The LION & the CARDINAL

INCHOATE MONSTERS of the TERTIARY AGE

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 23:21:42 -0600

Emile Mâle:

What can be the meaning of the long-necked gargoyles which howl there in the heights, and which if not held by their massive stone wings would swoop down, making in their flight an appalling outline against the sky? No age or race has conceived more terrible spectres, partly wolf, partly caterpillar, partly bat, yet with a strange and horrible appearance of reality. Some of them lie forgotten in a garden behind Notre Dame at Paris where time is rapidly completing their destruction. They might as well be some inchoate monsters of the tertiary age which growing less and less are about to disappear.

The fact is that conceptions of this kind are of essentially popular origin. The gargoyles, like churchyard vampires, or like the dragons subdued by ancient bishops, came from the depths of the people's consciousness, and had grown out of their ancient fireside tales. The powerful and sombre side of mediaeval genius found expression in these memories of their forefathers, echoes of a vanished world.

[The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the 13th Century by Emile Mâle, translated by Dora Nussey. Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1958]

The photographs are of gargoyles on the Cathedral at Amiens.

ST. BLAISE

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 23:14:22 -0600

His life, according to the Golden Legend of James of Voragine, as Englished by William Caxton.

PRESENTATION of OUR LORD

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:42:53 -0600

Its significance, explained in the Golden Legend of James of Voragine, as Englished by William Caxton.

Sequence by Adam of St. Victor:

Templum cordis adornemus;
Novo corde renovemus
Novum senis gaudium,
Quod dum ulnis amplexatur,
Sic longaevi recreatur
Longum desiderium.

Stans in signum populorum,
Templum luce, laude chorum,
Corda replens gloria,
Templo puer praesentatus,
Post in cruce vir oblatus,
Pro peccatis hostia.

Hinc Salvator, hinc Maria,
Puer pius, mater pia,
Moveant tripudium!
Sed cum votis perferatur
Opus lucis, quod signatur
Luce luminarium.

Verbum Patris lux est vera,
Virginalis caro cera,
Christi splendens cereus;
Cor illustrat ad sophiam,
Qua virtutis rapit viam,
Vitiis erroneus,

Christum tenens per amorem,
Bene juxta festi morem,
Gestat lumen cereum,
Sicut senex Verbum Patris
Votis, strinxit pignus matris
Brachiis corporeum.

Gaude, mater genitoris,
Simplex intus, munda foris,
Carens ruga, macula;
A dilecto praeelecta,
Ab electo praedilecta
Deo muliercula!

Omnis decor tenebrescit,
Deformatur et horrescit
Tuum intuentibus:
Omnis sapor amarescit,
Reprobatur et sordescit
Tuum praegustantibus.

Omnis odor redolere
Non videtur, sed olere
Tuum odorantibus:
Omnis amor aut deponi
Prorsus solet, aut postponi
Tuum nutrientibus,

Decens maris luminare,
Decus matrum singulare,
Vera parens veritatis,
Via vitae pietatis,
Medicina saeculi;
Vena vini fontis vitae,
Sitienda cunctis rite,
Sano dulcis et languenti,
Salutaris fatiscenti
Confortantis poculi!

Fons signate
Sanctitate,
Rivos funde,
Nos infunde;
Fons hortorum
Internorum,
Riga mentes
Arescentes
Unda tui rivuli:
Fons redundans
Sis inundans;
Cordis prava
Quaeque lava;
Fons sublimis,
Munde nimis,
Ab immundo
Munda mundo
Cor immundi populi. Amen.

Englished by Digby S. Wrangham:

Let us, the heart's shrine preparing
With a heart renewed be sharing
In the old man's joy again,
Joy, which, held in his embraces,
So his long-felt heart's wish raises
Once more in the long-lived man.

Set an ensign for the nations,
Shrine with light, song with laudations,
Hearts with glory filleth He;
Now a child for presentation,
When a man, a sin-oblation
On the Cross for sin to be!

Saviour! here, here, Mary lowly!
Holy Son and mother holy!
Move us all to glad delight
By that work of light perfected,
Which we now, for prayer collected,
Image with our tapers bright!

The true light the Word from heaven,
Virgin's flesh the wax, hath given
To Christ's candle, bright as day,
Which to hearts that wisdom showeth.
Through which virtue's path he knoweth.
Who by sin is led astray.

As one, love t'ward Jesus bearing,
In this festal custom sharing.
Doth a waxen taper hold,
So the Father's Word supernal,
Pledge of purity maternal.
Did old Simeon's arms enfold.

Joy thou, who thy Father barest!
Pure within, without the fairest!
From all spot or wrinkle free!
Pre-elect of the Belovèd!
By the Elect of old approvèd!
Darling of the Deity!

Beauty of all kinds seems clouded,
Sore defaced and horror-shrouded.
When we see thy beauty shine:
Bitter groweth every savour,
Hateful and of filthy flavour,
After we have tasted thine.

Every scent the sweetest smelling
Seems not sweet, but most repelling,
When thy scents our nostrils fill;
Love of all kinds is rejected
Instantly, or else neglected,
Whilst thy love we cherish still.

Lovely light o'er ocean's waters!
Mother, peerless 'mongst earth's daughters!
Parent true of truth immortal!
Way of life to grace's portal!
Medicine all the world to heal!
Duct of wine from life's fount bursting.
For which all men should be thirsting!
Sweet to those in health or sickness!
Health to all, who in sore weakness
For its cheering draught appeