventeenth century, after Paul
V. had instituted the office for the commemoration of the Immaculate
Conception in 1615 and in 1617 forbade any one teaching or preaching
the opposite belief.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE MADONNA ENTHRONED.—FILIPPINO LIPPI

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

This doctrine had been gaining ground from the eleventh century and had
been agitated for several centuries before that, but there was always
strong opposition to making it an article of belief. Even St. Bernard,
in spite of his devotion to the Virgin, disapproved of incorporating
it as a church office. It was a question of theological dispute for
hundreds of years. In Spain it was the “darling dogma of the Spanish
Church,” and forms the subject of some of the most beautiful pictures
of the Spanish artists.

It was not until 1854 that the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of
God was made an article of faith in the Catholic Church by Pope Pius IX.

In pictures of the Immaculate Conception, the Virgin is usually
represented as the woman in the Apocalypse, “clothed with the sun,
having the moon under her feet,” and on her head a crown of twelve
stars. She is a maiden of twelve or thirteen years, with eyes reverent
and sweet; her hair is golden, and her features beautiful. The sun is
a glory of light around her, the moon with the horns pointing downward
lies under her feet, and the twelve stars form a crown over her head.
Her robe is of spotless white and her mantle blue. Around her are
cherubim bearing roses, lilies, and palms, and below at her feet is the
head of the bruised and defeated dragon.

Murillo, who achieved his greatest fame as painter of the Conception,
sometimes makes the crescent moon a full moon, or, when a crescent, the
horns point upward. He usually omits the starry crown, but is careful
to follow the rules laid down as to the colours of the drapery.

=The Virgin and Child Enthroned.= _Lat._ Sancta Dei Genitrix, Virgo
Deipara. _Ital._ La Santissima Vergine, Madre di Dio. _Fr._ La Sainte
Vierge, Mère de Dieu. _Ger._ Die Heilige Mutter Gottes.

The many and beautiful pictures of this subject are purely devotional
in character and in them Mary is exalted as the Mother of God.
When she is represented with a book in her hand she is the _Virgo
Sapientissima_, the Most Wise Virgin, or the _Mater Sapientiæ_, the
Mother of Wisdom, and the book is the Book of Wisdom.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD.—FILIPPO LIPPI

(Pitti Palace, Florence.)]

The artists hardly ever varied from the established rule as to the
colours in which the Virgin-mother should be arrayed, and she nearly
always has the red tunic with the blue mantle—as said before, red the
colour of love and religious fervour, blue the colour of constancy and
truth. In pictures of the Venetian and German schools she is often
represented magnificently attired, her robe thickly broidered with gold
and pearls, and her crown studded with jewels.

In the early pictures the divine Child is always clothed, and not until
the beginning of the fifteenth century is he represented partially,
then wholly, undraped.

The _Madonna Enthroned_ is often attended by various saints, and
the grouping of these saints has always some especial religious
significance, as: _St. Peter_ and _St. Paul_ appear with the Virgin
as chiefs of the apostles and founders of the Church; when _St. John
the Baptist_ and _St. John the Evangelist_ attend the Virgin Enthroned
the first expresses regeneration by the rite of baptism, the second
regeneration by faith.

_The Fathers of the Church_ appear as interpreters and defenders of the
mystery of the Incarnation; _St. Jerome_ and _St. Catherine_ as patron
saints of theological learning; _St. Catherine_ and _St. Barbara_
signify active and contemplative life; _St. Nicholas_ and _St. George_
with _St. Catherine_ are prominent in the Venetian pictures, and all
three were venerated as especial protectors of Venice.

_St. George_ and _St. Christopher_ stand by the throne of the Virgin of
Succour as protectors and deliverers in danger.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE MADONNA DEL GRAN-DUCA.—RAPHAEL

(Pitti Palace, Florence.)]

Many of these Madonna pictures were votive offerings for public or
private mercies, and frequently bear the name of those who offered
them: as Raphael’s _Madonna di Foligno_ presented by Sigismund Conti
of Foligno.

Wherever the Virgin and Child appear attended by _St. Sebastian_ and
_St. Roch_ the picture has been a votive offering against the plague.

=Mater Amabilis.= _Ital._ La Madonna col Bambino, La Madonna col
celeste suo Figlio. _Fr._ La Vierge et l’Enfant Jésus. _Ger._ Maria mit
dem Kind.

This treatment of the Virgin and Child makes the strongest appeal to
the sympathies, for in it she is represented as the _Mother_ only. As
Mrs. Jameson expresses it: “Here Raphael shone supreme: the simplicity;
the tenderness, the halo of purity and virginal dignity which he threw
around the _Mater Amabilis_, have never been surpassed—in his best
pictures never equalled. The _Madonna del Gran-Duca_ [Pitti, Florence]
and the _Madonna Tempi_ [Munich] are perhaps the most remarkable for
simplicity.”

A charming version of the _Mater Amabilis_ is the _Madre Pia_ where the
Mother adores her Child. He lies extended upon her knee and she looks
down upon Him with hands folded in prayer. Sometimes the Child looks up
in His Mother’s face with His finger on His lip, expressing the _Verbum
sum_—“I am the word.” One must distinguish this from a Nativity where
the Mother adores her Child, but the presence of Joseph, the ruined
shed or manger, the ox and ass, express the _event_. In the _Madre Pia_
the locality and accessories are purely fanciful and ideal.

The constant introduction of St. Joseph, St. Elizabeth, and other
relations of the Virgin (always omitted in a Madonna _in trono_) would
be called a Holy Family, except for the presence of other sainted
personages whose existence and history belong to an entirely different
period, such as St. Catherine, St. George, St. Francis, or St.
Dominick. When this occurs it removes the picture from the historical,
and puts it at once with the imaginary and devotional subjects. Such a
group is not a _Sacra Famiglia_, but a _Sacra Conversazione_.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE ADORATION OF THE CHILD.—PERUGINO

(Pitti Palace, Florence.)]

FOOTNOTES:

[6] See Appendix.

XI.—ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

=St. John the Baptist.= _Ital._ San Giovanni Battista. _Fr._ St. Jean
Baptiste. _Ger._ Johann der Täufer. (June 24.) St. John shares with
Christ and His mother the distinction of having his natural birthday
kept by the Church.

The history of this saint is given in St. Luke, and with the artists
his life has frequently been the subject of a series including the
_Angel Appearing to Zacharias_, _St. John Preaching_, _His Baptism of
Christ_, _Reproval of Herod_, _Daughter of Herodias Asks for St. John’s
Head_, _Beheading of St. John_, _Daughter of Herodias Carries St.
John’s Head to her Mother_, etc.

According to the legends, the Blessed Virgin remained with Elizabeth
until the birth of John, and in the historical pictures Mary is seen
with a glory around her head presenting the child to Zacharias. The
Greek legends say that St. John’s death took place two years before
that of Christ, and that he descended into Hades and brought unto the
departed spirits the tidings of their approaching redemption, and
remained there until released by the Saviour’s death.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

JOHN THE BAPTIST IN THE DESERT.—TITIAN

(Academy, Venice.)]

St. John forms a link between the Old Testament and the Gospel. In art
he is usually represented as the Herald, the Forerunner of Christ, and
as leaving his home while still very young to begin his life in the
desert. In early art he is gaunt and wasted, with unshaven beard
and hair, but often in later pictures he is smooth-faced, young, and
beautiful, and wears a rich mantle over the garment of camel’s hair.

As Messenger, he wears “his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern
girdle about his loins,” and bears a reed cross and scroll with the
inscription _Ecce Agnus Dei_, or _Vox clementis in deserto!_ The lamb
is sometimes given, sometimes omitted.

He is introduced into pictures of the Holy Family as a witness to the
divine nature of Christ and as such is represented at all ages from
infancy to manhood. He is patron saint of all who are baptised and is
usually represented in sculpture in baptisteries.

XII.—THE FOUR EVANGELISTS

The earliest symbol used to typify the Four Evangelists was four
scrolls placed in the four angles of a Greek cross, or four books,
representing the Gospels. Next came the four rivers whose source was in
paradise.

Their conventional symbols, the angel or man for St. Matthew, the lion,
winged, for St. Mark, the ox for St. Luke and the eagle for St. John
are derived from the Apocalypse (Rev. iv., 7). The Four Beasts are also
found in the prophecy of Ezekiel (chap. i., 10). How early these “four
mysterious creatures” were adopted as symbols of the Four Evangelists
is not known. They are found in the fifth century, and in the seventh
century were universally recognised as fixed attributes.

It was thought that the _cherub_ or _man_ was given to St. Matthew
because he dwelt more upon the human side of Christ; the _lion_ to St.
Mark because he was called the “Historian of the Resurrection,” and the
revival of the lion’s cub symbolised the resurrection, also because he
begins his Gospel with the mission of the Baptist—“the voice of one
crying in the wilderness”—the lion typifying the wilderness; the _ox_
to St. Luke because it was the emblem of sacrifice, and Luke in his
Gospel dwelt more especially upon the priesthood of Christ; to St. John
the _eagle_ because it was the emblem of the highest inspiration.

“Rupertus considers the Four Beasts as typical of the Incarnation,
the Passion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension; an idea previously
dwelt upon by Durandus, who adds that the man and the lion are placed
on the right because the incarnation and the resurrection are the joy
of the whole earth; whilst the ox is on the left, because Christ’s
sacrifice was a trouble to the apostles; and the eagle is above the ox
as suggestive of our Lord’s upward flight into heaven. According to
others, the proper order in the ascending scale is thus: at the lowest
point on the left, the ox; to the right, the lion; above the ox, the
eagle; and above all, the angel. So in Raphael’s Vision of Ezekiel
[Pitti, Florence] the angel gazes into the face of the Holy One, the
others form His throne” (Mrs. Jameson).

Many ideas are conveyed in these apparently fanciful symbols. Sometimes
in church decoration the Four Evangelists are grouped with the Four
Greater Prophets, thus expressing the old and the new law. Sometimes,
particularly in stained glass, they are represented with the Four
Doctors, the evangelists appearing as witnesses and the doctors as
interpreters of the faith. A curious painting of the Four Doctors is
seen in the Louvre, in which the doctors are given not only their own
symbols, but also the symbols of the Four Evangelists.

=St. Matthew.= _Lat._ S. Mattheus. _Ital._ San Matteo. _Fr._ St.
Mathieu. _Ger._ St. Matthäus.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

CHRIST AND THE FOUR EVANGELISTS.—FRA BARTOLOMMEO

(Pitti Palace, Florence.)]

St. Matthew ranks seventh or eighth among the apostles, but is first
as evangelist, because his Gospel was supposed to be the first that was
written. Scarcely anything is known of his history, except that he was
a Hebrew who served the Romans as a publican or tax-gatherer and that
his original name was Levi.

After the ascension he is said to have gone to Egypt and Ethiopia,
preaching the Gospel, and to have remained there twenty-three years.
While there he overcame two terrible magicians, raised the son of the
King of Egypt from the dead, and healed his daughter of leprosy. He
is believed to have perished in the reign of Domitian, A. D. 90, but
the manner of his death is in doubt. By some it is believed that he
suffered martyrdom by the sword or spear, but, according to the Greek
legends, his end came peacefully.

St. Matthew is not a favourite in art and is seldom represented alone
or in devotional pictures. As evangelist he holds a book or a pen,
and the angel, his proper symbol, stands by dictating or pointing
up to heaven. As apostle he frequently holds a purse, or money bag,
signifying his former occupation.

=St. Mark.= _Lat._ S. Marcus. _Fr._ St. Marc. _Ital._ San Marco
Evangelista. _Ger._ Der Heilige Marcus.

According to the traditions accepted in the Roman Church, St. Mark was
not one of the twelve apostles, but was a convert of St. Peter’s and
became his favourite disciple. While in Rome he wrote his Gospel for
the use of the Roman converts—some say from the dictation of St. Peter.
He founded the Church of Alexandria, the most renowned of all the early
Christian churches, but the wrath of the heathen became so great,
because of his miracles, that they seized him while he was worshipping
one day and, binding him, dragged him up and down the streets and
highways, and over the most stony and rocky places, until the breath
left his suffering body. The legends relate that, as his soul departed,
a terrific tempest of hail and lightning descended suddenly from the
skies, by which his murderers were instantly scattered and destroyed.

The Christians of Alexandria buried his mangled remains, and his tomb
there was held in reverence for several centuries. But about 815 A.
D. some Venetian merchants carried off the relics and brought them to
Venice, and the magnificent Church of St. Mark was built over them.
Since that time St. Mark has been honoured as the patron saint of
Venice, and his legendary history has supplied the Venetian painters
with many beautiful and picturesque subjects.

When represented as one of the Four Evangelists, alone or grouped with
others, his symbol is almost invariably the lion—winged or unwinged,
but usually _winged_—distinguishing him from St. Jerome, who also has
the lion as a symbol, but always unwinged. In devotional pictures
St. Mark often wears the habit of bishop, as the first Bishop of
Alexandria, holding his Gospel in his hand.

=St. Luke.= _Lat._ Sanctus Luca. _Fr._ Saint Luc. _Ital._ San Luca.

Little is known of the real history of St. Luke. He was not an apostle,
and like St. Mark, is supposed to have been converted after the
ascension. He was a beloved disciple of St. Paul, and accompanied him
to Rome and remained with him until the last. After the martyrdom
of St. Peter and St. Paul he preached the Gospel in Greece and
Egypt, but whether he suffered martyrdom or died a natural death is
merely conjecture. There is some occasion for the belief that Luke
was a physician, and there is a legend that makes him a painter and
represents him as painting the portrait of the Virgin Mary, but this is
not confirmed by any of the earlier traditions. Because of this legend,
however, he was made the patron saint of painters.

St. Luke is usually represented with his Gospel, and his attendant ox,
winged or unwinged; but in Greek art and the art which came under the
Byzantine influence, he is represented as evangelist, young and without
beard, holding the portrait of the Virgin as his symbol in one hand,
and his Gospel in the other.

=St. John.= _Lat._ Sanctus Johannes. _Ital._ San Giovanni Evangelista.
_Fr._ Saint Jean, Messire Saint Jehan. _Ger._ Der Heilige Johann.

St. John was the son of the fisherman Zebedee, and with his brother
James was among the first followers of Christ.

In the legends of St. John, after the death of the Blessed Virgin he
went into Judæa preaching the Gospel, and then into Asia Minor, where
he founded the Seven Churches. During the persecution under Domitian,
he was sent in fetters to Rome and was cast into a caldron of boiling
oil, but he came out of it unharmed. He had other miraculous escapes,
and being accused of magic was exiled to the island of Patmos, where
he wrote his Revelation. He was released after Domitian’s death and
returned to his church at Ephesus. He died there a few years later,
being nearly a century old.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

MADONNA OF THE HARPIES WITH ST. FRANCIS AND ST. JOHN,
EVANGELIST.—ANDREA DEL SARTO

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

A legend that is often represented in art is, that when he returned to
Ephesus he met a funeral procession and was told that it was that of
Drusiana, at whose house he had formerly dwelt. Bidding them set down
the bier, he prayed that she might be restored to life, and she arose
and walked to her house, the apostle going with her.

He is popular as a patron saint, and pictures of him are more
numerous than of any of the other evangelists. These represent him—as
evangelist, apostle, or prophet.

In early art St. John is an aged man with white hair and long white
beard, but with the later painters St. John as evangelist, although
nearly a century old, is represented as beardless, with light curling
hair, and has all the attributes of the youthful apostle. He is
sometimes seated, with his pen and his book,—sometimes standing; the
attendant eagle is always near him and frequently holds the pen or
ink-horn in its beak.

In his second character, or as one of the series of apostles, St. John
is represented in Western art as young and beardless, with pale brown
or golden flowing hair, and a face full of sweetness, candour, and
gentleness. His mantle is red in colour and the tunic blue or sometimes
green. He holds in his hand the sacramental cup from which a serpent is
seen to appear. St. Isidore relates that at Rome an attempt was made to
poison St. John in the cup of the sacrament; he drank of the same and
administered it to the communicants without injury, the poison having
by a miracle vanished from the chalice in the form of a serpent, but
the hired assassin fell down at his feet dead. According to another
account, the poisoned cup was given to him by order of the Emperor
Domitian. Another legend relates that Aristodemus, the high-priest of
Diana at Ephesus, dared him as a test of the truth of his mission to
drink of the poisoned chalice. St. John drank unharmed, but the priest
dropped dead. Yet another interpretation is that the cup in the hand
of St. John alludes to Christ’s reply when the mother of James and
John demanded for her sons that they be given a place of honour in
heaven,—“Ye shall indeed drink of my cup.”

In his third character of prophet and writer of the Revelation St.
John is generally represented in art as very old with a white, flowing
beard, seated in a rocky desert; the sea in the distance or around him,
representing the island of Patmos; he has the eagle at his side.

XIII.—THE TWELVE APOSTLES

The earliest representations of the Twelve Apostles seem to have been,
like those of the Four Evangelists, purely symbolical. They were
represented as twelve sheep, and Christ, bearing a lamb in His arms,
stood in their midst as the Good Shepherd; or Christ the Lamb of God
was placed on an eminence and crowned with a cruciform nimbus, and the
apostles were arranged on each side as sheep.

A little later the apostles were represented as twelve men, all alike,
each with a sheep, and Christ stood in the middle, also with a sheep,
which was often larger than theirs.

=The Apostles’ Creed.= “It is affirmed by Ambrose, ‘that the twelve
Apostles, as skilful artificers, assembled together, and made a key
by their common advice, that is, the Creed; by which the darkness of
the devil is disclosed, that the light of Christ may appear.’ Others
fable that every Apostle inserted an article, by which the Creed is
divided into twelve articles; and a sermon, fathered upon St. Austin,
and quoted by the Lord Chancellor King, fabricates that each particular
article was thus inserted by each particular Apostle.

Peter (1). I believe in God the Father Almighty;

John (2). Maker of heaven and earth;

James (3). And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;

Andrew (4). Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin
Mary;

Philip (5). Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and
buried;

Thomas (6). He descended into hell, the third day he rose again from
the dead;

Bartholomew (7). He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of
God the Father Almighty;

Matthew (8). From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead;

James, the son of Alpheus (9). I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy
Catholic Church;

Simon Zelotes (10). The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins;

Jude, the brother of James (11). The resurrection of the body;

Matthias (12). Life everlasting. Amen.” (_Apocryphal New Testament._)

From the sixth century every one of the apostles had his especial
attribute, which was taken from some circumstance of his life or death.
According to the canon of the mass, they follow in order, thus:

St. Peter, the keys or a fish.

St. Paul, the sword; sometimes two swords.

St. Andrew, the transverse cross.

St. James Major, the pilgrim’s staff.

St. John, the sacramental cup with the serpent; sometimes the eagle
(the latter belongs to him only in his character of evangelist).

St. Thomas, a builder’s rule, sometimes a spear.

St. James Minor, a club.

St. Philip, the staff or crozier, surmounted by a cross, or a small
cross in his hand.

St. Bartholomew, a large knife.

St. Matthew, a purse.

St. Simon, a saw.

St. Thaddeus (or Jude), a halberd or lance.

St. Matthias, a lance.

Although in sacred art the apostles are always twelve in number, they
are not always the same. St. Paul is often substituted for St. Jude and
frequently the evangelists St. Mark and St. Luke appear instead of St.
Simon and St. Matthias.

=St. Peter and St. Paul.= _Lat._ SS. Petrus et Paulus. _Ital._ San
Pietro or Piero, San Paolo. _Fr._ S. Pierre, S. Paul. _Spa._ San Pedro,
San Pablo.

Even during their lifetime, the power and the influence of St. Peter
and St. Paul as apostles and preachers of the Gospel were recognised;
and they were acknowledged then as now to be the heads and founders of
the Christian Church.

The precedence given to St. Peter, prince of the apostles and founder
of the Church of Rome, has never been questioned, but still they are
held to be “equal in faith, in merit, and in sanctity.”

In works of art they are seldom separated. They are found on _each_
side of the Saviour or of the Virgin enthroned; or on each side of the
altar; or on each side of the arch over the choir. Wherever they are
together, not only as apostles but founders, their rank is next after
the evangelists and the prophets.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. PETER BAPTISING.—MASACCIO

(Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence.)]

Many legends are related of St. Peter. Among them that of Simon Magus
is the most important, and it has been frequently illustrated in art
(Acts viii., 9, 24).

Simon Magus was a famous magician among the Jews, who performed
marvellous feats of sorcery and claimed to be a god. Privately he tried
to buy from the apostles the secret of their power to work miracles,
but was rejected by them with scorn.

The apostles vanquished him at every turn, and drove him out of
Jerusalem; and he fled to Rome, where he became a favourite of the
Emperor Claudius and afterwards of Nero. Simon claimed that he had the
power to raise the dead, and when Peter and Paul came to Rome they
challenged him to restore the life of a youth in the presence of the
emperor. The magician failed utterly to make good his boast, but when
Peter and Paul spoke to the boy he at once rose from the dead. Then the
magician announced that he would fly to heaven, and jumping from a high
tower he floated in the air for a time, sustained there by demons. At
this, Peter fell on his knees and begged that the demons might loose
their hold, which they did, and the magician, falling to the ground,
was dashed to pieces.

When the first persecution under Nero broke out, the Christians finally
succeeded in persuading St. Peter to flee from Rome and thereby save a
life that was so precious to the Church.

As Peter was fleeing along the Appian Way, he suddenly encountered our
Lord Himself going towards Rome, and bearing His cross. In wonder at
such a vision, Peter exclaimed, “Lord, whither goest Thou?” (_Domine,
quo vadis?_) and Jesus, bending His eyes sadly upon him, answered, “I
go to Rome to be crucified again.” And thus saying, He vanished from
sight. Peter felt this to be a sign that he was forsaking his duty
and turned back at once to the city, where he continued to preach and
baptise until he was taken with St. Paul and thrown into the Mamertine
prison.

Here they converted the two centurions, Processus and Martinian, who
guarded them, also many other prisoners. There was no water with which
to baptise them, but at the prayer of St. Peter that water might be
forthcoming, a spring broke through the stone floor and remains a
fountain there to this day.

Tradition declares that St. Peter was crucified with his head downward
at his own request, feeling himself unworthy to suffer the same death
as his Lord.

When in devotional pictures St. Peter is accompanied by another apostle
with no distinctive attributes, it may be supposed that it is St. Mark,
who was his companion, amanuensis, and interpreter at Rome.

“St. Peter was generally represented blessing, St. Paul preaching,—the
former with white hair and beard, the hair sometimes plaited in three
distinct partitions; the latter with a lofty and partially bald brow,
and long high nose,—as characteristic of the man of genius and the
thorough gentleman, as the former is of the warm-hearted, frank,
impetuous fisherman. The likenesses may be correct,—they were current,
at least, in the days of Eusebius” (Lord Lindsay’s _Sketches of
Christian Art_).

The dress of St. Peter in the mosaics and Greek pictures is a blue
tunic with a white mantle, but in later pictures he wears a blue or
green tunic with yellow drapery. In the earliest representations, he
bears a scroll or book, later a cross in one hand and book in the
other. It is not until about the eighth century that the keys become
his peculiar symbol. Sometimes he has one great key, but usually he
carries two keys, one of gold and one of silver—to absolve and to
bind—or according to another interpretation one is of gold for the
gates of heaven, the other of iron for the gates of hell. The legend
that makes St. Peter the keeper of the gate of Paradise, having power
to grant or refuse admission, found its origin in the delivery of the
keys to St. Peter.

Although =St. Paul= was called to be an apostle after the ascension
of Christ, yet he takes rank next to St. Peter as one of the “chief
witnesses of the Christian faith.” The history of the “great apostle
of the Gentiles” is given fully in the Acts, and the Epistles and the
legends have not added much to it. It is related that he suffered
martyrdom outside the Ostian Gate of Rome by being beheaded on the
same day that St. Peter was crucified within the city. It is also
said that a certain Roman matron, named Plautilla, a convert of St.
Peter’s, wishing to see St. Paul for the last time, placed herself on
the road where he passed to his martyrdom. As she beheld him, she wept
and implored his blessing. The apostle gave it and then asked for her
veil, that he might bind his eyes before being beheaded. He promised
to return it to her after his death. Plautilla gave it readily, thus
showing her faith, although her attendants refrained not from mocking
at so ridiculous a promise. After his martyrdom, however, her veil,
stained with his blood, was restored to her in person by St. Paul. The
spot where he was beheaded is still venerated as the _Tre Fontane_,
tradition saying that the severed head made three bounds on the ground,
and at each place that it touched a fountain gushed forth.

In art the dress of St. Paul is, like St. Peter’s, a blue tunic and
white mantle. He has a book or scroll in one hand, occasionally _twelve
rolls_, representing his Epistles. His peculiar symbol is the sword—his
attribute in a double sense—first signifying the manner of his
martyrdom, and second typifying the “good fight fought by the faithful
Christian.” When St. Paul is leaning on his sword it then expresses his
martyrdom. When he holds it aloft it proclaims his warfare in the cause
of Christ; when _two swords_ are given to him, one is the attribute,
the other the symbol.

=St. Andrew= (_Lat._ S. Andreas. _Ital._ Sant’Andrea. _Fr._ St. André)
was the brother of Simon Peter, and he was the first who was called to
be an apostle. Nothing further is told of him in the New Testament.
Tradition relates that after the ascension of Christ, St. Andrew
travelled into Scythia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, converting multitudes
to the faith. He returned to Jerusalem, and thence travelled into
Greece and came at last to a city of Achaia, called Patras. Here, among
many others, he converted Maximilia, wife of the proconsul Ægeus.
He induced her to make a public profession of Christianity, and this
so enraged the proconsul that he ordered St. Andrew to be seized and
scourged and then crucified. There are many opinions as to the form of
the cross upon which he suffered, but it is generally believed to have
been a transverse cross, since called St. Andrew’s Cross, and it is
said he was fastened with cords rather than with nails—a circumstance
always adhered to in the representations of his death. Before suffering
crucifixion, the legend relates that he saluted and adored the cross
on his knees as something that had been consecrated by the sufferings
of his Redeemer.[7] Some of his relics were brought from Patras to
Scotland in the fourth century, and since then St. Andrew has been the
patron saint of Scotland and of its chief order of Knighthood. He is
also patron saint of the famous Burgundian Order, the Golden Fleece,
and of Russia and its chief order, the Cross of St. Andrew.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. JAMES MAJOR.—TITIAN

(Church of S. Lio, Venice.)]

St. Andrew is recognised in art by the transverse cross, and the
devotional pictures represent him as a very old man with a certain
brotherly resemblance to St. Peter. He has long, white, flowing hair
and beard, the beard usually being divided. He is generally represented
leaning upon the cross, holding the Gospel in his right hand.

=St. James the Great.= _Lat._ Sanctus Jacobus Major. _Ital._ San
Giacomo, or Jacopo, Maggiore. _Fr._ St. Jacques Majeur. _Spa._ San
Jago, or Santiago.

St. James Major (the Great or the Elder) was a kinsman of Christ’s,
and, with his brother John the Evangelist and Peter, went everywhere
with the Lord and was present at most of the events related in the
Gospels. He was one of the three who were permitted to witness the
transfiguration of Christ, and one of those who slept during the agony
in the garden. No mention is made of him after the ascension, except
the fact that Herod slew him with the sword.

The legends of the middle ages, however, have amply made up for this
deficiency, and as military patron of Spain, he became one of the most
famous saints in Christendom and a most popular subject in art.

In the Spanish legend, although James (their Santiago) is still the
son of Zebedee and a native of Galilee, this Zebedee, instead of
being a poor fisherman, becomes through the florid imagination of the
Spanish chroniclers a very rich nobleman, whose son, always pure and
heavenly-minded, is converted by Jesus, and follows Him and shares His
labours until the end.

It is related that after the ascension James went first into Judæa,
preaching, and then came at last to Spain.

One day as he stood on the banks of the Ebro, he saw in a vision the
Blessed Virgin, who appeared to him surrounded by angels and seated on
a pillar of jasper. She commanded him to build on that spot a church
in her honour and told him that belief in her and in her glorious Son
would in time drive paganism out of the land. St. James rose up from
the ground where he had prostrated himself before her, and with faith
strengthened by these words of the Holy Virgin, began forthwith to
erect the famous church in her honour, which has been known ever since
as the Church of Our Lady of the Pillar (_Nuestra Señora del Pilar_).

Many other curious legends are related of him—his encounter with the
sorcerer Hermogenes, who sent his scholar Philetus to compete with him.
James converted him, which so enraged Hermogenes that he bound Philetus
by evil spells, so that he could not move hand or foot. Philetus sent
his servant to St. James, praying for aid. The apostle sent his cloak
by the servant, and no sooner had Philetus touched it, than he became
free and hastened to his deliverer. Hermogenes sent his demons to take
both the saint and his disciple; angels, however, intervened, and the
sorcerer, now utterly vanquished by the power of the apostle, cast
his magical books into the sea and declared himself also converted.
Hermogenes having prayed for aid against the power of his own demons,
St. James gave him his own staff to protect him, and thus armed,
Hermogenes set forth to preach the Gospel, and became a faithful and
worthy disciple from that time.

Soon after this the Jews, being roused to anger by the miracles and
good works of St. James, beheaded the saint, and his disciples, fearing
to bury his body, placed it in a ship—some say of marble—and angels
guided it to the coast of Spain. Here the disciples took out the body
and laid it on a great stone, and the stone yielded to his form like
wax and softly closed around it. Then they knew that they had found its
chosen resting-place.

But that country was governed at the time by a wicked queen named
Lupa, who hated Christians, and who harnessed wild bulls to the stone,
thinking they would dash it in pieces; but instead the bulls became as
gentle as lambs (_aussitot doux comme des moutons_) and drew it slowly
into the court of Lupa’s palace and there rested. At this marvel, she
became converted and built a magnificent church to receive the body of
James.

In after years the body was lost until the year A. D. 800, when its
place of concealment was revealed to a friar. His relics were then
removed to Compostella, and so many miracles were wrought at his shrine
that thousands upon thousands of pilgrims visited it from all parts of
Europe, and the military Order of Saint Jago, enrolled by Don Alphonso
for their protection, became one of the greatest and richest orders in
Spain.

The wonderful deeds enacted by Santiago in behalf of his chosen people
would fill a volume. The Spanish historians chronicle thirty-eight
instances in which Saint Jago descended from heaven and in person
led their armies against the Moors. The first and most famous was
in 939, when he visited the King of Castile in a dream the night
before, assuring him of victory. As the army engaged in battle the
next morning, the soldiers were thrilled by the sight of St. James at
their head, mounted on a snow-white steed, and waving a white standard
on high. Thus he led them on to victory, and from that day to this,
“Santiago” has been the Spanish war-cry.

St. James’s place among the apostles is fourth in the series, but third
after St. Peter and St. Paul. Often in art he is represented bearing a
family resemblance to Christ, his kinsman. He has the same thin beard
and the hair parted, flowing down on each side.

From the thirteenth century, he has been represented in the dress of
a pilgrim of Compostella; he carries the peculiar long staff, from
which is suspended a wallet or gourd of water; wears a cloak with a
long cape; and has the scallop-shell on his shoulder or on his flapped
hat. When the cape, hat, and scallop-shell are omitted, the staff
remains his constant attribute, designating him as the first apostle
who departed to spread the Gospel into other lands. He can always be
recognised by the staff in Madonna pictures and when grouped with other
saints.

St. John, who is fifth in the series of the apostles, is found under
the head of the Four Evangelists.

=St. Philip.= _Ital._ San Filippo Apostolo. _Fr._ Saint Philippe.

Little is related of St. Philip in the Gospels. After the ascension, he
preached in Scythia for twenty years, and then travelled to Hieropolis
in Phrygia, where he found the people worshipping a great serpent or
dragon, whom they believed to personify the god Mars.

St. Philip, filled with compassion for their ignorance, went into the
temple, and holding up his cross commanded the serpent to disappear.
Immediately it glided from beneath the altar, and as it moved it sent
forth so dreadful an odour that many died, among them the son of the
king; but Philip restored him and the others to life, and again, by
the power of the cross which he always bore, he commanded the dragon
to depart and from that time it was seen no more. This so infuriated
the priests of the serpent that they crucified Philip, and when he was
fastened to the cross they stoned him to death.

The Scriptures state that Philip had four daughters, who were
prophetesses (Acts i., 9). In the Greek calendar his sister, St.
Mariamne, and St. Hermione, his daughter, are commemorated as martyrs.

St. Philip, when he is represented alone or in the series of apostles,
is a man of middle-age and kindly face, with scarcely any beard. His
attribute, a cross, varies in form; sometimes it is small, and he
carries it in his hand; again it is a high cross in the form of a “T”
or a tall staff with a small Latin cross at the top of it. The cross of
St. Philip has a threefold meaning: it may allude to his martyrdom; or
to his conquest over the idols through the power of the cross; or when
placed on top of the pilgrim’s staff it may refer to his sojourn among
the barbarians, preaching the cross of salvation.

=St. Bartholomew.= _Lat._ S. Bartholomeus. _Ital._ San Bartolomeo.
_Fr._ St. Barthélemi.

The origin of this saint is in doubt. According to some accounts, he
was the son of a husbandman,—others say he was the son of a prince,
Ptolomeus. He went into India after the ascension, carrying with him
the Gospel of St. Matthew, and preached also in Armenia and Cilicia. He
suffered a horrible death in Albanopolis, being first flayed alive and
then crucified.

In devotional pictures and single figures, St. Bartholomew sometimes
bears in one hand a book, the Gospel of St. Matthew, but his peculiar
attribute is a large knife, the instrument of his martyrdom, and he is
sometimes represented with his own skin hanging over his arm, as in
Michael Angelo’s _Last Judgment_ (Sistine Chapel, Rome).

=St. Thomas.= _Ital._ San Tommaso. _Spa._ San Tomé.

St. Thomas, called _Didymus_ (the twin), is seventh among the apostles.
He was a fisherman of Galilee, and he is recorded in the Gospel on two
occasions. As Jesus was going up to Bethany, being then in danger from
the Jews, Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (John
xi., 16). And after the resurrection, it was Thomas who doubted the
reappearance of the crucified Saviour (John xx., 24-29).

After the ascension, St. Thomas travelled into the East, preaching the
Gospel. A tradition has been accepted in the Church that he went as far
as India; where he met the Three Wise Men of the East, and baptised
them. He founded a church in India, and it was there that he suffered
martyrdom.

After the thirteenth century, St. Thomas bears as his attribute the
builder’s rule, shaped thus:

[Illustration]

As he was neither a carpenter nor a mason, the reason of this attribute
is found in one of the legends.

“When St. Thomas was at Cæsarea, our Lord appeared to him and said,
‘The King of the Indies, Gondoforus, hath sent his provost Abanes to
seek for workmen well versed in the science of architecture, who shall
build for him a palace finer than that of the Emperor of Rome. Behold,
now I will send thee to him.’ And Thomas went, and Gondoforus commanded
him to build for him a magnificent palace, and gave him much gold and
silver for the purpose. The King went into a distant country and was
absent for two years, and St. Thomas meanwhile, instead of building a
palace, distributed all the treasures intrusted to him among the poor
and sick; and when the King returned he was full of wrath and commanded
that St. Thomas should be seized and cast into prison, and he meditated
for him a horrible death. Meantime the brother of the King died; and
the King resolved to erect for him a most magnificent tomb; but the
dead man, after that he had been dead four days, suddenly arose and
sat upright and said to the King, ‘The man that thou wouldst torture
is a servant of God; behold I have been in Paradise, and the angels
showed to me a wondrous palace of gold and silver and precious stones,
and they said, “This is the palace that Thomas, the architect, hath
built for thy brother King Gondoforus.”’ And when the King heard those
words he ran to the prison and delivered the apostle; and Thomas said
to him, ‘Knowest thou not that those who would possess heavenly things
have little care for the things of this earth? There are in heaven rich
palaces without number, which were prepared from the beginning of the
world for those who purchase the possessions through faith and charity.
Thy riches, O King, may prepare the way for thee to such a palace, but
they cannot follow thee thither’” (_Vos richesses pourront bien aller
devant vous à ce palais, mais elles ne pourront vous y suivre_).

The builder’s rule in the hand of St. Thomas represents him as the
spiritual architect of King Gondoforus, and thus he has been chosen as
patron saint of architects and builders.

“The Incredulity of St. Thomas” appears in all the early series in the
life of Christ, and it is of frequent occurrence in the later schools
of Italy and in the Flemish schools. Either St. Thomas is seen placing
his hand, with an expression of doubt and fear, on the wounds of the
crucified Christ, or his doubts having vanished, his eyes are cast
heavenward in joy and thankfulness.

The legendary subject styled _La Madonna della Cintola_, where St.
Thomas doubts the apotheosis of the Virgin, has been described in the
Assumption of the Virgin.

St. Matthew the Evangelist comes eighth in the order of the apostles.

=St. James Minor.= _Lat._ S. Jacobus Frater Domini. _Ital._ San Jacopo
or Giacomo Minore. _Gr._ Adelphotheos. _Fr._ St. Jacques Mineur.

St. James Minor, or the Less, also called the Just, is ninth in the
series. He was nearly related to Christ, being the son of Mary, the
wife of Cleophas, who was the sister of the Virgin Mary; and although
only a cousin he was often spoken of as the “Lord’s brother.” He became
first Christian Bishop of Jerusalem, and was reverenced for his piety,
and wisdom, and charity. The Scribes and Pharisees, however, became so
enraged by his teachings that they flung him down from a parapet of the
Temple to the infuriated mob below, where his brains were beaten out
with a _fuller’s club_.

St. James is generally represented leaning on this club, the instrument
of his martyrdom. According to an early tradition, he so nearly
resembled our Lord “in person, in features, and deportment,” that it
was difficult to distinguish them, and this rendered necessary the kiss
of Judas.

=St. Simon Zelotes= (or _The Zealot_). =St. Jude= (_Thaddeus_, or
_Lebbeus_). _Ital._ San Simone; San Taddeo. _Fr._ St. Simon; le Zelé;
St. Thaddée. _Ger._ Judas Thaddäus.

Very little is known of these saints. According to one tradition they
were the same mentioned by Matthew as our Lord’s brethren or kinsmen.
According to another tradition they were two brothers among the
shepherds, who visited Christ at His birth. The painters who adhered to
the first tradition represent Simon and Jude as young. Those who follow
the latter represent them as very old. It seems generally agreed
that they preached the Gospel together in Syria and Mesopotamia, and
together suffered martyrdom in Persia. Tradition says that St. Simon
was sawn asunder, and St. Thaddeus killed with a halberd.

In a series of apostles, St. Simon bears the saw and St. Thaddeus
the halberd. Greek art represents Jude and Thaddeus as two distinct
persons, Jude being young and Thaddeus old; and St. Simon is extremely
old, with a bald head, and long white beard.

=St. Matthias.= _Ital._ San Mattia. _Fr._ St. Mathias.

St. Matthias, who was chosen by lot to fill the place of the traitor
Judas, is the last of the apostles (Acts i.). He preached the Gospel
in Judæa, and was martyred there by the Jews, either by the lance or
by the axe. In the Italian series of the apostles his attribute is the
lance; in the German sets he usually has an axe.

=Judas Iscariot.= _Ital._ Giuda Scariota. _Fr._ Judas Iscariote.

The Gospels do not speak of the life of Judas before he became an
apostle, but the legends of the middle ages fill up the omissions of
Scripture after their own fancy. As recounted by Mrs. Jameson, they
picture Judas as a “wretch foredoomed, and prepared by a long course of
vice and crime for that crowning guilt which filled the measure full.
According to this legend, he was of the tribe of Reuben. Before his
mother brought him forth, she dreamed that the son who lay in her womb
would be accursed, that he would murder his father, commit incest with
his mother, and sell his God. Terrified at her dream, she took counsel
with her husband and they agreed to avert the threatened calamity by
exposing the child. As in the story of Œdipus, from which indeed this
legend seems partly borrowed, the means taken to avoid the threatened
curse caused its fulfilment. Judas, at his birth, is enclosed in a
chest, and flung into the sea; the sea casts him up, and being found
on the shore, he is fostered by a certain king and queen as their own
son; they have another son, whom Judas, malignant from his birth, beats
and oppresses, and at length kills in a quarrel over a game of chess.
He then flies to Judæa, where he enters the service of Pontius Pilate
as page. In due time he commits the other monstrous crimes to which he
was predestined; and when he learns from his mother the secret of his
birth, he is filled with a sudden contrition and terror; he hears of
the prophet who has power on earth to forgive sins; and seeking Christ
throws himself at His feet. Our Saviour, not deceived, but seeing in
him the destined betrayer, and that all things may be accomplished,
accepts him as His apostle; he becomes the seneschal or steward of
Christ, bears the purse and provides for the common wants. In this
position, avarice, the only vice to which he was not yet addicted,
takes possession of his soul and makes the corruption complete. Through
avarice, he grudges every penny given to the poor, and when Mary
Magdalene anoints the feet of our Lord, he is full of wrath at what he
considers the waste of the precious perfume: ‘Why was not this ointment
sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?’ This he said
not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. Through
avarice, he yields to the bribe offered by the Jews. Then follow the
scenes of the betrayal of Christ, and the late repentance and terrible
suicide of the traitor, as recorded in Scripture.”

Separate representations of Judas Iscariot would have been regarded
as “profane, ominous—worse than the evil-eye,” and the early artists,
in the scenes from the Scriptures where Judas appears, give him a
countenance as expressive of all the evil passions as their brushes
were capable of. The legend says, however, that Judas was of comely
appearance, and was recommended to the service of Pontius Pilate by his
beauty of person.

In art Judas always wears a dirty, dingy yellow, a colour that in Spain
is so associated in the mind with pictures of Judas, that it is held in
abhorrence. In Spain and in Italy malefactors and criminals are garbed
in yellow. Formerly the Venetians made all Jews wear yellow hats.

=St. Barnabas.= _Ital._ San Barnaba. _Fr._ Saint Barnabé.

He is usually called the _Apostle_ Barnabas, because he was associated
with the apostles in their calling, and is to be “considered as
_Apostolical_, and next to them in sanctity.” St. Barnabas was
a Levite, born in the island of Cyprus and a cousin of Mark the
Evangelist. His life and character as recorded in the Acts are full of
interest. After the conversion of Paul, he was the first to believe
in his sincerity, and to present him to the other apostles, “who were
afraid of him, and would not believe that he was a disciple.” Barnabas
afterwards went with St. Paul to Antioch. There, however, they fell
into a dispute concerning Mark and separated. Barnabas preached the
Gospel in Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, and it is said he was the
first Bishop of Milan. It is related that “everywhere he carried the
Gospel of St. Matthew, written by the hand of the evangelist, and when
any were sick or possessed, he laid the sacred writing upon their bosom
and they were healed.”

As he was preaching in a synagogue of Judæa against the Jews, they
seized him and put him to death. Mark and the other Christians buried
him in much sorrow.

In art he is represented as of lofty presence, holding in his hand the
Gospel of St. Matthew, and he frequently appears in subjects taken from
the Acts and the life of St. Paul.

FOOTNOTES:

[7] “Salut, Croix, qui as été consacrée par le corps de Jésus Christ,
et que ses membres ont ornée de tant de perles. Avant que le Seigneur
eût été lié sur toi, tu étais un objet de terreur; maintenant, ceux qui
sont enflammés de l’amour celeste t’appellent de tous leurs vœux. Je
viens donc à toi, plein de sécurité et de joie, afin que tu reçoives
le disciple de celui qui est mort sur toi; je t’ai toujours chérie,
et j’ai constamment desire t’embrasser. O bonne croix! longtemps
désirée, et que les membres du Seigneur out revêtue de tout de beauté
et d’éclat, toi que j’ai recherchée sans cesse reçois-moi du milieu des
hommes, et rends-moi a mon maître, afin que celui qui m’a racheté par
toi me voie arriver à lui par toi.”—_Legende Dorée._

XIV.—MARY MAGDALENE

=St. Mary Magdalene.= _Lat._ Sancta Maria Magdalena. _Ital._ Santa
Maria Maddalena. _Fr._ La Madeleine.

It has always been a question in dispute among the theologians and
expounders of the Gospels whether Mary Magdalene, “out of whom Jesus
cast seven devils,” Mary of Bethany, and the “woman who was a sinner”
are three distinct persons, or one and the same under different
appellations. In Western art they are represented as identical.

The legends relate that Mary Magdalene was rich and of noble race, and
lived with her sister and brother, Martha and Lazarus, in their castle
Magdalon on the Sea of Galilee. Lazarus became a soldier, Martha was a
model of virtue and propriety, but Mary abandoned herself to pleasure
and became so dissolute that she was known as “The Sinner.” Her
sister, grieving, frequently rebuked her, and finally persuaded her to
listen to Jesus, and hearing him her heart was touched, and she became
converted.

The legends follow closely the Gospel stories of the supper at the
house of Simon the Pharisee, Christ’s entertainment at the house of
Martha, Mary’s devotion to the Saviour, and those final scenes at His
death and resurrection in which she takes so prominent a part. In all
these she appears again and again in art.

According to an old Provençal legend, after the ascension of Christ,
Lazarus and his sisters, with their handmaid Marcella, Maximin, who had
baptised them, and the blind man Cedron, to whom Jesus had given sight,
were put in a boat by the heathen—a boat that was without rudder or
sails or oars,—and set adrift. The winds and waves carried them safely
to Marseilles, where the people at first refused to give them food
or shelter. But Mary began to tell them of Christ, and both sisters
performed such marvellous miracles, that many became converted and
were baptised. Lazarus, after the death of Maximin, was made the first
Bishop of Marseilles.

Of the many miracles attributed to Mary Magdalene in the old legends,
is that relating to a certain Provençal prince, who became partially
converted by the preaching of Mary Magdalene, and wishing a proof, told
her of his desire and his wife’s, to have a son, and asked if she could
obtain this grace for them by prayers to her God. And Mary answered,
“If thy prayer be granted, wilt thou believe?” The prince promised, but
shortly after, still but half-convinced, he decided to visit St. Peter
in Jerusalem and see if his preaching accorded with the words of Mary.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

LA DISPUTA DELLA TRINITÀ. ST. AUGUSTINE, ST. LAURENCE, ST.
PETER MARTYR, ST. FRANCIS; ST. SEBASTIAN, AND MARY MAGDALENE,
KNEELING.—ANDREA DEL SARTO

(Pitti Palace, Florence.) ]

So he and his wife departed in a vessel bound for Jerusalem. A fearful
storm arose on the way, and his wife, who was with child, gave birth
to a son, and then died. The sailors, in their superstition, wished to
throw the dead body into the sea, believing the tempest would not cease
as long as they had it on board, but the prince restrained them until
they came to a barren, rocky island, where he laid his wife with the
living child on her bosom, praying to Mary Magdalene to have pity on
his grief and if her prayers availed, to save at least the life of his
child.

When the prince and his attendants reached Jerusalem, he found St.
Peter, who instructed him and showed him where Christ performed His
miracles, so that he became an ardent believer in the faith of the
Christians. After two years, he set sail again for his own country, and
passing the island where he had left his wife he landed there to pray.
What was his joy to find that not only the prayers of the Magdalene had
kept his son alive, but as he approached the body of his dead wife, she
awoke as from a deep sleep and was miraculously restored to him. Then
they returned joyfully to Marseilles, and falling at the feet of Mary
Magdalene blessed her, and became baptised.

After some years of active good works Mary retired to a barren
wilderness not far from Marseilles, and here she lived in solitude for
thirty years, fasting and doing penance and mourning for her past sins.
If it had not been for angels, and the comfort bestowed upon her by
celestial visions, she must have perished. A hermit who lived not far
off in the desert once beheld angels bearing her in their arms towards
heaven, and hurried to the city to tell of his vision. Some legends
assert that St. Mary died in a church after receiving the sacrament
from St. Maximin, but the more popular versions represent her as dying
in her solitude, watched over to the last by angels.

Devotional pictures represent her as patron saint and as the penitent.
The historical pictures are those scenes from the Gospel in which she
is conspicuous, and the scenes from her legendary life. In all these
subjects the accompanying attribute is the alabaster box of ointment
which has a twofold meaning; it may be the precious ointment which
she poured over the feet of Christ, or the balm and spices that were
brought to anoint his body. Sometimes she carries it in her hand, or
it stands at her feet or near her; frequently, in later pictures, it
is borne by an attendant angel. It may be a small vase, or a casket; a
cup with a cover, or a box; the form varying according to the artist’s
fancy—but it is always there, the symbol of her conversion and her
love, and so unmistakable that there can be no doubt of her identity.

In the ancient pictures she is usually represented in red, to express
the fervour of her love. In modern pictures, and where she appears as
the penitent, she wears blue or violet,—violet, the colour of mourning
and penitence; blue, the colour of constancy. Where both love and
sorrow are expressed, she wears a violet-coloured tunic and a red
mantle. Her long, luxuriant hair is light or golden in colour.

As patron saint she became idealised into a noble, imposing woman,
retaining no trace of sin or sorrow on her beautiful face. If it were
not for the nimbus she might be mistaken for Pandora. As in scenes
before her conversion, she is richly attired.

The Magdalene doing penance in the desert became a favourite subject
with the artists in the sixteenth century. She was represented in two
aspects; first as bemoaning her sins, where she appears lying prostrate
upon the ground, or standing or kneeling at the entrance to her cave;
her long yellow hair flows over her shoulders, her hands are clasped
or raised towards heaven, and her eyes are streaming with tears. The
crucifix, skull, and sometimes the scourge are seen symbolising faith,
mortality, and penance. In the second she has made her atonement and
is seen reading and meditating with a serene and uplifted countenance.
Angels scatter flowers or present the palm; a book rests beside the
skull, and the skies are bright with a vision of glory. In every
instance the alabaster box appears.

The _Noli me tangere_ is the subject of many pictures; the arrangement
is arbitrary and fixed by tradition and only admits of the two figures
of Christ and the Magdalene.

Before leaving the subject of those who were intimately connected with
our Lord in His lifetime, a few words upon the Last Supper in art may
perhaps find a fitting place here.

XV.—THE LAST SUPPER

=The Last Supper.= _Ital._ Il Cenacolo, La Cena. _Fr._ La Cène. _Ger._
Das Abendmahl Christi.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE LAST SUPPER.—D. GHIRLANDAJO

(Convent of the Ognissanti, Florence.)]

This event in the life of Christ has, next to the crucifixion, a
most important place in art, where the subject has been treated
dramatically, historically, and mystically. When the picture is painted
for an altar or chapel of the Holy Sacrament, it is _mystical_ or
_devotional_, and represents the institution of the Eucharist. In
such representations Judas is either absent, or is seen stealing from
the room. The subject has been a favourite one for the decoration
of refectories of convents and hospitals, and it is then treated in
the _historical_ sense—Christ’s celebration of the passover with His
disciples; or dramatically, at the moment when Christ says, “Verily I
say unto you that one of you shall betray me,” or when His disciples,
“exceeding sorrowful,” say unto Him, “Lord, is it I?” and He replies,
“He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray
me.” In this scene the usual arrangement places Christ in the middle of
a long table with John leaning against Him and the apostles, seated or
starting up in dismay, on either side. Judas sits alone on the opposite
side of the table.

These distinctions must be borne in mind in judging of the treatment of
the various artists.

XVI.—THE FOUR LATIN FATHERS

“The Evangelists and Apostles represented in Art the Spiritual Church,
and took their place among the heavenly influences. The great Fathers
or Doctors were the representatives of the Church Militant on earth: as
teachers and pastors, as logicians and advocates, they wrote, argued,
contended, suffered, and at length, after a long and fierce struggle
against opposing doctrines, they fixed the articles of faith thereafter
received in Christendom. For ages, and down to the present time, the
prevailing creed has been that which was founded on the interpretations
of these venerable personages. They have become, in consequence,
frequent and important subjects of Art, particularly from the tenth
century—the period when, in their personal character, they began to be
regarded not merely as gifted and venerable, but as divinely inspired;
their writings appealed to as infallible, their arguments accepted as
demonstration” (Jameson’s _Sacred and Legendary Art_).

=St. Jerome.= _Lat._ Sanctus Hieronymus. _Ital._ San Geronimo, or
Girolamo. _Fr._ St. Jérome, Hiérome, or Géroisme. _Ger._ Der Heilige
Hieronimus.

As a subject of painting, St. Jerome is by far the most popular of the
four Latin doctors, not only because of the interesting character of
the man and the varied and picturesque incidents of his life, but also
as founder of Monachism in the West and as the translator of the Old
and New Testaments into Latin.

St. Jerome was born in 342 in Dalmatia, and was the son of a nobleman
named Eusebius. While still very young he was sent to Rome to complete
his studies. He became a finished scholar and was particularly fond
of the classics. There for a time he abandoned himself to a life of
pleasure, but his nature was so strong, and his love of learning so
great, that he soon tired of dissipation and taking up the study of law
he became famous for his eloquence.

When over thirty he travelled into Gaul and visited the schools of
learning there. About this time he was baptised and took the vows of
celibacy.

In the year 373 he travelled to the East to visit the scenes of the
life of Christ. Here he encountered hermits and ascetics, and becoming
enamoured of the idea of a life of solitude, he retired to a desert
and there spent four years in study and seclusion, leading a life of
penance and self-denial. As further penance he studied Hebrew, which he
detested, and made his great translation of the Bible into Latin, which
has ever since been celebrated as the “Vulgate.”

After ten years in the East he returned to Rome, his fiery enthusiasm
still unsubdued by the years of solitude and penance. He preached the
doctrine of denial and abstinence, boldly attacking the self-indulgence
of the clergy. His influence was enormous, and particularly so over
the Roman women. His most celebrated convert was Paula, a noble Roman
matron, descended from the Scipios and the Gracchi. Marcella was
another, who founded a religious community and has been called the
first nun.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. AUGUSTINE AND ST. JEROME—CRIVELLI

(Academy, Venice.)]

After three years in Rome he returned to Palestine and lived and died
in a monastery he had founded at Bethlehem. Feeling the approach of
death, he caused himself to be carried to the chapel, received the
sacrament for the last time from the priest, and then expired, dying in
420 A. D.

In the legends of St. Jerome, as he sat within the gates of the
monastery at Bethlehem, a lion entered, limping. The brothers fled
in terror; but St. Jerome met him as if he were a guest. The lion
lifted to him his paw and St. Jerome, taking it, found a thorn, which
he extracted, and the grateful lion stayed with him ever after. The
saint employed him to guard an ass, who brought them firewood from the
forest. One day some merchants stole the ass from the pasture while the
lion slept, and the latter, after looking for him in vain returned to
his master much cast down and ashamed. Jerome, believing he had eaten
the ass, compelled the lion to carry the wood. One day, having finished
his task, the lion, who was always seeking his companion, saw a caravan
of merchants passing by, with a string of camels led on a cord by an
ass: recognising his old friend, he drove all the camels into the
convent, so terrifying the merchants that they came to St. Jerome and
confessed the theft, and were pardoned.

The lion in pictures of St. Jerome is supposed to refer to this legend,
but in reality, from earliest times, the lion was given to the saint as
a symbol of his fiery nature, and to typify his life in the wilderness.
And in later times the legend was invented to explain the symbol.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. AMBROSE.—BERGOGNONE

(Certosa, Pavia.)]

Devotional pictures represent him in one of his three great
characters,—first as patron saint and Doctor of the Church. He usually
stands full length, dressed in cardinal’s robes or with a cardinal’s
hat at his feet (although there is no historical authority for making
him cardinal, as cardinal-priests were not ordained until three
centuries later). When his head is uncovered, his forehead is very high
and bald, his beard long, reaching almost to his waist, his features
fine and sharp, and his nose aquiline. In his hand he holds a book or
scroll, frequently the emblematical church.

In his second character of translator of the Scriptures, he is usually
seated in a cave, or cell. He has a loose robe over his wasted form
and his eyes are bent on his book or writing, or he glances up as if
seeking heavenly inspiration. An angel is sometimes dictating to him.

The penitent St. Jerome is the recognised symbol in the Christian
Church of penitence, self-denial, and humiliation. The scene is usually
a rocky solitude, St. Jerome, half-naked and almost a skeleton, with
unkempt hair and beard, is kneeling before a crucifix, beating his
breast with a stone. The lion is nearly always introduced, sometimes
crouching at his feet.

=St. Ambrose.= _Lat._ S. Ambrosius. _Ital._ Sant’ Ambrogio. _Fr._ St.
Ambroise. _Ger._ Der Heilige Ambrosius.

Ambrose was the son of a prefect of Gaul, and was born at Trèves in the
year 340. The story that when still an infant a swarm of bees alighted
on his mouth without injuring him is related by all his chroniclers.
This was interpreted as a sign of future eloquence,[8] and for this
reason the beehive becomes the symbol of St. Ambrose. The same story
was related of Plato and Archilochus, and with the same interpretation.

Ambrose studied at Rome, and after that was made prefect of Æmilia and
Liguria (Piedmont and Genoa), and dwelt at Milan. About this time the
Bishop of Milan died and a fierce dispute arose between the Catholics
and Arians as to who should succeed him. Ambrose appeared, as prefect,
to quell the disorder. He spoke so wisely, with an eloquence so
persuasive, that the tumult ceased, and suddenly out of the hush that
followed his speech a voice like a child’s was heard, saying, “Ambrose
shall be bishop!” The multitude took up the cry with enthusiasm. In
vain Ambrose pleaded that he was only a catechumen. The wishes of the
people, confirmed by the approbation of the emperor, finally prevailed.

Ambrose was baptised, and in eight days he was consecrated Bishop
of Milan. He gave all his worldly goods to the poor, studied the
Scriptures earnestly, introduced from the East the manner of chanting
the service since called the _Ambrosian Chant_, and it was he who
invested the services of the Church with that magnificence and grandeur
of form that has ever since made its ceremonies so imposing.

St. Ambrose advocated celibacy in both sexes, and held that
ecclesiastical power was above that of sovereign or civil power. The
most celebrated example of this was his humiliation of the Emperor
Theodosius. The latter, angered by a sedition in Thessalonica, had
ordered a general massacre. For this murderous act, by which seven
thousand lives were sacrificed, Ambrose forbade him to enter the
church. At length, after eight months of interdict, during which the
emperor had stormed and pleaded, Ambrose relented, upon the emperor’s
performing public penance for his sin. The emperor, completely cowed,
submitted, and clad in sackcloth, with dust and ashes upon his head,
prostrated himself before the altar of Christ.

There are many legends of this saint. At the consecration of the
Cathedral at Milan, the relics of St. Gervasius and St. Protasius were
miraculously revealed to him in a dream. The remains were disinterred,
conveyed in solemn procession to the cathedral, and deposited beneath
the high altar.

He performed many cures and had many visions, and died at Milan in the
year 397.

St. Ambrose is usually represented in bishop’s robes, with mitre and
crozier; the beehive is sometimes placed at his feet, but his more
frequent attribute is a knotted scourge with three thongs, the scourge
symbolising the castigation of sin. In the hand of St. Ambrose it may
also signify the penance inflicted on the Emperor Theodosius, or the
expulsion of the Arians from Italy and the triumph of the Trinitarians.
It has this meaning when the scourge has three knots or three thongs.
When St. Ambrose holds two human bones in his hand, this attribute
alludes to the discovery of the relics of St. Gervasius and St.
Protasius. Devotional pictures of him alone are rare.

=St. Augustine.= St. Austin. _Lat._ Sanctus Augustinus. _Ital._ Sant’
Agostino. _Fr._ St. Augustin.

St. Augustine, the third of the Doctors of the Church, was born at
Tagaste, in Numidia, in 354. His father was a heathen; his mother,
Monica, a Christian. With splendid talents, his youth was passed in
every form of vice and dissipation, to the great sorrow of his mother,
who never ceased praying for his conversion. She related her grief
to the Bishop of Carthage, who after listening to her, said, “Go in
peace; the son of so many tears will not perish!”

St. Augustine practised law for a time in Rome. Here his eloquence
soon brought him distinction and wealth, but driven by some chance,
restless, unsettled and unhappy, Augustine went to Milan, and there,
after many struggles, he was converted by St. Ambrose, and was baptised
by him in the presence of his mother, Monica.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. AUGUSTINE AT SCHOOL.—BENOZZO GOZZOLI

(Church of San Agostino, San Gimignano.)]

On this occasion was composed the _Te Deum_ still used in the Church,
St. Ambrose and St. Augustine reciting the verses alternately as they
advanced to the altar.

St. Augustine, after devoting some time to study, was ordained a priest
and afterwards became the Bishop of Hippo, near Carthage, where he
died thirty-five years later, at the time the city was besieged by the
Vandals. His writings are very celebrated.

St. Augustine is not often represented in art alone; and when grouped
with others in devotional pictures it is often difficult to distinguish
him from other bishops, for his proper attribute, the heart flaming
or transpierced, to express the ardour of his piety or the intensity
of his repentance, is rarely introduced. When a bishop stands with a
book or a pen in his hand, accompanied by St. Jerome, St. Augustine is
probably intended.

His most frequent symbols are: books at his feet or in his hand;
a heart flaming or transfixed by an arrow; bishop’s robes, mitre,
crozier; infant by the seashore.

The subject most often represented in art is the _Vision of St.
Augustine_. While meditating on his “Discourse on the Trinity,” he
strolled along the seashore, and saw a little child attempting to fill
a hole in the sand with water he was bringing from the sea. Augustine
inquired what he was doing, and the child replied he was going to
empty all the waters of the sea into that hole. “That is impossible!”
exclaimed St. Augustine. “Not more impossible,” returned the child,
“than for a finite mind to contain the Infinite”—and he vanished.
The version of the child’s reply more often given, is: “Not more
impossible than for thee, O Augustine! to explain the mystery on which
thou art now meditating.”

=St. Gregory.= _Lat._ Sanctus Gregorius Magnus. _Ital._ San Gregorio
Magno, or Papa. _Fr._ St. Grégoire. _Ger._ Der Heilige Gregor.

St. Gregory, known as Gregory the Great, was born in Rome in the year
540, and came of a patrician family. His mother had a vision when he
was an infant that he would be pope. He was a lawyer until his father’s
death, but after coming into his inheritance he gave all that he had
to charities, converted his home on the Celian hill into a monastery
and hospital, and dedicated it to St. Andrew. He lived there in a cell
and, adopting the habit of the Benedictine Order, devoted himself to
study. When a terrible plague broke out in Rome he gave himself up to
nursing the sick. Pope Pelagius was one of the victims, and the people
desired Gregory as his successor. Gregory believed himself unworthy and
entreated the emperor not to heed the wishes of the people, but the
emperor confirmed their choice. Then Gregory fled from Rome and hid
himself in a cave. But those who sought for him were directed to him by
a celestial light, and brought him back to Rome.

As pope he showed himself in all respects worthy. Although exalting
his high office, he himself was the most humble of men and was the
first pope to call himself the “servant of the servants of God”—_Servus
servorum Dei_. He abolished slavery throughout Christendom and was
the first to send missionaries to England, his pity being excited by
seeing some British captives for sale in the market-place. It was he
who made the belief in purgatory an article of faith. He instituted
the celibacy of the clergy, reformed the services of the Church,
and introduced the style of chanting still called Gregorian. His
charities were boundless. He died in 604, in the fourteenth year of his
pontificate, and was the last pope who was canonised.

His bed and the little scourge with which he was wont to keep the
choristers in order are still preserved in the Church of the Lateran,
Rome.

Next to St. Jerome he was the most popular of the Four Fathers, and
single pictures of him abound, variously treated, but generally he
bears the tiara as pope, and the crozier with double cross. His
peculiar attribute is the dove which, in the old pictures, was placed
close to the ear. Frequently he is seated on a throne wearing the
pontifical robes and tiara, one hand raised in benediction, and the
other holding a book. The dove rests on his shoulder or hovers over his
head.

Legends of St. Gregory have furnished many picturesque themes for art.
John the deacon, his secretary, declared that he beheld the Holy Ghost,
in the form of a dove perched upon his shoulder while he was writing
his famous homilies. This vision has been represented as a reality by
the early painters.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

MIRACLE OF THE BRANDEUM.—ANDREA SACCHI

(Vatican, Rome.)]

A favourite legend is that while a monk in the monastery of St. Andrew
a beggar asked for alms, and being helped, came again and again,
receiving aid until there was nothing left but a silver porringer
which his mother Sylvia had sent to St. Gregory. This, too, he gave
to the beggar. Now it happened that it was his custom, after he became
pope, to entertain every evening at supper twelve poor men, in memory
of our Lord’s apostles. But one evening he counted thirteen; and
calling his steward to him he asked how it was, but the latter, greatly
mystified, could only count twelve. After the meal was finished,
Gregory called forth the unbidden guest and asked him who he was. And
he replied, “I am the poor man whom thou didst formerly relieve, but my
name is ‘The Wonderful’ and through me thou shalt obtain whatever thou
shalt ask of God.” Then Gregory knew that he had entertained an angel,
or according to another version our Lord Himself. This legend has been
frequently painted under the title of _The Supper of St. Gregory_.

In the legend of the Brandeum the Empress Constantia sent to St.
Gregory desiring some of the relics of St. Peter and St. Paul. He, not
daring to disturb their sacred remains, sent her part of a consecrated
cloth (_brandeum_) which had enfolded the body of St. John the
Evangelist. The empress rejected the gift with scorn. Then Gregory, to
show that miracles are not wrought so much by things as by the faith of
believers, laid the _brandeum_ on the altar and, after praying, cut it
with a knife and blood flowed from it as from a living body. This was
called the _Miracle dei Brandei_.

It was Pope Gregory who sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to England.

FOOTNOTES:

[8] “Son pere en fut epouvanté, et dit, Si cet enfant vit, il sera
réservé à de grandes destinées” (_La Legende Dorée_).

XVII.—THE PATRON SAINTS OF CHRISTENDOM

All saints may be considered patron saints either of some trade
or industry, or of some especial province or city. But there is a
vast difference between those whose fame is confined to a certain
locality—as St. Januarius, who is worshipped only in Naples, St.
Corentin, who is little known out of Brittany, or St. Denis, whose name
belongs almost exclusively to France—and those other _great saints_ who
are reverenced in all the countries of the world alike.

These are St. George, St. Sebastian, St. Christopher, SS. Cosmo and
Damian, St. Roch and St. Nicholas, and the four virgin patronesses,
St. Catherine, St. Barbara, St. Margaret, and St. Ursula. Although
without the apostolic and scriptural sanction accorded to St. Peter
of Rome, and the other great apostles, these saints have been from
earliest times the object of universal faith and worship, and invested
with a pre-eminent dignity and authority that puts them in a class by
themselves.

=St. George of Cappadocia.= _Lat._ Sanctus Georgius. _Ital._ San
Giorgio. _Fr._ St. Georges. _Ger._ Der Heilige Georgius, or Jorg or
Georg.

St. George was born in Cappadocia of a noble family. His parents were
Christians and he was a tribune in the Roman army. One time as he was
on his way to join his legion, he came to a city in Libya called
Selene, whose inhabitants were in terror of a fearful dragon, who lived
in a marsh outside the walls, and devoured their flocks and herds.
These being gone, the people, fearing the dragon might enter the city,
sent out daily two sheep to appease his hunger, and when they had no
more sheep left they were forced to sacrifice each day two children who
were chosen by lot, and sent forth to be devoured.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. GEORGE.—DONATELLO

(Bargello, Florence.)]

The king had one daughter, Cleodolinda, who was very beautiful, and
at last the lot fell to her. So she went forth to die for the people,
weeping sadly as she walked toward the dwelling of the monster. At this
moment St. George, who was riding by, saw her and wondered why so
fair a maiden should be in tears. He asked her her sorrow and when she
told him, he said: “Fear not, for I will deliver you.” She begged him
to fly lest he, too, perish, but St. George refused, saying, “I will
save thee through the power of Jesus Christ.” Just then the dragon came
forth from his lair and rushed toward them. St. George made the sign
of the cross, and calling on the name of our Saviour, spurred toward
the monster, and after a terrible battle pinned him to earth with his
lance. Then, binding him with the girdle of the princess, he told her
to lead the conquered brute back to the city, and she did, the dragon
following after them like a dog. Seeing this, the king and the people
believed, and were baptised—twenty thousand in one day. St. George
killed the dragon and cut off his head, and the king heaped treasures
upon the knight, but he gave all to the poor, and went on his way to
Palestine.

Seeing there the edict of Diocletian against the Christians on the
gates of the temples and in the market-place, he tore it down and
trampled it under his feet. For this he was seized, and suffered most
cruel tortures for eight days and was finally beheaded. The veneration
paid him in England dates from the time of Richard I., who in the wars
of Palestine put himself and his army under the protection of St.
George. His feast was ordered to be kept as a holiday in England in
1222, and the Order of the Garter was instituted in 1330.

In single devotional pictures St. George is young or in the prime
of life, dressed in armour. He bears in one hand the palm and in
the other the lance, from which sometimes depends a red banner. His
expression is uplifted and triumphant, the slain dragon is at his feet.
This representation is allegorical, showing the victory of faith over
the powers of evil. _St. George and the Dragon_ becomes _historical_
when accessories are introduced, such as the princess, or the walls of
the city and the combat still undecided. The dragon of St. George never
has the human or satanic form, as in the legend of St. Michael.

He is particularly honoured by the Greeks, who gave him the title of
_The Great Martyr_.

=St. Sebastian.= _Lat._ Sanctus Sebastianus. _Ital._ San Sebastiano; or
San Bastiano. _Fr._ St. Sébastien.

St. Sebastian was born at Narbonne in Gaul, of noble parents, and when
very young was made commander of a company of the Prætorian Guards
and was thus brought near the Emperor Diocletian, with whom he was a
favourite. Secretly a Christian, his position as a soldier enabled
him to protect many who were persecuted for Christ’s sake. He had two
friends among the soldiers, who had endured torture bravely for being
Christians; but upon being led forth to die, their families implored
them to recant, and as they were moved by their supplications and
about to weaken, St. Sebastian rushed forward and urged them to die
rather than renounce our Saviour. All present were so influenced by his
eloquence, that the families of the condemned, and even the judges,
became converted and baptised, and Marcus and Marcellinus met their
death gloriously.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. SEBASTIAN.—SODOMA

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

Sebastian was then denounced as a Christian, and the emperor, who
loved him, reasoned with him privately, but Sebastian was firm, and
Diocletian ordered him bound to the stake and shot to death with
arrows, and that there should be inscribed on the stake that he was
without fault except that of being a Christian. The archers pierced
him with arrows and left him for dead, but Irene, widow of a martyred
friend, coming to take his body away, found him still living and
took him home and nursed him back to health. His friends urged him
to flee from Rome, but instead he presented himself to Diocletian
and reproached him for his intolerance and cruelty, and the emperor,
enraged, had him seized and put to death with clubs.

In pictures St. Sebastian is always young and beautiful, undraped,
bound to a tree or column, and pierced by one or many arrows. Arrows
from the most ancient times were the emblem of pestilence, so they
_symbolise_ the shafts of pestilence, and are also the _attribute_ of
the martyrdom and power of the saint, who has been considered from
the earliest days of Christianity as patron saint against plague and
pestilence—there being, according to the legends, hardly a city in
Europe that has not been saved by his intercession.

The pathos of his story, added to his courage, and youth, and
beauty, has made St. Sebastian the favourite saint of Italian women,
particularly the women of Rome.

=St. Christopher.= _Lat._ St. Christophorus. _Ital._ San Cristofero, or
Cristofano. _Fr._ St. Christophe, or St. Christofle. _Ger._ Der Heilige
Christoph.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. CHRISTOPHER.—GIOVANNI BELLINI

(Church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice.)]

There was a giant of the land of Canaan, whose name was originally
Offero. Being very proud of his size and strength, he was determined
to serve no other than the most powerful monarch in the world. So
he travelled to the court of a king whose fame was greater than all
others, and the king gladly accepted him as his servant. Before long
Offero noticed that when the name of Satan was mentioned the king
trembled, and he asked him, “Who is this Satan at the mention of whose
name thou crossest thyself?” The king answered, “He is as wicked as he
is mighty, and I fear lest he slay me.” Then Offero knew there was one
greater than the king, and he sought and entered into the service of
Satan.

One day as they journeyed, they came to a cross by the wayside, and
when the devil saw it he turned back and went a long distance out of
his way to avoid it. Offero questioned him as to this, and the devil
replied: “’T was on this cross that Jesus died, and He it is whom I
fear.” Offero said: “Since thou fearest Him, He is greater than thou
and Him will I serve.” So he left Satan and went in search of Christ;
and he came to a hermit who taught him concerning Jesus, and desired
him to fast and pray. Offero would not fast and knew not how to pray,
saying, “Such service is for weak ones, not for me.” So the hermit
said: “If thou wouldst use thy strength, go to a certain river that is
swollen with the rains, and whose current is so swift that many perish,
and help all who struggle with the waves. This is a service for Christ
and He may accept thee.” Offero went joyfully, and built himself a hut
by the side of the river, and rooting up a palm tree, he used it for a
staff, and aided all who wished to cross the stream.

One night he heard a child’s voice calling him. He arose and went out,
but could find no one. Again the voice called and again he searched in
vain. The third time that he heard it, he went forth with his lantern,
and found a little child sitting by the water’s edge, who begged to
be taken over, and Offero placed him upon his shoulders, took his
staff, and began to cross the stream; but a storm arose and the current
became swift as never before, and the weight of the child grew heavier
and heavier, and Offero feared that they both would be lost, but he
struggled on bravely until, exhausted, he reached the other shore,
and putting the child safely down, he cried, “Whom have I borne! Had
it been the whole world the burden had not been heavier!” The child
replied, “Thou hast borne not only the whole world but Him who made
it, upon thy shoulder. Thou wouldst serve Christ, and behold! I have
accepted thee.” Then Offero confessed and worshipped Christ.

From there he went to Samos, where he was taken as a Christian before
the king, who said: “Who art thou?” and Offero replied: “My name was
Offero the Bearer, but now I serve Christ, whom I have borne on my
shoulders, and am called Christ Offero, the bearer of Christ.” St.
Christopher was scourged and beheaded, and as he was about to die
he prayed that all who beheld him, believing in our Saviour, should
not suffer from fire, earthquake, or tempest. The sight of his image
is thought to give strength to the weak, and prevent all evils from
accident. The following inscription often accompanies his pictures:

“Christophori Sancti speciem quicumque tuetur,
Illo namque die nullo languore tenetur.”

“Whoever shall behold the image of St. Christopher
On that day shall not faint or fail.”

In pictures St. Christopher stands above his ankles in water, his
proportions those of a giant, the Infant Christ seated on his
shoulders, usually bearing in his hand the globe, but sometimes
the cross as the Redeemer. The saint looks up at the divine Child,
supporting his steps with the staff, which is often the entire palm
tree. When he is introduced near the Madonna the water is omitted, but
he is never without this staff.

=St. Cosmo and St. Damian.= _Lat._ SS. Cosmas et Damianus. _Ital._ SS.
Cosimo e Damiano. _Fr._ SS. Côme et Damien.

These brothers were Arabians, and lived in Ægae in Cilicia. They
studied medicine and became the greatest and most holy of physicians,
giving their services to the poor and suffering, without fee. They even
cared for sick animals, doing everything for charity and the love of
God. In the time of Diocletian, Lycias, proconsul of Arabia, seized
them as Christians and cast them into prison. First they were thrown
into the sea, but were saved by angels; then thrown into fire, but
the fire would not burn them. Then they were bound and stoned, but
the stones recoiled and fell on those who had sent them, and finally
they were beheaded, “a punishment which no saint but St. Denis ever
survives.”

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF ST. COSMO AND ST. DAMIAN.—FRA ANGELICO

(Academy, Florence.)]

In art they are always together, wearing loose dark red robes trimmed
with fur, and usually red caps. Thus Chaucer describes a physician’s
garb: “In scarlet gown, furred well.” They have a small box of ointment
in one hand and lancet or surgical instrument in the other, sometimes a
pestle and mortar. These saints appear frequently in the old Florentine
pictures, especially of the time of Cosimo de’ Medici.

=St. Roch.= _Lat._ Sanctus Rochus. _Ital._ San Rocco. _Fr._ St. Roch or
Roque.

[Illustration:

FOUR SAINTS—ST. ROCH AND ST. SEBASTIAN; (Academy, Venice.)]

St. Roch was born in Montpellier in Languedoc of wealthy and noble
parents. His parents dying before he was twenty, he gave all that he
had to the poor and the hospitals, and spent his life in healing and
caring for the sick. He went wherever he heard that the plague had
broken out, and nursed those who were most miserable and abandoned.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. AUGUSTINE (?); ST. BERNARDINO, OF SIENA.—CARLO CRIVELLI]

At last in Piacenza he himself became plague-stricken, and a fearful
ulcer broke out on his thigh. The pain was so terrible that, fearing
he might cry out and disturb those in the hospital, he crawled out to
the street, and not being allowed to remain, dragged himself to the
woods to die; but his faithful little dog, who had been his companion
everywhere, trotted to the city each day, returning with a loaf of
bread for his master, and an angel from heaven dressed his wound.

When St. Roch had recovered he returned to his old home, but no one
knew him, so wasted and haggard was he, and he was cast into prison and
remained there five years. One morning, the jailer entered and found
his cell filled with a dazzling light, and the prisoner dead. By his
side there was writing telling his name, and these words: “All those
who are stricken by the plague and who pray for aid through the merits
and intercession of Roch, the servant of God, shall be healed.”

In art St. Roch is represented in the prime of life, dressed as a
pilgrim with the cockle-shell in his hat; wallet by his side, in one
hand a staff, while with the other he lifts his robe to show the plague
spot, or points to it. He is usually accompanied by his dog.

St. Sebastian and St. Roch figure in numerous works of art as joint
protectors against the plague. With St. Cosmo and St. Damian, the
medical saints, the first two are patrons of the sick, and the last two
patrons of those who heal the sick.

An old French legend relates that when St. Roch died he wished to take
his little dog in with him through the gates of heaven. But St. Peter
refused, and St. Roch entered alone, feeling very sad. As he wandered
around, heaven did not seem like heaven to him without his little dog.
No one spoke to him. The saints and prophets were all assembled around
a great white throne, and had no eyes for St. Roch. Still lonely, he
went to the wall of heaven, to see if by looking over he might not
discover his little dog. There he was! looking wistfully at the gate
wherein had passed his master. St. Roch whistled softly, his dog caught
sight of his face, and leaping over the wall, sprang into his master’s
arms. Then St. Roch was happy in heaven.

=St. Nicholas of Myra.= _Lat._ Sanctus Nicolaus. _Ital._ San Niccolò,
or Nicola di Bari. _Ger._ Der Heilige Nicolaus or Niklas.

Of all the saints in Christendom St. Nicholas is perhaps the most
popular and the most universally beloved. While knighthood claims St.
George, St. Nicholas belongs to the children, and to the common people.
The mariner, the labourer, the poor, and the weak all implore the aid
of St. Nicholas.

He was born in Panthera, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor. His parents
were Christians, wealthy, and of illustrious family. It is related that
on the day he was born St. Nicholas stood up in his bath and praised
God for having brought him into the world. His parents, impressed by
the many instances of his early piety, dedicated him to God, and he
became a priest and later Bishop of Myra. In 1084 his relics were
carried to Bari, and thus he is often known as _St. Nicholas di Bari_.

The legends of this saint are almost without number. His proper
attribute, the three balls, is supposed to refer to the three bags of
gold which he threw into the poor man’s window. A certain nobleman
with three daughters, having lost all his money, had no resource except
he sacrifice them to infamous lives. St. Nicholas, hearing this,
considered how he could help them, and one night he threw in a bag of
gold through a window which he found open, and with this the father
portioned his eldest daughter. St. Nicholas did this a second time, and
the father married off his second daughter. Greatly wishing to know
his benefactor, the father watched, and when St. Nicholas came the
third time he flung himself at his feet giving thanks, but St. Nicholas
desired him to tell no man.

Sometimes the attribute is three children in a tub, which refers to the
legend of the wicked man who, during a famine, stole little children,
whom he killed, and served their limbs as meat for his guests. St.
Nicholas visited his house when he was bishop, and having this dish put
before him divined the awful contents. He denounced his host and going
to the tub where the bodies of the children were salted down, he made
the sign of the cross and they rose up alive and whole.

At Nice, St. Nicholas listened to the prayers of some mariners in
danger of perishing; his spirit guided their ship and the tempest
ceased. “And when they were come to his Church, they knew him without
any man to show him to them, and yet they had never seen him” (_Golden
Legend_).

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. NICHOLAS.—TITIAN

(Church of San Sebastiano, Venice.)]

While the province of Myra suffered a great famine, certain ships laden
with wheat arrived at the port, and Nicholas persuaded the mariners to
give him a certain portion, promising they would bring as much to
the emperor as had been measured to them in Alexandria, and this was
indeed so. Yet by this miracle, “the holy man distributed the wheat to
every man after that he had need, in such wise that it sufficed for two
years, not only for to sell, but also to sow.”

In art St. Nicholas is dressed as a bishop with mitre, cope, and
crozier, his robes often gorgeously embroidered. Sometimes he is
beardless, but usually has a short grey beard. The three balls are
placed on his book, or at his feet, or sometimes in his lap. Some say
they represent the loaves of bread, in allusion to his feeding the poor
during the famine, but the more popular version is the three purses or
bags of gold. Sometimes, instead of three balls, three purses are given.

=The Four Virgin Patronesses=: ST. CATHERINE, ST. BARBARA, ST. URSULA,
AND ST. MARGARET.

Mrs. Jameson says, “We owe to these beautiful and glorious
impersonations of feminine intellect, heroism, purity, fortitude, and
faith, some of the most excelling works of art which have been handed
down to us. Other female martyrs were merely women glorified in heaven,
for virtues exercised on earth; but _these_ were absolutely, in all
but the name, Divinities.... Their wholly ideal character, the tacit
setting aside of all human testimony with reference to their real
or unreal existence, instead of weakening their influence, invested
them with a divine glory.... These allegories (which by simplicity
and ignorance were long accepted as facts) should ever hereafter be
received but as one form of poetry ... to which the world listened in
its dreamy childhood, and which, like the ballad or the fairy tale
which kept the sleep from our eyes and our breath suspended in infancy,
have still a charm for our latest years.”

=St. Catherine of Alexandria.= _Lat._ Santa Catharina. _Ital._ Santa
Caterina. _Fr._ Madame Saincte Catherine. _Spa._ Santa Catalina. _Ger._
Die Heilige Katharine von Alexandrien.

St. Catherine represents the highest type of eloquence and intellect
that is found in woman. She is an example of courage and piety; and all
wisdom and good counsel are found in her. She is the Minerva of the
pagan, to whom has been added all the virtues of the Christian martyr.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. CATHERINE.—LUCAS CRANACH

(Dresden Gallery.)]

St. Catherine was the daughter of Costis (half brother to Constantine
the Great) and Sabinella, Queen of Egypt. A glory of light played
around her head from the moment she came into the world, and from
earliest childhood she was remarkable for beauty of person and of mind.
Even while very young, Plato and Socrates were her favourite studies.
She had seven learned masters, but was so marvellously endowed that
she excelled each in his branch. At fourteen her father died, but as
queen she cared not for worldly things and devoted herself to study.
The nobles, discontented, wished her to marry, but she told them her
husband must be as noble, as great, as beautiful, and as rich as she,
and the nobles knew not what to say, for they realised well that no
such man could be found.

Now a holy hermit came to St. Catherine with a message from the Virgin
Mary, telling her that the husband she desired was her Son, and he gave
her a picture of Christ and His mother. And so filled was her soul with
love, that she forgot her books and thought only of Him. One night she
dreamed that she was brought before the King of Glory, but He turned
away His head, saying, “She is not fair nor beautiful enough for me,”
and she awoke weeping.

Then she asked the hermit what she must do to become worthy of her
celestial bridegroom, and he instructed her in the Christian faith
and baptised her. That night as she slept, the Virgin Mary appeared
with her divine Son and a heavenly host, and the Lord smiled upon her
and plighted His troth, putting a ring on her finger, and when she
awoke the ring was still there, and henceforth she considered herself
betrothed of Christ, and thought only of heavenly things.

At this time the tyrant Maximin came to Alexandria and persecuted all
Christians, commanding them to worship heathen gods. St. Catherine
confronted him and argued for the truth of Christianity, and so
wonderful was she, that learned philosophers and scholars were
confounded by her eloquence, and confessed themselves converted. This
so infuriated the emperor, that he had them burned at the stake,
Catherine comforting them to the end. Then she was thrown into prison
and kept without food, but angels ministered unto her, and at the end
of twelve days, the empress visited her and found her cell filled with
fragrance and light; and she and two hundred attendants were instantly
converted and baptised.

Maximin ordered them all to be put to death, and then, sending for St.
Catherine, because he was much inflamed with her beauty, he offered
to marry her if she would give up Christ. Upon her refusal, he had
her bound between four spiked wheels, which, turning in different
directions, would tear her body in pieces. But fire fell from heaven
and consumed the wheels, and three thousand persons were killed by the
flying pieces. Then St. Catherine was cruelly scourged and beheaded,
and angels carried her body to the top of Mt. Sinai. In the eighth
century a monastery was built over her remains, which are revered to
this day.

As patron saint, St. Catherine has several attributes: the palm as
martyr; the sword showing the manner of her death; the crown as a
sovereign princess; the book, signifying her learning; or as trampling
on the pagan tyrant: but her peculiar attribute is the wheel. When
entire it is the _emblem_ of torture, when broken it is the _historical
attribute_ showing the torture meditated, and the miracle by which she
was saved. She is pictured leaning upon it, or it is at her feet or an
angel bears it over her head. She is usually richly dressed, with all
the attributes of royalty.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. BARBARA—LUCAS CRANACH

(Dresden Gallery.)]

The _Marriage of St. Catherine_ is a devotional subject and does not
appear in Italian art until the middle of the fifteenth century.

=St. Barbara.= _Ital._ Santa Barbara. _Fr._ Sainte Barbe.

Dioscorus, who lived in Heliopolis, was noble and very rich, and he
had a daughter Barbara whom he loved so much that, fearing her beauty
(which was very great) would cause her to be desired in marriage and
thus he would lose her, kept her shut up in a high tower away from the
eyes of men. Here she gave herself up to the study of all things which
concern the universe, and grew to believe that the gods of her fathers
must be false gods. Hearing of the famous teacher Origen, she secretly
wrote him for instruction, and he sent her one of his disciples
disguised as a physician, who converted and baptised her. Some workmen
were engaged in putting in two windows in her tower, and she commanded
that they insert a third. When her father questioned her for doing this
thing, she answered, “Know, my father, that through three windows doth
the soul receive light—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and the
Three are One.”

Then her father knew she was a Christian, and drew his sword to kill
her, but she fled to the top of her tower, her father pursuing; there
angels came to her assistance and bore her to a distance. A shepherd,
however, told Dioscorus where she was concealed, and he dragged her
forth by the hair, and beat her, and shut her up; but as she would not
yield, he denounced her to the proconsul, who had her scourged and
tortured. Still she would not deny her faith, and her father carried
her up on a mountain and himself cut off her head. As he was descending
the mountain, a tempest arose, and fire fell on him from heaven and
consumed him utterly.

In devotional pictures St. Barbara carries the sword and palm as
martyr, and when she wears the crown, it is as martyr, and not as
princess. She has also a book and is often reading, to show her life of
meditation. But her peculiar attribute is the tower, usually with three
windows in reference to the legend.

St. Barbara as protectress against thunder and lightning, firearms
and gunpowder, is invoked against sudden death, and those who implore
her aid shall not die without receiving the holy sacraments. Thus she
carries the sacramental cup and wafer, and is the only female saint
with this attribute. She is pictured as dressed magnificently, usually
with red drapery, the tower in the background, or sometimes holding a
small tower in her hand.

=St. Ursula.= _Lat._ S. Ursula. _Ital._ Santa Orsola. _Fr._ Sainte
Ursule.

The Cologne version of the quaint and charming legend of St. Ursula is
the one usually followed by the artists. A portion of it follows.

There reigned in Brittany a king named Theonotus, whose wife,
Daria, was a Sicilian princess. They were both Christians, and had
one daughter, whom they called Ursula, and whom they educated with
exceeding care. She was beautiful, gifted, and accomplished in all the
ways of wisdom and knowledge, so that many desired to marry her, but
she refused them all.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

DETAIL FROM THE MARTYRDOM OF ST. URSULA.—V. CARPACCIO

(Academy, Venice.)]

Now the King of England had an only son named Conon, as celebrated for
all manly qualities, as was Ursula for her beauty, piety, and wisdom.
He became one of her suitors, and not wishing to offend so powerful
a monarch, she sent answer that she would accept him if he would do
three things: First, he must give her as companions ten virgins of
the noblest blood in his kingdom, and to each of these a thousand
attendants, and to her also a thousand maids in waiting; secondly, he
must wait for her three years, while she and her companions visited the
holy shrines of the saints; and third, that the prince and his court
shall receive baptism, “for other than a perfect Christian I cannot
wed.”

The wise Princess Ursula felt that Prince Conon must refuse these
demands, but if he did not, then eleven thousand virgins would be
dedicated to the service of God.

Now the ambassadors brought back such reports of her beauty and wisdom,
that the king was willing to grant anything, and the prince only too
eager to do all she asked. So he was baptised, and the king his father
wrote to all the knights of his kingdom, asking that they send the
required number of maidens, spotless, beautiful, and of noble birth, to
attend on the Princess Ursula, who was to wed his son Prince Conon. And
from all parts they came, fair and beautiful and clad in rich garments,
and when they arrived in Brittany, Ursula received them with great
gladness, praising God that so many of her sex had been redeemed from
the world’s vanities.

“Now when Ursula had collected all her virgins together on a fresh
and fair morning in the springtime, she desired them to meet in a
meadow near the city, which meadow was of the freshest green, all over
enamelled with the brightest flowers; and she ascended a throne which
was raised in the midst, and preached to all the assembled virgins
of things concerning the glory of God, and of His Son, our Lord and
Saviour, with wonderful eloquence; and of Christian charity and of a
pure and holy life dedicated to Heaven. And all these virgins, being
moved with a holy zeal, wept, and, lifting up their hands and their
voices, promised to follow her whithersoever she should lead. And she
blessed them and comforted them; and as there were many among them who
had never received baptism, she ordered that they should be baptised in
the clear stream which flowed through that flowery meadow.”

Then they started on their pilgrimage, some say attended by the prince,
but others that he remained to comfort her father. They embarked on
ships, the virgins steering, but by some mistake they sailed to the
north instead of the south, and were driven by the winds into the mouth
of the Rhine as far as the port of Cologne. Here it was revealed to
St. Ursula that upon her return she and her companions should suffer
martyrdom on this spot. They continued their voyage, visited many
places, and finally came to Rome.

Now it happened that the prince, by a miracle, who had gone out in
search of his bride, arrived in Rome that same day. Being happily
reunited, he knelt with Ursula at the feet of Cyriacus, Bishop of Rome,
and “he no longer aspired to the possession of Ursula, but fixed his
hope on sharing with her the crown of martyrdom on earth, looking to a
perpetual reunion in heaven, where neither sorrow nor separation should
touch them more.

“After this blessed company had duly performed their devotions at the
shrine of St. Peter and St. Paul the good Cyriacus would fain have
detained them longer, but Ursula showed him that it was necessary they
should depart in order to receive the crown ‘already laid up for them
in heaven.’ When the bishop heard this, he resolved to accompany her.
In vain his clergy represented that it did not become a pope of Rome
and a man of venerable years to run after a company of maidens, however
immaculate they might be. Cyriacus had been counselled by an angel of
God, and he made ready to set forth and embark with them on the river
Rhine.

“Now it happened that there were at Rome in those days two great Roman
captains, cruel heathens, who commanded all the imperial troops in
Germania. They, being astonished at this multitude of virgins, said
one to the other, ‘Shall we suffer this? If we allow these Christian
maidens to return to Germania, they will convert the whole nation; or
if they marry husbands, then they will have so many children—no doubt
all Christians—that our empire will cease; therefore, let us take
counsel what is best to be done.’ So these wicked pagans consulted
together, and wrote letters to a certain barbarian King of the Huns,
who was then besieging Cologne, and instructed him what he should do.

“Meantime St. Ursula and her virgins, with her husband and his faithful
knights, prepared to embark; with them went Cyriacus, and in his
train Vincenzio and Giacomo, cardinals, and Solfino, archbishop of
Ravenna, and Folatino, bishop of Lucca, and the bishop of Faenza, and
the patriarch of Grado, and many other prelates; and after a long and
perilous journey they arrived in the port of Cologne.

“There the pagans rushed upon their unresisting victims, and one of the
first to perish was the prince, who fell pierced through by an arrow at
the feet of his beloved princess. Then they drew swords and massacred
them all so that the plain ran in rivers of blood. But the barbarians,
awed by the majestic beauty of Ursula had no power to strike her, but
carried her before their prince, who wished to marry her and make her
the greatest queen in all Germany. But St. Ursula repelled him with
scorn. Then, seized with fury and bending his bow, which he held in his
hand, he, with three arrows, transfixed her pure breast, so that she
fell dead and her spirit ascended into heaven, with all the glorious
sisterhood of martyrs whom she had led to death, and with her betrothed
husband and his companions.”

In devotional pictures of St. Ursula she has the crown as princess; the
arrow as martyr; and the pilgrim’s staff, surmounted by a white banner
with the red cross, the Christian standard of victory. Sometimes she
has a dove, because a dove revealed her burial place to St. Cunibert.

As patron saint she appears alone; is crowned and richly dressed with
regal ornaments and wears a green or scarlet mantle lined with ermine;
she holds in one hand a book, in the other an arrow; or sometimes the
arrow in one hand, and in the other the banner with the red cross.

As martyr she kneels or stands, her golden hair unbound. Sometimes she
is crowned, sometimes not; her hands are clasped, her bosom transfixed
by an arrow; on the ground about her, her maidens lie dead.

Sometimes she is painted standing, holding open with both hands her
mantle, which shelters many maidens wearing crowns. She is here the
patroness of young maidens. The date of the martyrdom of St. Ursula and
her eleven thousand virgins has been variously given as A. D. 237, 383,
or 451. The legend can be traced to the year 600.

=St. Margaret.= _Ital._ Santa Margarita. _Fr._ Sainte Marguerite.
_Ger._ Die Heilige Margaretha.

St. Margaret was the daughter of a pagan priest of Antioch named
Theodosius, and being a frail child, was sent to a nurse in the
country, who was a Christian and who brought her up in the faith. Here
she was seen by Olybrius, governor of Antioch, who was so enamoured of
her beauty that he ordered her to be brought to his palace and, if she
was free-born, he would marry her. St. Margaret refused his offers,
and declared herself a Christian, to the horror of her father and
relatives, who fled, leaving her in the power of the governor. Olybrius
then sought to subdue her by torments so great that even he was forced
to cover his face from the sight.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. MARGARET.—SCHOOL OF CORREGGIO

(Dresden Gallery.)]

She endured all without flinching. Then she was thrust into a dungeon,
and there Satan in the form of a frightful dragon endeavoured to
terrify her into subjection; but St. Margaret held up the cross of
the Redeemer and he fled before it. A more popular version is, that
he swallowed her alive and immediately burst asunder, and she came
forth unhurt. Satan then came to her in the form of a man to tempt
her, but she overcame him, and placing her foot on his head, she made
him confess his vileness. Again she was brought before the tyrant,
and refusing to deny her faith, was again tortured. Such constancy in
one so young and beautiful induced many to be converted, so that five
thousand were baptised in one day and wished to die with her. Alarmed
at this, the governor ordered her to be beheaded forthwith.

In art St. Margaret is usually represented trampling a dragon, her
peculiar attribute, under her feet, holding the cross in her hand.
Sometimes the dragon is bound with a cord, or his jaws are open as if
to swallow her; or he is seen rent or burst, St. Margaret standing upon
him unharmed.

As martyr she bears the palm and crown. In some pictures she has a
garland of pearls in allusion to her name. She is always the type of
maiden innocence and the only one of the four great patronesses who is
not represented as very learned.

XVIII.—THE FOUR GREAT VIRGINS OF THE LATIN CHURCH

ST. CECILIA, ST. AGNES, ST. AGATHA, AND ST. LUCY

=St. Cecilia.= _Fr._ Sainte Cécile. The name is the same in Italian,
German, and Spanish.

St. Cecilia was of a noble Roman family, and brought up in the
Christian faith. She early took a vow of chastity, shunning the
pleasures of the world. She excelled in music and sang with such
heavenly sweetness that angels came to listen to her. She played on all
instruments, but as none sufficed to express the harmony which filled
her soul, she invented the organ and consecrated it to the service of
God.

When about sixteen her parents desired her to marry Valerian, a young
Roman, rich and of noble birth. Cecilia accepted him, but beneath her
bridal robe she wore a coarse garment of penance and renewed her vow
of chastity; and by her eloquence persuaded her husband Valerian not
only to respect her vow, but also converted him to the true faith, and
he was baptised by the aged St. Urban who, being persecuted by the
heathen, had sought refuge in the catacombs.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. CECILIA.—CARLO DOLCI

(Dresden Gallery.)]

Cecilia had told Valerian that she had a guardian angel, and upon
returning to her chamber, he heard the most enchanting music and beheld
the angel standing near her, with two crowns of roses gathered in
paradise; with these the angel crowned them as they knelt before him,
and told Valerian that whatever he asked for should be granted him.
And Valerian replied: “I have a brother named Tiburtius whom I love
as my own soul; grant that his eyes also may be opened to the truth.”
And the angel answered with a heavenly smile, “Thy request, O Valerian,
is pleasing to God, and ye shall both ascend to His presence bearing
the palm of martyrdom,” and the angel vanished. Soon after, Tiburtius
entered the chamber and perceiving the fragrance of the celestial
roses, Cecilia explained all to him and he, too, was converted, and
went straightway to St. Urban and was baptised. And all three went
about doing good.

Soon after, they were denounced to the prefect as Christians, and
the two brothers were cast into prison. They converted their jailer
Maximus, who suffered martyrdom with them, and Cecilia buried them
together in the cemetery of Calixtus. The prefect, coveting the wealth
of St. Cecilia, commanded her to sacrifice to the gods, and when she
refused, put her to many tortures; finally ordering her to be thrown
into her own bath filled with boiling water. But she came out unharmed,
as though “she had bathed in a fresh spring.” Then he ordered her to be
beheaded, but the hand of the executioner trembled so that he inflicted
three wounds in her neck, and fled. She lived three days, praying
and distributing all she had to the poor, and died “singing with her
sweet voice praises and hymns to the last moments.” She was buried by
the side of her husband, and, according to her wish, her house was
consecrated as a church. In the ninth century it was revealed to Pope
Paschal where she lay buried, and he had her remains, also the remains
of Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus, deposited in her church, now St.
Cecilia in Trastevere. The little room containing her bath is now a
chapel.

Until the beginning of the fifteenth century St. Cecilia is seldom
represented with her musical instruments. She has the palm, and the
crown of red and white roses, and occasionally an attendant angel. It
is thus sometimes difficult to distinguish her from St. Dorothea, who
has also the palm, the crown of roses, and the angel. But Dorothea
usually carries a book, while St. Cecilia when she has anything besides
the palm, carries a scroll of music. Then St. Dorothea, besides roses
on her head, frequently has them in her hand, or in a basket. The angel
with St. Dorothea carries fruit and flowers in a basket. The angel with
St. Cecilia bears a garland, or some musical instrument.

When accompanied by musical attributes, St. Cecilia is readily
distinguished. She is richly dressed, wearing jewels, with musical
instruments near her or sometimes playing the organ.

=St. Agnes.= _Lat._ Sancta Agnes. _Ital._ Sant’ Agnese. _Spa._ Santa
Inez. _Fr._ Sainte Agnes.

“The blessed virgin S. Agnes was much wise and well taught, as S.
Ambrose witnesseth, and wrote her passion. She was fair of visage, but
much fairer in the christian faith, she was young of age, and aged in
wit, for in the thirteenth year of her age she lost the death that the
world giveth, and found life in Jesus Christ” (_The Golden Legend_).

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. AGNES.—SPAGNOLETTO

(Dresden Gallery.)]

The legend of St. Agnes is one of the oldest and most authentic in the
Christian Church, and except for the evangelists and apostles there
is no saint who is earlier depicted in art.

St. Agnes lived in Rome, and it happened that the son of the prefect
Sempronius fell violently in love with her and desired to marry her,
but Agnes refused. He then brought her rich presents and promised her
all the delights of the world if she would consent to be his wife. But
again she rejected him, saying she was betrothed to One greater than
any earthly suitor. On hearing these words the prefect’s son fell ill
with jealousy and disappointment.

Now the prefect loved his son, and went weeping to Agnes and to her
parents and besought them to accept him. But Agnes made to him the
same answer. Then the prefect found that she was a Christian, and
enraged against her, subjected her to the most cruel tortures, but she
remained firm. Then he ordered the soldiers to drag her to a place
of infamy and “they stripped her of her garments; and when she saw
herself thus exposed, she bent down her head in meek shame and prayed;
and immediately her hair, which was long and abundant, became like
a veil, covering her whole person from head to foot, and those who
looked upon her were seized with awe and fear as of something sacred,
and dared not lift their eyes. So they shut her up in a chamber, and
she prayed that the limbs that had been consecrated to Jesus Christ
should not be dishonoured. And suddenly she saw before her a white and
shining garment, with which she clothed herself joyfully. And the whole
place was filled with miraculous light.” Her lover entered, and as he
approached her, was struck with blindness and fell lifeless. Agnes,
melted to compassion, prayed that he might be restored to health, and
her prayer was granted.

Then Sempronius, moved to gratitude, would have saved her, but the
people clamoured for her death as a sorceress. So fagots were heaped
up and set on fire and St. Agnes thrown in their midst, but the flames
were miraculously extinguished and she stood unharmed, while the
executioners around her were slain by the fire. She was at length put
to death by the sword, and thus, looking steadfastly up to heaven, she
yielded up her pure spirit and fell bathed in her own blood.

Her parents carried her body to a cemetery outside the city, and
Christians assembled there day and night to pray. One day as her
parents and others were praying by her sepulchre, “St. Agnes appeared
before them all radiant of aspect; by her side was a lamb whiter than
the driven snow.” She assured them of her perfect happiness and begged
them to rejoice for her, and then vanished. Then the Christians ceased
mourning for her and felt joy and thanksgiving instead.

Her pictures abound in every form and every school of art. As martyr
she is seated, partly veiled, holding her palm in the right hand, with
the other embracing her lamb. The lamb in later times is her invariable
attribute, as the patroness of maidens, and maidenly modesty.

=St. Agatha.= _Ital._ Santa Agata. _Ger._ Die Heilige Agathe. _Fr._
Sainte Agathe.

A certain Christian maiden whose name was Agatha lived in the city
of Catania, in Sicily. The Emperor Decius, who had strangled his
predecessor Philip, reigned at that time, and sent his creatures
throughout the empire to oppress and persecute the Christians. To
Sicily he sent his emissary Quintianus, and made him king over the
whole island.

Quintianus had not reigned long in Sicily when he heard of the great
beauty of the maiden Agatha, and sent to have her brought before him;
and tried to tempt her with presents, and flatteries; but she rejected
him with disdain. Then Quintianus sent for a courtesan named Frondisia,
who had nine daughters more wicked and abandoned than herself, and he
delivered Agatha into their hands, saying, “Subdue this damsel to my
will, and I will give ye great riches.”

Failing in this, because Agatha’s heart was fixed as firm as a rock in
the faith of Jesus Christ, Quintianus sent for her again, and upon her
refusal to abjure Christ, he ordered her to be most cruelly tortured,
and then she was thrown into a dungeon and here St. Peter himself
ministered unto her.

She was again brought before Quintianus, and after suffering many
further tortures, her prayers were heard, and her pure spirit ascended
to heaven.

When represented as patron saint either alone or grouped with others,
St. Agatha bears in one hand the palm and in the other a dish or salver
on which is a human breast, in allusion to the tortures inflicted upon
her. The shears, as instrument of her martyrdom, are sometimes in her
hand or beside her. When she wears the crown it is as the bride and
martyr of Christ.

=St. Lucy.= _Ital._ St. Lucia. _Fr._ Sainte Luce, or Lucie.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

SANTA LUCIA.—CARLO DOLCI

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

Lucia was born in Syracuse, and dwelt there in the time of the wicked
Diocletian, who sent one of his creatures, Pascasius, to be governor
of Sicily. She was a Christian and had made a secret vow of chastity,
but was betrothed at fourteen, against her will, to a pagan youth of
great wealth. Her mother, being afflicted with a grievous malady, was
induced by Lucia to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Agatha,
which accordingly they did, and while praying beside the tomb, Lucia
beheld a vision of St. Agatha, who appeared to her surrounded by
angels, and said: “Well art thou called Lucia, who art indeed a light
and mirror to the faithful,” and assured her that her prayers were
heard and her mother healed.

Then Lucia persuaded her mother to permit her to remain unwed, and to
give her dowry to the poor. When her lover heard this, in his rage he
denounced her as a Christian. The governor ordered her to sacrifice to
the gods, but she refused, and he then commanded that she be dragged
to a place of shame, but when they tried to seize her she became
immovable, and neither men, nor oxen with ropes, nor magicians could
stir her from the spot.

Then a great fire was kindled around her, but she prayed and it did not
harm her. Then one of the servants of Pascasius, to do him pleasure,
pierced her throat with a sword or poniard.

The method employed by some of the early painters to express her name
Lucia, _light_, by the emblem of an eye or eyes placed near her, seems
to have occasioned the legend of the loss of her eyes, another instance
of a symbol being converted into a fact, and a story invented to
explain it.

The later legend relates that one of her suitors protested that he
pursued her because of her beautiful eyes, and Santa Lucia, recalling
the words, “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out,” cut out her eyes
and sent them to her lover on a dish, and the youth, full of remorse,
became a Christian and her eyes were miraculously restored to her.

Devotional pictures of St. Lucia bearing her eyes on a dish are often
met with. As her eyes were bored out with an awl, she often carries
an awl in her hand. When she stands with her lamp, she is the type
of celestial light and wisdom, the character given to her by Dante.
Sometimes she has a sword or poniard in her neck—or a wound in her neck
from which rays of _light_ proceed, in allusion to her name.

XIX.—LEGENDS OF THE SAINTS MOST FREQUENTLY FOUND IN ART

=St. Stephen.= Protomartyr. _Lat._ St. Stephanus. _Ital._ San Stefano.
_Ger._ Der Heilige Stefan. _Fr._ St. Étienne.

“And St. Stephen shone in beauty of body, in flower of age, in fair
speech of reason, wisdom of holy thought, in works of divinity.”

Little has been added to the brief account of St. Stephen given in the
sixth and seventh chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. His name is
held in the highest honour as the first one who died for his faith in
Christ. He was made a deacon during the ministry of Peter and before
the conversion of Paul. He was accused of speaking blasphemously of the
Temple and the Jewish law, and for this was condemned to death, and
stoned by a mob outside the city gates.

In devotional pictures, the figure of St. Stephen occurs repeatedly. He
is represented young, and of a mild and beautiful countenance wearing
the rich dress of a deacon; the dalmatica, usually crimson in colour,
and covered with embroidery. He bears the palm as protomartyr. His
_peculiar_ attribute, the stones, are in his hand or in his drapery, or
on his head and shoulders, or lying at his feet; or sometimes on the
Scriptures, signifying that he suffered for the Gospel.

=St. Laurence.= _Lat._ S. Laurentius. _Ital._ San Lorenzo. _Fr._ St.
Laurent. _Ger._ Der Heilige Laurentius or Lorenz.

Nothing authentic is known of the early life of this saint, who is
honoured in Rome next to St. Peter and St. Paul. He was a Spaniard
of Huesca, Aragon, and came to Rome while very young. “He walked so
meekly and so blamelessly before God,” that Sixtus II., Bishop of Rome,
made him his archdeacon, and put him in charge of the treasures of
the Church. When Sixtus was denounced as a Christian and led away to
death, Laurence wished to die with him, but the holy bishop told him
that in three days he would follow him, and that his battle would be
harder, his torments longer and more severe than his; and he bade him
distribute all the treasures of the Church to the poor, that they might
not fall into the hands of the tyrant. Thus comforted, St. Laurence
sought the poor and the sick, the naked and the hungry, and he washed
the feet of the Christians and gave them alms. “In this manner he went
from one dwelling to another, consoling the persecuted, and dispensing
alms, and performing works of charity and humility. Thus he prepared
himself for his impending martyrdom.”

The prefect, hearing that the treasures of the Church were in his care,
demanded them, and St. Laurence brought all the poor and the sick whom
he had helped, before the prefect, and said, “Behold the treasures of
Christ’s Church!” The prefect, in fury, thinking that he mocked him,
ordered him tortured and cast into a dungeon, in charge of Hippolytus,
whom, with his whole family, he converted and who afterwards suffered
martyrdom. When the prefect found he could not subdue him, “he ordered
a torture more strange and cruel than ever entered into the heart of a
tyrant to conceive.” He had him stretched on a sort of iron bed formed
of iron bars in the manner of a gridiron, and a fire lighted beneath,
and he was roasted alive. And all wondered at a cruelty that would
“condemn to such torments a youth of such fair person, and courteous
and gentle bearing, and all for lust of gold.” In the midst of these
torments St. Laurence said to the tyrant, “Seest thou not that I am
already roasted on one side and if thou wouldst have me well cooked it
is time to turn me on the other?”

Hippolytus buried his remains in the Via Tiburtina and Constantine
built the church known as _San Lorenzo fuori le Mura_ on the spot. The
common people of Rome gave him the title of _Il cortese Spagnolo_—“the
courteous Spaniard”—because when they opened his sarcophagus two
hundred years after his death and lowered into it the body of St.
Stephen, St. Laurence moved on one side, giving the place of honour on
the right to St. Stephen.

St. Laurence is constantly represented in devotional pictures, and like
St. Stephen and St. Vincent he wears the rich dress of the deacon and
has the palm as martyr. He is unmistakable, when he bears his peculiar
attribute, the gridiron (_la graticola_), which varies in form. When
it is the common kitchen utensil, it is no longer an attribute, but
simply an emblem of the death he suffered. Sometimes a small gridiron
is suspended around his neck, or he holds it in his hand, or it is
embroidered on his robe. Occasionally it is omitted and he carries a
dish full of gold and silver, representing the treasures of the Church,
or he swings a censer, or carries a cross. He is always pictured young.

=St. Vincent.= _Lat._ S. Vincentius Levita. _Ital._ San Vincenzio
Diacono, San Vincenzino.

St. Vincent was born in Saragossa in the kingdom of Aragon. During
the persecution under Diocletian, the proconsul Dacian caused all
the Christians of Saragossa to be massacred. At this time lived St.
Vincent. He had been early taught in the Christian faith, and although
barely more than twenty, he was already a deacon. The dangers and
sufferings of the Christians only aroused his sympathy and zeal; and he
encouraged and sustained many of his brethren in the torments inflicted
upon them. When he and his aged bishop were brought before the tribunal
to answer the charge of being Christians, the latter spoke in so feeble
a voice that St. Vincent took the words from his lips, proclaiming his
faith loudly and defying his persecutors.

Upon him, for this, were inflicted the most inhuman and barbarous
tortures that cruelty could invent. The young saint endured them
unflinchingly. His body was lacerated with iron forks, and when left
torn and bleeding angels came to comfort him. The proconsul, after St.
Vincent’s death, ordered his body to be thrown to the wild beasts,
but God sent a raven to guard his sacred remains, and when a wolf
approached to devour them the raven obliged it to retire.

Furious at this, Dacian commanded his minions to sew up in an
ox-hide——as was done to parricides——the body of the holy martyr, and
to throw it into the sea. Placing it thus in a bark, they rowed far
out to sea, and flung it, attached to a millstone, overboard. But, to
their astonishment, upon returning immediately to land, they found that
the body of St. Vincent had preceded them and was lying on the sand.
They fled terrified, and the waves of the sea, by the command of God,
hollowed a tomb for him in the sands, where he lay protected from all
harm, hidden from all human knowledge, until after many years the spot
was miraculously revealed to certain Christians, who brought his body
to Valencia and buried it there.

The Christians of Valencia, obliged to flee from the Moors in the
eighth century, carried with them the remains of St. Vincent. Their
vessel was driven by the winds onto a promontory, ever since called
the Cape of St. Vincent. The body of St. Vincent remained there—again
guarded by ravens—until it was removed to Lisbon by Alonzo I., about
1147. On this journey two ravens piloted the ship, one at the prow
and the other at the stern. “Thus after many wanderings the blessed
St. Vincent rested in the Cathedral of Lisbon; and the crows which
accompanied him, having multiplied greatly, rents were assigned to the
chapter for their support.”

This renowned saint is very popular in Spain, the scene of his legend,
and has been since the sixth century one of the most venerated saints
in France.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. ANTHONY.—PALMA VECCHIO

(Church of S. Maria Formosa, Venice.)]

In art, it is sometimes hard to distinguish St. Vincent from St.
Stephen and St. Laurence. He, too, is young and beautiful, wears the
deacon’s robes, and carries the palm. His peculiar attribute, however,
is a crow or raven, sometimes perched upon a millstone. Occasionally
the iron fork—instrument of his martyrdom—is introduced. In Italian
pictures he rarely has any attribute except the palm, while St.
Laurence and St. Stephen are rarely without their respective symbols,
the gridiron and the stones.

St. Vincent is often pictured in art with St. Laurence.

=St. Anthony=, Hermit. _Ital._ Sant’ Antonio Abbate, or l’Erémita.
_Fr._ St. Antoine l’Abbé. _Ger._ Der Heilige Anton, or Antonius.

Anthony was born in Alexandria, Egypt. His parents died when he was
eighteen and left him a noble name, great riches, and an only sister.
He was imperfectly educated, knowing no language but his native
Egyptian, and was a constant attendant on Christian worship. He had
been of a melancholy disposition from childhood, and feared the
temptations of the world and the responsibilities of his possessions.
One day he heard the sentence, “Go, sell all thou hast, and give to
the poor ... and come and follow me.” He took this as a message from
heaven, and divided his wealth with his sister, gave his share to the
poor, and withdrew to the desert, where dwelt a company of hermits.

Here he lived a life of such sanctity and self-denial that he was the
admiration and wonder of all; and Satan, displeased at such amazing
virtue, sent his demons to tempt him.[9] They whispered to him of all
that he had sacrificed for this weary life of perpetual rigour and
self-denial, but the saint prayed till the demon ceased.

Then Satan had recourse to stronger weapons, and clothed his demons in
human forms: they plied him with delicious food, and hovered around
him as beautiful women trying to allure him to sin. But St. Anthony
resisted these temptations, and in anguish fled to a cave farther in
the desert, where he lived alone and fasted more rigorously than ever.

But Satan followed him even here and now tortured him with pain, and
tried to “affright him with all the terrors that can overwhelm the soul
of man,” but in the midst of all these appalling shapes and sounds,
suddenly there shone from heaven a great light which fell upon Anthony,
and all these terrors vanished at once, and he arose unharmed and
strong to endure. And he said, looking up, “O Lord Jesus Christ, where
wert thou in those moments of anguish?” And Christ answered, “Anthony,
I was here beside thee, and rejoiced to see thee contend and overcome.
Be of good heart; for I will make thy name famous through all the
world.”

When Anthony had lived in the desert seventy-five years, “his heart
was lifted up by the thought that no one had lived so long in solitude
and self-denial as he had done.” But in a vision a voice said to him,
that there was one holier than he, for Paul the hermit had served God
in solitude and penance for ninety years. Anthony resolved to seek
Paul, and on the third day he came to a cavern overhung with rocks,
with a palm tree, and a fountain flowing near, and there he found Paul.
And while they talked there came a raven carrying in his beak a small
loaf, which he let fall between them, and Paul blessed the goodness of
God, and said: “For sixty years, every day hath this raven brought me
half a loaf; but because thou art come, my brother, lo! the portion is
doubled, and we are fed as Elijah was fed in the wilderness.”

Then Paul told St. Anthony that God had sent him to receive his last
breath, and to bury him; and bade him return to his dwelling for
the cloak given him by the holy Bishop Athanasius, and to wrap him
in it and to lay him in the earth. Weeping, St. Anthony went to his
monastery, took down the cloak, and returned as fast as his aged limbs
would permit, and found Paul dead in his cave. Wrapping him in the
cloak, he thought how he might bury him, for he had no strength to dig
a grave and behold, two lions came, and by their roaring expressed
their sympathy, and began to dig in the sand with their paws, and in a
short time had dug the grave in which Anthony reverently laid the body
of Paul. After this, Anthony lived fourteen years, and died aged one
hundred and five.

Figures of St. Anthony occur frequently, and are easily recognised. He
wears the monk’s habit and cowl, usually black or brown, and in Greek
pictures the letter T, always blue, is on the left shoulder or on the
cope. Anthony and his monks bear the T from the Greek word _Theos_,
God, signifying, “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he
goeth. These were redeemed from among men, and in their mouth was found
no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

The crutch given St. Anthony indicates his age and feebleness. The bell
is given him because he had the power to exorcise evil spirits. The
devil, according to Durandus, cannot endure the sound of a consecrated
bell. The asperges—the rod for sprinkling holy water—as an instrument
of exorcism, was also given St. Anthony. The hog represents the demon
of sensuality and gluttony which St. Anthony overcame. Flames of fire
placed near him, or a city or house burning in the background, signify
his spiritual aid as patron saint against fire in this world and in
the next. He is found with one or more of these attributes alone or in
Madonna pictures.

In historical pictures the _Temptation of St. Anthony_ is the most
common subject.

The legend of St. Paul the hermit is interwoven with that of St.
Anthony. He is represented in devotional pictures as extremely old
and wasted; his legs and arms bare; beard and hair white and very
long; garbed only in a mat of palm leaves. When a raven is introduced,
bringing him food, it is only by his dress of plaited leaves and his
attenuated and aged appearance that St. Paul can be distinguished from
Elijah in the wilderness. He does not often appear in Madonna pictures
or grouped with other saints, but is usually alone, seated upon a rock,
in deep meditation.

=St. Benedict.= _Ital._ San Benedetto. _Fr._ Saint Benoit. _Spa._ San
Benito.

St. Benedict was born about 480 in Norcia, a small town in the duchy
of Spoleto. He came of noble family and was sent to Rome to study. But
even as a boy, he became disgusted with the profligacy of the times,
and this, added to the religious enthusiasm of the age, drove him into
a hermitage at fifteen. His nurse, who had been with him from infancy,
followed him, and insisted upon waiting upon him and cooking for him.
Feeling that his penance was not severe enough while thus looked after,
St. Benedict secretly fled from his nurse and took refuge in a cave in
Subiaco, a wilderness about forty miles from Rome, where he lived three
years, supplied with bread and water by a hermit named Romano.

Here he experienced many temptations. Memories of a beautiful Roman
woman haunted his imagination, and the desire to rush from his solitude
and seek her was well nigh irresistible. But, believing that these
thoughts came from Satan to try him, he flung himself naked into a
thicket of briars and nettles, which so lacerated and stung the flesh
that the temptation vanished, never to return.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. BENEDICT.—HANS MEMLING

(Uffizi, Florence.)]

His fame spread, and people came from all over and begged for his
prayers and brought their sick to be healed. He yielded to persuasion
and became head of a monastery near by, but the strictness of his life
filled the monks, who had grown lax, with dismay, and one tried to
poison him in a cup of wine. But St. Benedict blessed it as usual and
made the sign of the cross, and the cup fell broken, with its contents
spilled. He then left them and returned to his cave in Subiaco.
There crowds gathered in huts and cells, attracted by the fame of his
sanctity and miracles. At length he had built twelve monasteries, in
each of which he placed twelve disciples with a superior over them.

Two Roman senators brought him their sons, Maurus and Placidus, to
be educated. St. Benedict devoted himself to their care and they
became his most famous disciples. (St. Maurus founded a monastery in
France, and St. Placidus was sent to Sicily, where he and his young
sister Flavia were martyred.) His community became celebrated for
brotherly love and charity, until jealousy crept in and one priest,
named Florentius, tried to blacken the name of St. Benedict. He also
tried to corrupt the monks by introducing seven young women into one
of the monasteries. He then attempted to kill St. Benedict by means of
a poisoned loaf, but Benedict suspected treachery and gave the loaf to
a tame raven, who carried it away. Then St. Benedict left Subiaco, but
had scarcely gone when a messenger came to him with word that his enemy
had been crushed to death by the falling of a gallery in his house.

Hearing of a temple on Monte Cassino, not far from Rome, where the
people performed pagan rites to Apollo, Benedict repaired thither, and
by his preaching converted the people and persuaded them to break the
statue and throw down the altar. He built two chapels here, and higher
up on the mountain established the first monastery of the Benedictine
Order. He here gave the famous Rule that became the general law for
monks in Western Europe, and consisted of the three vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience, to which St. Benedict added that of manual
labour for seven hours a day, and vows perpetual after a novitiate of
one year.

His sister, St. Scholastica, followed her brother to Mt. Cassino with
a small company of pious women, and he was wont to visit her once a
year. On his last visit, refusing to listen to his sister’s pleadings
that he remain longer with her, she prayed that heaven might interfere,
and immediately there came a furious storm, which delayed his departure
several hours. St. Scholastica died two days later, and as St. Benedict
was praying in his cell, he beheld the soul of his sister ascending
to heaven in the form of a dove. This scene is often represented in
pictures for the Benedictine nuns.

St. Benedict died March 21, 543, and it would take volumes to relate
all the miracles attributed to him.

He is difficult to distinguish in art, because he is often represented
wearing the _white_ habit, whereas the habit of the order was _black_.
In white it is easy to confuse him with St. Bernard, St. Bruno, or St.
Romualdo, and in black, for St. Anthony, so one must look for more
characteristic attributes.

In pictures for Benedictine churches, which depend on Mt. Cassino and
Subiaco, and in single devotional pictures, he wears the black habit
with hood: as patriarch of the Reformed Benedictines of Clairvaux,
Citeaux, Camaldoli, or Vallombrosa, the _white_ habit. Sometimes
beardless, more often long white beard. As Abbot of Mt. Cassino he
sometimes carries the staff and mitre; frequently holds an open
book. Like other saints who have resisted temptation, he carries the
asperges—the rod for sprinkling holy water—here an emblem of purity or
holiness by which he conquered. The thorn bush is an attribute, showing
the means whereby he conquered. A pitcher of wine or broken cup on a
book expresses the attempt to poison him, also the raven with loaf
of bread with serpent creeping from it. When a nun in black habit is
introduced with St. Benedict, or stands alone with a lily in her hand
and a dove at her feet or pressed to her bosom, it is St. Scholastica.
When grouped with his two disciples, Maurus and Placidus, they all wear
the black habit, or St. Benedict appears as abbot and the others as
deacons, wearing the dalmatica over the black tunic. St. Maurus holds a
book or a censer, and St. Placidus carries the palm as martyr.

=St. Bernard of Clairvaux.= _Lat._ Sanctus Bernardus. _Ital._ San
Bernardo di Chiaravalle, Abbate. _Ger._ Der Heilige Bernhard.

Bernard was born at Fontaines, near Dijon, in 1091. Both parents were
of noble family, and his mother, a highly gifted woman, superintended
his early education. His personal beauty was very great, but his health
was always delicate and he practised extreme self-denial from an early
age. His thirst for knowledge was amazing, and after studying at the
University of Paris, he entered the Reformed Benedictine monastery of
Citeaux. The Abbot of Citeaux saw qualities in Bernard which convinced
him that he would be the proper head of a new foundation, and in the
year 1115 he sent him forth with twelve other monks to found another
Cistercian monastery. Bernard led them to a wilderness called the
“Valley of Wormwood,” and there built the famous abbey of Clairvaux.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

THE MADONNA APPEARING TO ST. BERNARD.—FILIPPINO LIPPI

(Church of the Badia, Florence.)]

Bernard became known throughout the Christian world, and was appealed
to by feudal lords and ecclesiastics alike. He was an authority on
all subjects, and his decisions were received with perfect submission.
He was commissioned by Eugenius III. to preach a second crusade. Only
a remnant returned from the ill-starred expedition, and the people
turned on Bernard with sudden hatred. But he defended himself with such
eloquence that their rage vanished. He affirmed boldly that they had
been punished for their sins, and bade them go home and repent, which
they did.

His bitter religious controversies with Abelard will be recalled.

He died in his sixty-third year at Clairvaux, where he had been abbot
thirty-eight years, and was canonised twenty years later by Pope
Alexander III. No man of his age had greater renown nor fills a larger
place in the history of that age. His reputation rests on the integrity
of his character, his eloquence as a preacher, his remarkable executive
ability, and his skill as a writer.

In devotional pictures St. Bernard is represented as a monk in the
white habit of the Cistercian Order, with shaven crown, little or no
beard, carrying a large book under his arm, or presenting books to
the Madonna, or with writing implements before him. Other attributes
are the demon—signifying heresy—fettered behind him; sometimes three
mitres on his book or at his feet signifying the three bishoprics he
refused—those of Chartres, Spires, and Milan; also the beehive as
symbol of eloquence in common with Chrysostom and Ambrose.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI.—SIMONE MARTINI

(Church of S. Francesco, Assisi.)]

_The Vision of St. Bernard_ has been charmingly rendered in art.
The subject is mystical and devotional. St. Bernard’s most celebrated
writings were devoted to the honour and glory of the Blessed Virgin
who, in consequence, regarded him with peculiar favour, and it is
related that once when he was writing his homilies he was so ill
he could hardly hold his pen, and behold! she appeared to him and
comforted and restored him by her gracious presence.

=St. Francis of Assisi.= _Lat._ Sanctus Franciscus, Pater Seraphicus.
_Fr._ Saint François d’Assise. _Ital._ San Francesco di Assisi.

St. Francis was the founder of the Franciscans, one of the three
Mendicant Orders of Friars. He was born in Assisi in 1182. His father,
Pietro Bernardone, was a wealthy merchant. The son was taught French,
and spoke it with such ease that his companions changed his baptismal
name of Giovanni to _Francesco_—the Frenchman—by which he was ever
afterwards known. In his youth he was remarkable for his extravagance
and excessive love of pleasure. But he was kind and generous, and
beloved by all. In a quarrel between the inhabitants of Perugia and
Assisi he was taken a prisoner, and detained for a year in the fortress
of Perugia.

After his return home, he was ill for many months, and his thoughts
constantly turned from this world to God. Upon his recovery, he met a
beggar in filthy rags, who asked him for alms. St. Francis recognised
him as a former noble, who had commanded the expedition against
Perugia, and exchanged his own rich apparel with him who was now a
mendicant, putting on the other’s tattered garments. Going into a
church that was falling into ruin, to pray, he heard in his soul a
voice saying, “Francis, repair my church, which falleth into ruin.”
Taking these words literally, he sold merchandise of his father’s,
and brought the money to the priests of the church. This put his
father in a rage, and thinking him mad, he first locked him up in his
chamber, but as he still persisted in his ideas, he took him before
the bishop. Here Francis tore off his garments and flung them to his
father, saying, “Henceforth I recognise no father but him who is in
heaven.” The bishop, touched and weeping with admiration, took a coarse
cloak from a beggar who stood by and gave it to him. Francis received
it gladly, as the first fruit of that poverty to which he had given
himself. He was now twenty-five years old, and from this time forth he
went about preaching charity, humility, and self-abnegation, existing
only on alms.

It was a period in the history of the world of great mental and moral
excitement. St. Francis was the living expression of an awakening
emotion in the minds and hearts of the people, and his example was
imitated with passionate enthusiasm by an immense number of followers.
He made the first condition of their joining him absolute poverty.
Hence the allusion to his marriage with the Lady Poverty.

He went to Rome to obtain the pope’s sanction for his order, and was
at first repulsed as a visionary enthusiast. But the pope in a dream
that night beheld the walls of the Lateran tottering and about to fall,
then he saw the weight of the whole Church borne and sustained on
the shoulders of him who had approached him in the morning. Greatly
impressed by this, he sent for Francis, confirmed the rule of his
order, and gave him power to preach. Returning then to his cell called
the _Porzioncula_, Francis gathered his followers about him, gave to
his order the name of _Frati Minori_, and established his Rule with its
three vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience.

Previous to this, at mass one day he heard the text from St. Luke (ix.,
3): “Take nothing for your journey, neither staves nor scrip, neither
bread, neither money, neither have two coats apiece”; and looking upon
this as an ordinance it became the rule of his life. He was already
barefoot and wretchedly clad, begging his food wherever he happened to
be. There was nothing he could do without, except his leathern girdle.
This he threw away, substituting one of hempen cord, which was adopted
by his followers. These have thence been called the _Cordeliers_.

St. Francis’s life was one of continual prayer and self-inflicted
penance. So gentle and tender and compassionate was he that “when he
found worms or insects in his road he was careful not to tread upon
them.” He loved all animals and was accustomed to call all living
things his brothers and sisters. He interpreted literally the text “Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” and
Giotto has painted St. Francis preaching to the birds.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. CLARA.—SIMONE MARTINI

(Church of S. Francesco, Assisi.)]

We are told that he suffered from sickness, pain, and weakness and wept
so much that he nearly became blind. It is also related that, having
fasted in his cell on Mt. Alverna for forty days, passing the time in
prayer and ecstatic contemplation, he beheld in a vision a seraph
with six shining wings, and between his wings he bore the form of a man
crucified. When the vision disappeared and he awoke, St. Francis found
that he had received the _stigmata_, and ever after it was seen that he
carried in his hands, his feet, and his side the wounds of our Saviour.
He died in 1226 and was canonised by Pope Gregory IX. in 1228.

St. Francis is more frequently represented in art than any other saint,
and is nearly always unmistakable. He may be distinguished by his
habit, which is grey or dark brown, girded by a hempen cord. He bears
the stigmata in his hands and feet and is often portrayed in the act
of opening his tunic to display the wound in his side. The stigmata
distinguishes him from all other saints wearing the same habit.
Sometimes he has the crucifix and the skull. The lamb and the lily are
also given him as symbols of meekness and purity. When St. Francis and
St. Dominick are pictured together the crucifix is given to the former
and the lily to St. Dominick.

=St. Clara.= _Ital._ Santa Chiara. _Fr._ Sainte Claire.

St. Clara was born in Assisi of noble parents, who desired her to
marry; but, inspired by the example of St. Francis, she fled to him
for counsel, and he advised her to renounce the world. She took refuge
in the convent of San Paolo, whither her kinsmen pursued her, and in
vain tried to drag her away. Soon after, her younger sister, Agnes, and
other ladies of high rank joined her, and finally her mother, and thus
was formed the Order of “Poor Clares,” Franciscan nuns, who followed
the Rule of St. Francis, in all its austerity. A lifelong friendship
existed between St. Clara and St. Francis, and he invariably turned to
her for consolation in those periods of despondency which afflicted his
soul.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA.—SCHOOL OF GIOTTO

(Basilica of S. Antonio, Padua.)]

At one time, when the Saracens attacked the convent of San Damiano, and
the nuns were filled with terror and despair, St. Clara, who had been
bed-ridden, arose, took from the altar the pyx containing the Host,
placed it on the threshold, and kneeling began to sing, “Thou hast
rebuked the heathen,” etc., whereupon the barbarians, panic-stricken,
fled. The fame of this miracle spread, so that people came from far and
wide to obtain the prayers and intercession of Clara. The pope himself
visited her, and solemnly confirmed the Rule of her order. At the age
of sixty, she expired in a kind of trance in which she heard angels’
voices calling her. She was canonised in 1256.

When she carries the palm it is not as martyr, but is the palm of
victory over suffering. She bears the lily, and is distinguished from
other saints with the same emblem by her grey habit and the cord of St.
Francis. In devotional pictures she is young and beautiful. She wears
the habit of her order—the grey tunic, the knotted girdle, and the
black veil. Her peculiar attribute is the pyx, containing the Host, in
allusion to the miraculous deliverance from the Saracens.

=St. Anthony of Padua.= _Lat._ Sanctus Antonius Thaumaturgus. _Spa._
San Antonio de Padua. _Ital._ Sant’ Antonio di Padova, Il Santo.

St. Anthony was completely imbued with the spirit of St. Francis, and
his popularity in religious art is nearly as great. He was a Portuguese
by birth, and having entered the Franciscan Order, went to Morocco as
a missionary, but became very ill there, and was obliged to return to
Europe. Contrary winds drove him to the coast of Italy, and he came to
Assisi when St. Francis was holding the first General Chapter of his
Order.

St. Anthony’s learning and ability made him of great value to St.
Francis as a coadjutor, and for some time he taught divinity in the
universities of Paris, Toulouse, Bologna, and Padua, but finally gave
up teaching altogether to become a preacher to the people. Owing to his
persuasive eloquence and skill in argument, crowds came to hear him
wherever he went, and his followers have ascribed many miracles to him,
before and after his death. He died in his thirty-sixth year, and the
next year was canonised by Pope Gregory IX., and the magnificent church
at Padua was begun in his honour.

In art he is a young man with a mild, melancholy countenance, without
beard, and wearing the habit and cord of St. Francis. His usual
attributes are the lily and the crucifix—the lily sometimes twined
around the crucifix. In pictures of the Siena school he holds in his
hand a flame of fire, symbol of his ardent piety. He is often pictured
as caressing the Infant Christ, who is seen standing on his book, or
he holds Him in his arms. It is related that at one time as he was
explaining to his hearers the mystery of the Incarnation the form of
the Infant Christ descended and stood upon his book. This is called the
“Vision of St. Anthony of Padua,” and is often represented in art.

The legend of the mule is one of the most popular miracles of St.
Anthony and is a frequent subject for pictures painted for the
Franciscan churches. Bovadilla, a heretic, doubting the real presence
in the sacrament, demanded of St. Anthony a miracle in proof of this
favourite dogma of the Church. St. Anthony saw Bovadilla’s mule, and
commanded it to fall on its knees as he carried the Host in procession.
The mule obeyed instantly, and in spite of its master’s efforts to
tempt it aside by a sieve full of oats, remained kneeling until the
Sacred Host had passed.

=St. Bonaventura=, called the _Seraphic Doctor_, is regarded as one
of the greatest lights of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in
Tuscany, and was so ill when an infant that his life was despaired
of. His mother took him to St. Francis and begged him to intercede
with his prayers for the life of her child. When St. Francis saw him
he exclaimed, _O buona ventura!_ and the mother, in gratitude for his
recovery, dedicated him to God by the name of Bonaventura.

He entered the Franciscan Order and completed his theological studies
in Paris. There he was greatly honoured by Louis IX. (Saint Louis) and
in a few years became known as one of the greatest writers and teachers
in the Church. He faithfully practised all the precepts of his order
and his humility was such that he hardly dared present himself to
receive the sacrament, feeling himself unworthy; so, in the legends,
angels are represented bringing it to him.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. BONAVENTURA.—A. BRONZINO

(Academy, Florence.)]

In 1256 he was made General of the Franciscan Order and restored the
harmony which had previously been threatened by factional dissensions.
He declined the archbishopric of York, but later Gregory X. made
him Cardinal and Bishop of Albano. When the two nuncios of the pope
brought him the cardinal’s hat they found him in the garden of a little
Franciscan convent near Florence, washing the plate from which he had
just dined. He told them to hang the hat on the bough of a tree until
he could take it in his hands. Hence in pictures of this saint the
cardinal’s hat is often seen hanging on a branch of a tree. He died at
the age of fifty-three and was buried in the Franciscan Church at
Lyons, and was canonised by Sixtus IV. in 1462. During the wars of the
League, the Huguenots broke into his shrine and threw his ashes into
the river Saône.

According to a Spanish legend, having left his _Life of St. Francis_
unfinished when he died, he returned to earth for three days and
completed it.

In devotional pictures, sometimes he wears the cope over the grey habit
of his order, with the mitre on his head, as Bishop of Albano, and the
cardinal’s hat at his feet, or on the branch of a tree. Sometimes he
wears only the Franciscan habit, and carries the sacramental cup in
his hand, or it is borne by an angel. Occasionally he is attired in
the crimson robes and hat of a cardinal, with a book in his hand, the
symbol of his great learning.

=St. Louis of France.= _Lat._ Sanctus Ludovicus Rex. _Ital._ San Luigi,
Rè di Francia.

Louis IX. was born at Poissy in 1215. He was the son of Louis VIII. and
Blanche of Castile—the Louis and Blanche who figure in Shakespeare’s
_King John_. Gibbon says of St. Louis that he united the virtues of a
king, a hero, and a man. Voltaire said of him, _Il n’est guère donné
a l’homme de pousser la vertu plus loin._ He had the most intense
veneration for relics, and when Baldwin II. approached him for aid,
he at once granted him “succors in men and money” in exchange for the
“holy crown of thorns.” Louis, barefoot and bareheaded, brought this
precious relic himself from Sens to Paris; and having obtained also a
small piece of the true cross, he built for these treasures the chapel
since called _La Sainte Chapelle_ (Paris).

In 1247, after a dangerous illness, he sent for the Archbishop of Paris
and asked for the cross of a crusader, and, in spite of the grief and
remonstrances of friends, as soon as his health permitted he sailed
for Egypt with an army of fifty thousand men, including the flower of
the French nobility. Most of his followers perished, and Louis was
taken prisoner. His belief in the goodness of his cause never wavered,
however. When ransomed he spent three years in Palestine, and then
returned to France, where he reigned sixteen years and then, never
having laid aside the cross, he started on a second crusade, landing
in Africa. His troops, affected by the climate, perished miserably;
and Louis died in his tent, lying upon ashes, and wearing the garb of
a penitent. He was canonised by Boniface VIII. in 1297, twenty-seven
years after his death. Part of his body was carried by Charles of Anjou
to Palermo, and placed in the church of Monreale; the rest was placed
in a shrine at St. Denis, which was destroyed in the first French
revolution.

Pictures of St. Louis are found in Franciscan churches, the Franciscans
claiming that he put on the habit of the “Third Order of Penitence”
before starting on his first crusade, and that he died in the habit and
cord of St. Francis.

The proper attribute of St. Louis is the crown of thorns, which he
holds in one hand, his sword in the other, and the royal crown and
sceptre at his feet. When painted in the grey habit and cord of the
Franciscans, he wears the crown of royalty.

=St. Louis of Toulouse.= _Ital._ San Ludovico Vescovo.

Louis of Anjou was the nephew of St. Louis, King of France, and son of
Charles of Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily. When Louis was fourteen,
his father was taken prisoner by the King of Aragon, and was obliged
to deliver up his three sons as hostages. Louis spent several years in
captivity, and the hardships he endured broke his gentle spirit, and,
on regaining his freedom in 1294, he resigned all his rights to the
kingdom of Naples to his brother Robert, and entered the Order of St.
Francis. Soon afterwards he was made Bishop of Toulouse and set out for
his new office barefooted, and dressed as a friar. Although his life
there was short, he endeared himself to his people by his gentleness
and charity. Two years later he died, in his twenty-fourth year, in
his father’s castle in Provence, where he had gone on a charitable
mission. He was canonised in 1317 by Pope John XXII., and his remains
are enshrined at Valencia.

In art he is represented as young, beardless, and of gentle face,
wearing the episcopal robes over the Franciscan habit. The fleur-de-lys
is embroidered on his cope, or on some part of his dress. The crown he
resigned is at his feet. He wears the mitre as bishop, or carries it in
his hand, or it is borne by an angel.

=St. Bernardino of Siena.= This saint was born of a noble Sienese
family, and from his youth upward was distinguished for his personal
beauty and grace, united to such intelligence and purity of character,
that his presence alone sufficed to restrain and hush the most vulgar
of tongue. At seventeen, he entered a confraternity that cared for the
poor and the sick, and when a pestilence broke out in Siena, he and
twelve other young men took entire charge of the plague hospital for
four months. He escaped the contagion, but his health was never strong
afterwards.

He entered the Franciscan Order at twenty-three, and became one of
their most celebrated preachers. His influence for good was unbounded,
and his hearers, even the hardest sinners, were melted to tears.
Thieves made restitution; gamblers threw away their cards; enemies
became reconciled, and women cast their jewels at his feet. Wherever
he went he preached peace, and when preaching he held in his hand a
tablet on which was the name of Jesus in a circle of golden rays.[10] A
manufacturer of cards and dice complained to Bernardino that since his
preaching his business had been ruined. The saint advised him to make
these tablets instead, and sell them to the people; which he did, and
the desire for them became so general that he realised a fortune. St.
Bernardino is said to have founded the _Monte-di-Pietà_, for lending
money on small pledges to the very poor. These institutions are still
called in France _Monts-de-Piété_. He was founder of a reformed Order
of Franciscans, called in Italy _Osservanti_ because they _observed_
the Rule of St. Francis, went barefoot, and professed absolute poverty.
He refused three bishoprics, and died at Aquila in the Abruzzi, where
his remains are enshrined in the church of San Francesco. He was
canonised by Pope Nicholas V. in 1450, and is venerated throughout all
of Italy.

In devotional figures his peculiar attribute is the tablet, with I. H.
S. encircled with rays, which he holds in his hand. Another attribute
is the _Monte-di-Pietà_, a little green hill of three mounds, and
on the top a cross or standard, on which is the figure of the dead
Saviour—usually called in Italy a _Pietà_. Sometimes three mitres, in
allusion to the three bishoprics, he refused.

=St. Dominick.= _Lat._ Sanctus Dominicus. _Ital._ San Domenico. _Spa._
San Domingo. _Fr._ Saint Dominique.

This saint was the founder of the Order of Dominicans or Preaching
Friars, and was a Castilian of an illustrious family. Before he was
born his mother dreamed that she had given birth to a black and white
dog holding a lighted torch in its mouth. At his baptism a star
descended from heaven and settled on his brow. These were interpreted
as signs that he would be a light to the world and he early showed his
ascetic and saintly nature.

He studied theology at Valencia and became a canon of St. Augustine
while still very young. When about thirty, he went to France on a
political mission with the Bishop of Osma, and passed through the land
of the Albigenses. Their heresies were so shocking to Dominick that he
felt that his vocation lay in forming an order of preachers for the
conversion of heretics. He went to Rome in 1207 and obtained permission
from the pope to preach in the Vaudois to the Albigenses. Here miracles
aided him. A writing of Dominick’s, defending the Catholic faith,
thrice cast into the fire, is said to have thrice leaped out uninjured,
while a writing of the heretics was instantly consumed. This converted
many.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. DOMINICK. DETAIL FROM THE CRUCIFIXION.—FRA ANGELICO

(San Marco, Florence.)]

A fierce religious war broke out about this time against the
Albigenses. How far Dominick took part in this is hotly disputed. For
several centuries public opinion considered him the founder of the
Inquisition, and it was believed that he directed the persecutions from
the beginning. His defenders, however, assert that he was filled with
horror at the barbarities committed in the name of Christ. St. Dominick
instituted the rosary, which was received with enthusiasm and made
more converts than all his orthodoxy. He founded many convents in the
principal cities of Europe, preaching wherever he went. Bologna became
the chief Dominican centre, and here St. Dominick died in 1221, worn
out by his labours. He was canonised in 1233 by Gregory IX.

The devotional figures of St. Dominick represent him in his habit—the
white tunic, white scapulary, and long black cloak with a hood. In
one hand a book, in the other a lily. A star is on his forehead, or
just above his head. The dog with a flaming torch in its mouth is his
peculiar attribute, but in pictures is often omitted.

=St. Peter Martyr.= St. Peter the Dominican. _Fr._ Saint Pierre le
Dominican, Martyr. _Ital._ San Pietro or San Pier Martire.

He was born at Verona in 1205. His parents belonged to the heretical
sect of the _Cathari_, but sent Peter to a Catholic school, and
St. Dominick persuaded him to take the Dominican habit at the age
of fifteen. He became an eminent preacher and was noted for his
intolerance and cruelty to the heretics with whom he had formerly been
associated. Pope Honorius III. made him Inquisitor General. He was
not loved in his lifetime even by his own brotherhood, and his harsh
persecutions made him universally detested. Finally two noblemen, who
had suffered at his hands, hired assassins to waylay him in a wood
through which he and a lay brother must pass on their way from Como to
Milan. Peter was struck down by a blow from an axe. Then the ruffians
pursued his attendant, and stabbed him. Returning, they found that
Peter had risen to his knees and was reciting the Apostles’ Creed; or,
as others say, was writing it on the ground with his blood. He had just
finished the word _Credo_ when they rushed on him, and pierced him
through with a sword. He was canonised in 1253 and is one of the most
popular saints in Italy.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. PETER MARTYR.—FRA ANGELICO

(San Marco, Florence.)]

In devotional art, he wears the Dominican habit, carries the crucifix
as preacher, and the palm as martyr, which, if not in his hand, is at
his feet. His peculiar attribute is the gash in his head, with blood
trickling from it, or the axe or sabre stuck into his head.

=St. Thomas Aquinas.= _Ital._ San Tomaso di Aquino, Dottore Angelico.

St. Thomas Aquinas, called the “Angelic Doctor,” ranks with the
Four Great Doctors of the Western Church. He was born at Belcastro
in 1226. He was of noble lineage, his father being Count of Aquino,
and connected both by descent and marriage with several of the royal
families of Europe. Thomas was sent to the Benedictines at Mt. Cassino,
where he showed himself so precocious that when ten years of age his
masters declared they could teach him no more. The splendour of his
father’s home filled him with humility, rather than pride. He was
gentle, thoughtful, and silent, and from childhood was remarkable for
the sweetness of his temper.

After a few years, he was sent to the new University of Naples, where
he was noted for his devotion to study and the singular purity of his
life. At seventeen he received the habit of the Dominican Order. His
relatives were violently opposed to this, and seized and imprisoned
him in a tower of his father’s castle, allowing no one to see him but
his two sisters. After many months, aided by one of his sisters, whom
he had converted, he made his escape and returned to the convent,
where he took his final vows. The modesty with which he concealed his
profound learning gave him the nickname of _Bos_, the ox. Later he
studied in Cologne and his master exclaimed one day, when his brilliant
answers had astonished them all, “This dumb ox shall give such a bellow
in learning as all the world shall hear.” His reputation steadily
increased until he was acknowledged the greatest theological writer and
teacher of his age. His works are still held as authority and of great
value. He died in his fiftieth year and was canonised in 1323.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS.—FRA ANGELICO

(San Marco, Florence.)]

He is represented in the Dominican habit, often writing, with the
dove, emblem of inspiration, hovering about him. His attributes are a
book, or books; the pen, or ink-horn; the sacramental cup, on account
of his having composed the Office of the Sacrament, still in use; on
his breast a sun, and sometimes a human eye within it to express his
far-seeing wisdom.

=St. Catherine of Siena.= _Lat._ Sancta Catherina Senese. _Ital._ Santa
Caterina di Siena.

Volumes have been filled in chronicling the deeds and visions of this
remarkable saint, known at Siena as “la Santa.” She was born in Siena
in 1347. Her father, Giovanni Benincasa, was a dyer by trade. Catherine
was the youngest and most beloved of all the children and was fair and
gay and graceful, but (unlike other children), visionary, solitary, and
strange. She had heard of Catherine of Alexandria and prayed that she
also might become the bride of Christ, and at eight years of age she
took secret vows of perpetual chastity.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA.—VANNI

(Church of San Domenico, Siena.)]

As she grew up her vigils and penances and love of solitude seemed
nonsensical to her parents, who desired her to marry. Angered by her
refusal, they treated her harshly, putting all sorts of menial duties
upon her, until her father, entering her chamber one day, found her
kneeling in prayer, and resting on her head was a snow-white dove. He
now saw that she was protected by the Holy Spirit, and believing in
her vocation he allowed her to go her own way. She was received in the
convent of St. Dominick as a penitent of the Third Order, but never
became a professed nun. She vowed herself to silence for three years,
practised all sorts of self-denials, going to the convent church every
day, where she had wonderful visions. Her charity to the poor was
boundless. She nursed the sick, no matter how repulsive the disease,
and converted by her eloquence so many wicked persons and unbelievers
that her fame spread through all of Italy.

When the Florentines were excommunicated by Pope Gregory VI. they
chose Catherine of Siena for their ambassador and mediator. She went
to Avignon, where the pope then resided, and displayed such discretion
and wisdom that the pope left it to her to decide the terms of peace.
It was by her influence and persuasions that the pope was induced
to return to Rome, and once more make the seat of government in the
Lateran. After the death of Gregory, in the Great Schism that followed,
she took the part of Urban VI., who appointed her his ambassador to
the court of Joanna II. of Naples. But in the midst of this her health
failed, and she died at thirty-three, worn out with fasting, labour,
and suffering.

It is related that while praying before a crucifix at Pisa she fell
into a trance and received the stigmata, which miracle she tried to
conceal, but it was known by many. Others assert it was not impressed
visibly on her body, but on her soul.

She would often pray for a new heart, and once, it is related, our
Saviour appeared to her in a vision, took her heart from her bosom and
replaced it with His own, and there remained a wound or scar on her
left side from that time. Her letters and writings are principally upon
devotional subjects, written in very pure Italian.

In art St. Catherine is distinguished by the Dominican habit and the
stigmata. She usually bears the lily. A book in her hand alludes to her
writings.

FOOTNOTES:

[9] “Dæmonology in all its multiplied forms was now an established part
of the Christian creed.” Milman’s _History of Christianity_, vol. iii.,
p. 299.

[10] See Appendix.

XX.—THE MONASTIC ORDERS

Mrs. Jameson says: “There is a Latin distich which well expressed the
different localities and sites affected by the chief Monastic Orders:

Bernardus valles, colles Benedictus, amabat,
Oppida Franciscus, magnas Ignatius urbes;

(Bernard loved valleys, Benedict the hills,
Francis, towns; Ignatius, great cities);

and we shall find almost uniformly the chief foundations of the
Benedictines on hills or mountains, those of the Cistercians in fertile
valleys by running streams, those of the Franciscans in provincial
towns, and those of the Jesuits in capital cities” (_Legends of the
Monastic Orders_).

The =Benedictines=, founded by St. Benedict and distinguished by a
habit entirely black. This order embraces the following branches of
reformed Benedictines:

The _Camaldolesi_, founded by St. Romualdo; habit, black.

The _Vallombrosans_, founded by St. John Gualberto; habit, pale ash
colour, or light grey.

The _Carthusians_, founded by St. Bruno; habit, white, sandalled feet,
and shaven heads.

The _Cistercians_, white habit, a long loose robe with very wide
sleeves, and a hood or cowl.

[Illustration:

Photo. Alinari

A VALLOMBROSAN MONK.—PERUGINO

(Academy, Florence.)]

The _Olivetani_, founded by St. Bernard dei Tolomei; habit, white.

The _Oratorians_, founded by St. Philip Neri; habit, black.

The word Abbey (_Ital._ Badia, Abbazia, _Fr._ Abbaye) belongs
especially to the foundations of this order.

In pictures painted for the Benedictine Orders, the saints most
frequently represented are St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica,
and his disciples St. Maurus, St. Placidus, and St. Flavia, who all
wear the black habit; except, when St. Benedict appears as patriarch of
any of the Reformed orders which adopted the white habit, he then wears
white. The black habit is also given to:

St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany.
St. Bennet, Bishop of Durham.
St. Benedict of Anian.
St. Bavon of Ghent.
St. Ildefonso of Toledo.
St. Giles of Languedoc.
St. Dunstan of Canterbury.
St. Walpurgis of Eichstadt.

St. Bernard is prominent in all the Cistercian abbeys and churches.
St. John Gualberto figures principally in Florentine art, or pictures
painted for the Vallombrosans.

The =Augustines= claim St. Augustine, one of the Four Latin Fathers, as
their founder, and wear the black habit. This order embraces:

The _Premonstratensians_, founded by St. Norbert; habit, brown or
black, with a white cloak.

The _Servi_, founded by St. Philip Benozzi; habit, black.

The _Trinitarians_,[11] founded by St. John de Matha; habit, white with
a blue and red cross on the breast.

The _Brigittines_, founded by St. Bridget of Sweden; habit, black.

The _Order of Mercy_, founded by St. Peter Nolasco; habit, white, and
the badge of the arms of the King of Aragon on the breast.

In the churches of the Augustines, one finds St. Augustine and his
mother Monica; St. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, whom the
Augustines reverence as their patriarch and patron saint; Joachim and
Anna; the apostles and saints of the earliest ages, and the hermits St.
Anthony and St. Paul; but next to St. Augustine their great saint is
St. Nicholas of Tolentino.

The =Mendicant Orders=: the =Franciscans=, the =Dominicans=, the
=Carmelites=. These monks were not called _Padri_, fathers, but
_Frati_, brothers of men, and so great was the humility of St. Francis
that he called his community _Frati Minori_, lesser brothers.

The =Franciscan Order=, founded by St. Francis of Assisi; the habit,
originally grey, was changed after the first two centuries to a dark
brown. The knotted cord around the waist was used symbolically by
St. Francis to represent the halter or bridle of a subdued beast, or
the body in subjection to the spirit. The reformed branches of the
Franciscans are:

The _Capuchins_, habit dark brown with a long, pointed hood.

The _Poor Clares_, Franciscan nuns, founded by St. Clara; grey or brown
habit and cord, and black veil.

The _Observants_, founded by St. Bernardino of Siena; grey habit and
cord.

The _Cordeliers_, brown habit.

The _Minimes_, founded by St. Francis de Paula; brown habit, short
scapulary with rounded ends, and the cord of St. Francis.

In pictures painted for any of the Franciscan churches or convents are
found, singly or in groups, their eight great saints, called in Italian
_I Cardini dell’Ordine Serafico_,” “The Chiefs of the Seraphic Order.”

_St. Francis, Padre Serafico_, patriarch and founder.

_St. Clara, Madre Serafica._

_St. Bonaventura, il Dottore Serafico_, the great prelate of the order.

_St. Anthony of Padua_, second only to St. Francis as a worker of
miracles.

_St. Bernardino of Siena_, their great reformer and preacher, and the
three royal saints, _St. Louis of France_; _St. Louis of Toulouse_; and
_St. Elizabeth of Hungary_ (wearing her crown, and with her lap full of
roses).

The =Dominican Order=: founded by St. Dominick; distinguished by a
white habit under a long black cloak with a hood. The Dominicans are
always shod. The Franciscans are generally barefoot or wear a wooden
sandal.

The four celebrated saints who figure in Dominican pictures are:

_St. Dominick_, founder and patriarch.

_St. Peter Martyr_, distinguished by the wound in his head.

_St. Thomas Aquinas_, who represents the learning of the order.

_St. Catherine of Siena_, the great female saint of the Dominican Order.

The =Carmelites= claim the prophet Elijah as patriarch and founder,
with the Virgin Mary as protectress. They were first formed into an
order by St. Albert of Vercelli. The habit is a dark brown, with a long
scapulary and a white mantle. The reformed branch, the _Scalzi_, or
barefooted Carmelites, was founded by St. Theresa.

The =Jeronymites= claim St. Jerome as founder.

The =Jesuits=, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola; habit, a straight black
cassock and square black cap.

The =Order of the Visitation of St. Mary= was founded by St. Francis de
Sales and Ste. Jeanne Françoise de Chantal (grandmother of Madame de
Sévigné).

FOOTNOTES:

[11] See Appendix.

APPENDIX

=Angels.= The Jewish belief in good and bad angels was probably
borrowed from Zoroastrianism during their exile. St. Paul speaks of
Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers (Col. i., 16),
and from this and a few other scriptural texts the imagination of the
early theologians arranged the angelic host into nine choirs—or three
hierarchies of three choirs each. To each of these were given fanciful
and mystical powers. The first hierarchy are the Councillors; to this
belong the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. The Seraphim—love—stand
nearest the throne of God, next come the Cherubim—knowledge,—and then
the Thrones who support the seat of the Most High. These receive their
glory direct from God and transmit it to the second who in turn shed
the radiance of divine light upon the third and lowest hierarchy.

The second hierarchy are governors, who reign over and control the
stars and the elements.

The third are the only ones that have concern with the earth. They are
the messengers of God, and the protectors and guardians of the children
of men.

A fourth century Byzantine manual gives the following directions to
painters according to the order laid down by Dionysius the Areopagite:

{ =Seraphim.= } Six wings covered with eyes.
{ }
{ =Cherubim.= } Head only, two wings.
1st { }
{ =Thrones.= } Fiery wheels surrounded by wings
{ } filled with eyes. The whole
{ } symbolising a royal throne.

{ =Dominations.= } These wear albs to feet, golden
{ =Virtues.= } girdles, and green stoles. Hold
2d { =Powers.= } a golden staff in right hand and
{ } seal of God in left.

{ =Principalities.= } In soldier’s garb, golden girdles,
3d { =Archangels.= } and holding lance-headed javelins
{ =Angels.= } in their hands.

The early artists followed the description of the Seraphim given in
Isa. vi., 2: “Each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face,
and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.”

In very old pictures and illuminated manuscripts, the hierarchies of
angels are represented by circles. The innermost circles, the Seraphim
and Cherubim, are commonly depicted with heads only, and with two,
four, or six wings. The Seraphim are the colour of red—fire, meaning
love. The Cherubim blue, the colour of the firmament or light, that
is, knowledge. In these representations of the celestial hierarchy the
Seraphim have the highest rank of all, and angels the lowest. Then
follow apostles, martyrs, confessors, and virgins.

Didron says that “the hierarchy thus figured in rose windows and
sculptured on vaulted roofs of cathedrals, exhibits in a palpable form
... the system of ethics and cosmogony embodied in the Hindu doctrine
of emanation.”

The angels in the architectural decoration of old Christian churches
have for their authority the Cherubim that adorned the temple of
Solomon (1 Kings vi., 23-29).

Angels are sometimes placed on winged and fiery wheels, to typify
extreme swiftness and buoyancy.

“The seven angels which stood before God” (Rev. viii., 2) are
occasionally represented in pictures of the Last Judgment and of
heaven, and can be recognised by their seven trumpets. These seven
archangels are thus defined:

1. =Michael= (“like unto God”), captain of the host of heaven and
protector of the Hebrews.

2. =Gabriel= (“whose strength is in God”), guardian of the heavenly
treasury, and Joseph the patriarch’s preceptor.

3. =Raphael= (the healing of God), chief guardian angel, and the leader
of Tobias.

4. =Uriel= (the light of God), who taught Esdras, explaining the
prophecies.

5. =Chamuel= (the wrath of God), who wrestled with Jacob.

6. =Jophiel= (the beauty of God), guardian of the tree of knowledge and
the same who drove Adam and Eve out of Paradise, and the preceptor of
the sons of Noah.

7. =Zadkiel= (the righteousness of God), who stayed the hand of Abraham
when about to sacrifice Isaac.

Only the names of the first four are given in the Bible, and these
four are seldom represented together except in architectural decoration.

=Badge of Trinitarians.= “His Holiness [Pope Innocent, III.] did
forthwith ratify the Order, and, by his command, they assumed the
white habit, having on the breast a Greek cross of red and blue; the
three colours signifying the Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity;
the white, the Father Eternal; the blue, which was the traverse of
the cross, the Son as Redeemer, and the red, the charity of the Holy
Spirit.”

=Basket.= Liberality to the poor.

=Bear.= Solitary life and self-restraint.

=Bee.= Originally a pagan symbol, the bee was adopted by the early
monks as a symbol of chastity and industry. Peter of Capua alludes
to the risen Saviour as _apis ætherea_. (In this connection it is
interesting to note that Vishnu incarnate as Krishna is represented
with a blue bee hovering about his head symbolising the ether.)
Chrysostom, Isidore of Seville, Ambrose, and Bernard of Clairvaux were
said to have lips flowing with honey (_mellifluus_) typifying their
eloquence. The virgin queen of the hive became a favourite type of the
Virgin Queen of Heaven. The bee is rarely found in art, however, but
is occasionally seen carved on tombs in the catacombs as a symbol of
immortality.

=Beehive.= Eloquence.

=St. Bernardino of Siena.= “So much was he affected by the mysteries of
the incarnation and sufferings of the Son of God that he could never
pronounce his sacred name without appearing in transports of love and
adoration. Often at the end of his sermon he showed to the people
the sacred name of Jesus curiously cut on a board with gold letters,
inviting them to adore Christ with him on their knees, reciting a pious
doxology.”[12]

=Christ= in early art was typified by Orpheus seated among beasts and
birds playing on a lyre.

=Fish=, the eucharistic significance of. As the water turned into wine
at the marriage of Cana was accepted by the early Church as symbolical
of the Eucharist, so the fish as a symbol of Christ had also a
eucharistic significance in commemoration of the miracle of the loaves
and fishes. An early symbol of the Eucharist found in the catacombs is
a cup containing three small loaves upon which are traced the cross.
Speaking of the multitude who were fed with five loaves and two fishes,
Paulinus of Nola says of Christ that “he himself is the true bread
and the fish of living water”—_panis ipse verus et aquæ vivæ piscis
Christus_. Eternal life and the Eucharist are inseparable ideas in the
Church. “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal
life and I will raise him up at the last day.” Prosper of Aquitane
speaks of Christ as “giving himself as food to the disciples by the
seashore and offering himself to the whole world as _Ichthus_.”

=Font.= According to Durandus the baptismal font in Christian churches
was made octagonal because creation was complete in seven days; thus
eight figured regeneration—the beginning anew.

=Hands, two.= In some paintings by the early Italian artists of the
Baptism of Christ _two_ hands are seen emerging from the clouds with
the dove proceeding from them (see illustration, page 79). Thus when
two hands crossed at the wrists are seen on certain houses and convents
in Italy it should typify the blessing and protection of the Eternal
Father.

=Horns=, symbol of strength, intelligence, and power. See Moses.

The =Lion= placed at the doors of churches as guardian of the sanctuary
was symbolical of spiritual vigilance, as the lion was believed never
to close its eyes in sleep. The lion, however, not only typified
Christ triumphing over death and hell (Rev. v., 5), but was used also
to typify the devil which “as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour” (1 Peter v., 8). Thus the lions used to support
pulpits in churches, as in Siena, Pisa, Lucca, and elsewhere in Italy,
represent Satan vanquished and subdued by the might of Christianity.
The same idea of triumphing over the powers of evil was intended to be
conveyed in the sculptured figures of deceased persons reclining on
tombs with their feet resting on a dragon, a lion, or a dog—the dog
being regarded by the Jew as the incarnation of the evil principle.
The Hebrew misconception of the character of the dog is a very curious
one and persists throughout the Bible, where he is rarely referred to
except in terms of contempt. The substitution of the Aryan for the
Semitic point of view, however, reversed the meaning of the symbolism
at a later period, when a lion at the feet of a man typified courage
and manly strength, and the dog at the feet of a woman indicated
fidelity and undying love.

The =Lizard= according to the _Physiologus_ when blind in old age
creeps into the crevice of a wall facing east and stretches out its
head to the rising sun whose beams restore its sight. Thus the lizard
represented in ecclesiastical architecture is a symbol of the healing
and illuminating effect of the gospel.

The =Magi=. “In the early art of the catacombs the three children of
Babylon refusing to worship the image of Nebuchadnezzar were often
associated with the three Magi who refused to obey Herod. It is not
improbable that the number of the Magi became fixed by this association
rather than by the gifts they bore of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Previous to the fourth century they were represented as two, four, and
in one case six. After that time they were invariably represented as
three.”[13]

=Majesty.= A term denoting pictures of Christ seated upon a throne and
surrounded by angels with the symbols of the four Evangelists and the
Greek letters Α and Ω, alpha and omega, signifying that Christ is the
beginning and the end of all things.

=Oran=, or =Orant=, designates the figures seen in the catacombs with
hands uplifted in prayer.

The =Ox= symbolises toil and patient renunciation.

The =Phœnix= in Egyptian religion was the embodiment of Ra the Sun
God. It was fabled to come out of Arabia every five hundred years to
Heliopolis, where it burned itself on the high altar in the Temple of
the Sun and rose again from its own ashes young and beautiful. This
pagan emblem of the resurrection and of immortality was adopted by the
Christians and is frequently found on early mosaics and sarcophagi and
carved on church stalls, where it is often associated with the pelican.

The =Sibyls=. There are numerous Sibyls but the Cumæan Sibyl of whom
Ovid and Virgil wrote is the most famous. According to a Roman legend
this Sibyl appeared to one of the Tarquins and offered him nine books
for sale. The king refused to buy them. She burned three and returned
with six, demanding the same price. Upon his second refusal she burned
three more and returning to the king again demanded the same price for
the three remaining. Puzzled, and curious at last, the king paid the
price and found them to contain the destinies of the Roman state. These
Sibylline books were for centuries the oracles of Rome.

=Tetramorph=, a figure which combines the four heads with wings and
fiery wheels described by Ezekiel (chap. x.). The same figure with six
wings denotes extreme swiftness, the wheels also winged.

=Three=, the number. According to Pythagoras three was the primal
perfect number and symbol of completeness. The cube of three being nine
was regarded by him as the extent to which numbers would go, all others
being comprehended by and revolving within it. The decade ten was
called by him “Heaven” as being the boundary of nine and forming as it
were a monad with which recommences a fresh series capable of infinite
expansion. The number three among Greeks and Romans had a mystic import
and later when the meaning was lost it was considered exceptionally
lucky, as were all uneven numbers.

=Tobias.= See Tobit, Apocrypha.

=Virgin of Pity.= The Madonna as “dispenser of mercy on earth” is
sometimes represented crowned, standing with outstretched arms from
which depends her mantle, the corners of which are upheld by angels,
while underneath its shelter kneel worshipping votaries of all ranks
and conditions—the rich, the poor, the lame and halt.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] Butler’s _Lives of the Saints_, vol. v., p. 369.

[13] _Christian Art and Archæology_, by Walter Lowrie.

SYMBOLS OF CERTAIN OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

THE PROPHETS

AMOS. A shepherd’s crook.

DANIEL. A lion. A ram with four horns. Sometimes naked with hands
outstretched and a lion on each side.

EZEKIEL. A turreted gateway, in his hand a plan of the New Jerusalem.

ISAIAH. A saw. Clothed in a sack. St. Matthew on shoulder.

JEREMIAH. A wand in his hand.

JOEL. Lions around him.

OBADIAH. Pitcher of water and loaves.

ZECHARIAH. A temple building. A stone covered with eyes.

THE PATRIARCHS

ABRAHAM. A knife and brazier of fire.

ADAM. A spade.

DAVID. Harp. Sling of stones. Head of Goliath.

ELIJAH. Scroll and red robes. Fiery chariot. Sword.

ELISHA. Two-headed eagle on shoulder.

GIDEON. Fleece of wool.

JOSEPH. Purse.

MELCHIZEDEK. Priest and king.

MOSES. Tablets of the Law. A rod. Horns of light. Burning bush. A rock.
Some modern writers claim that the horns given to Moses by artists
and sculptors grew out of an error in the translation of the ancient
Hebrew, the early translators describing Moses in his descent from
Sinai as _facies cornuta_ (“his face was horned”) instead of “his face
shone.” Other writers, however, assert that among all peoples, horns
have symbolised power; that the Israelites, fresh from the land of
bondage, familiar with horns upon the heads of Egyptian gods, would
readily believe that Moses had miraculously received the mark of
divinity and kingly power. That he really descended with solid horns
upon his head was devoutly believed down to the middle ages.

NOAH. Ark. Dove with olive branch. An oar.

SAMSON. Gates of city. Jaw bone of an ass.

SETH. Three seeds of the tree of life. A thread bound thrice around
thumb.

INDEX

Abbey, 277.

Abraham, 290.

Adam, 290.

Adoration of Magi, 105.

Adoration of Shepherds, 104.

Agatha, St., her legend, 229.

Agnes, St., her legend, 226.

Ambrose, St., 182.

Amos, 290.

Anachronisms, 65.

Anchor, 73.

Andrew, St., Apostle, 153.

Angels, 281.

Anna, St., Legend of Joachim and Anna, 91.

Anna, prophetess, 109.

Anthony, St., Hermit, 240.

Anthony, St., of Padua, 258.

Apostles, the twelve, 146.

Apparition of Christ to His mother, 116.

Apple, symbol of, 75.

Archangels, 81.

Arrow, 72.

Ascension, 119.

Ass and Ox, Symbol of, 103.

Assumption of the Virgin, 119.

Augustine, St., 184.

Augustines, The, 277.

Aureole, 67.

Banner, or Standard, 73.

Barbara, St., 212.

Barnabas, St., 167.

Bartholomew, St., 161.

Basket, 284.

Bear, 284.

Bee, 284.

Beehive, 284.

Bell, 75.

Benedict, St., 244.

Benedictines, The, 275.

Bernard, St., of Clairvaux, 248.

Bernardino, St., of Siena, 264, 284.

Birds, as symbols, 88.

Bonaventura, St., 260.

Book, symbol of, 75, 87.

Brandeum, Legend of, 190.

Brigittines, 278.

Camaldolesi, 275.

Cana, Marriage at, 113.

Capuchins, 278.

Carmelites, 280.

Carthusians, 275.

Catherine, St., of Alexandria, 209.

Catherine, St., of Siena, 272.

Cecilia, St., 223.

Chalice, as emblem, 74.

Chamuel, 283.

Christ, Symbols of, 78, 285.

Christopher, St., 196.

Cistercians, 276.

Clara, St., 256.

Colours, Significance of, 76.

Cordeliers, 278.

Coronation of the Virgin, 121, 123.

Cosmo and Damian, Sts., 200.

Creed, Apostles’, 146.

Cross, Different forms of, 69.

Crown, as symbol, 71.

Crucifix, 76, 125-126.

Crucifixion, 114.

Daniel, 290.

David, 290.

Deposition, 116.

Descent from Cross, 115.

Devotional representations of the Virgin, 122.

Dispute in Temple, 111.

Doctors, Four, of the Church, 177.

Dominicans, 279.

Dominick, St., 266.

Dove, as emblem, 74, 88.

Dragon, symbol of, 70.

Dress, of Virgin, 76, 89.

Elijah, 290.

Elisha, 290.

Elizabeth, St., 100.

Entombment, 116.

Evangelists, Four, 137.

Ezekiel, 290.

Fathers, Four Latin, 177.

Fire and flames, 73.

Fish, emblem of Christ, 68, 285.

Flaming heart, 75.

Flight into Egypt, 109.

Flowers and fruit, 75.

Font, 285.

Francis, St., of Assisi, 252.

Franciscans, 278.

Gabriel, St., the Archangel, 84.

George, St., of Cappadocia, 191.

Gideon, 290.

Globe, 87.

Glory, 67.

God, the Father, Symbols of, 78.

Gregory, St., the Great, Legends of, 187.

Hands, two, 285.

Hart, 71.

Hind, 71.

Historical and devotional subjects, 64.

Holy Family, 112.

Holy Ghost, Symbols of, 78.

Horns, 286.

Immaculate Conception, 126.

Isaiah, 290.

James, St., the Great, 156.

James Minor, St., 163.

Jeremiah, 290.

Jerome, St., 177.

Jeronymites, 280.

Jesuits, 280.

Joachim, St., Legend of, 91.

Joel, 290.

John the Baptist, St., 134.

John the Evangelist, St., 142.

Jophiel, 283.

Joseph, 291.

Joseph, St., Marriage of, 94;
Death of, 113.

Judas Iscariot, 165.

Jude, St., 164.

Lamb, 70.

Lamp, 73.

Lance, 72.

Lantern, 73.

Last Supper, 175.

Latin Fathers, Four, 177.

Laurence, St., 235.

Lily, symbol of, 74.

Lion, as emblem, 70, 286.

Lizard, 287.

Louis, St., of France, 262.

Louis, St., of Toulouse, 263.

Lucy, St., 231.

Luke, St., the Evangelist, 141.

Madonna, Legends of, 91-121;
Symbols of, 86-88.

Magi, Adoration of, 105, 287.

Majesty, 287.

Margaret, St., 220.

Mark, St., the Evangelist, 140.

Marriage of Virgin, 94.

Mary Magdalene, St., 169.

Mater Amabilis, 132.

Mater Dolorosa, 125.

Matthew, St., 138.

Matthias, St., 165.

Melchizedek, 291.

Mendicant Orders, 278.

Michael, St., the Archangel, 81.

Minimes, 279.

Monastic Orders, 275.

Moses, 291.

Mysteries, Fifteen, of the rosary, 89.

Nativity, of the Virgin, 92;
of Christ, 102.

Nicholas, St., of Myra, 205.

Nimbus, 67.

Noah, 291.

Obadiah, 290.

Observants, 278.

Olive, as symbol, 74.

Olivetani, 276.

Oran or Orant, 287.

Oratorians, 276.

Order of Mercy, 278.

Orders, religious, 275.

Ox. _See_ Ass, symbol of, 287.

Palm, as emblem, 73.

Passion of our Lord, 114.

Paul, St., Apostle, 152.

Paul, St., Hermit, 241.

Peacock, 71.

Pelican, 70.

Peter, St., 148.

Peter Martyr, St., 268.

Philip, St., 159.

Phœnix, 287.

Pietà, 126.

Pomegranate, as emblem, 75, 88.

Poor Clares, 278.

Preaching Friars. _See_ Dominicans.

Precious stones, symbols of, in sacred art, 76.

Premonstratensians, 277.

Presentation of the Virgin, 92.

Procession to Calvary, 114.

Purification of the Virgin, 108.

Raphael, St., the Archangel, 84.

Repose of Holy Family, 110.

Roch, St., 202.

Rosary, Institution of. _See_ St. Dominick, 268.

Rosary. _See_ Mysteries.

Rose, symbol of Virgin, 87.

Saints frequently found in art, Legends of, 234.

Saints and Symbols, 30-63.

Samson, 291.

Scourge, as symbol, 74.

Sebastian, St., 194.

Serpent, 70, 88.

Servi, 277.

Seth, 291.

Seven joys. _See_ Sorrows.

Shell, 75.

Ship, emblem of, 73.

Sibyl, Tiburtina, Prophecy of, 102.

Sibyls, 288.

Simeon, Prophecy of, 108.

Simon Zelotes, St., 164.

Skull, 75.

Sorrows, Seven, of the Virgin, 89.

Spasimo, lo, 114.

Sposalizio, 94.

Square, 68.

Star, symbol of Virgin, 86.

Stephen, St., 234.

Sudarium, 62.

Sun, 86.

Sword, as emblem, 72.

Symbols, general, 67-75;
of saints, 1-29;
of the Virgin, 86-88.

Tetramorph, 288.

Thomas, St., 161.

Thomas Aquinas, St., 270.

Three, 288.

Triangle, emblem of, 68.

Trinitarians, 277;
badge of, 284.

Trinity, Holy, Symbols of, 80.

Unicorn, 75.

Uriel, 283.

Ursula, St., 214.

Vallombrosans, 275.

Vincent, St., 237.

Virgin Martyrs, Four, of the Latin Church, 223.

Virgin Mary, Legends of, 91-121;
Symbols of, 86-88.

Virgin Patronesses, 208.

Visitation, 100.

Visitation of St. Mary, Order of, 280.

Votive Pictures, 65, 130.

Zacharias, 134.

Zadkiel, 283.

Zechariah, 290.

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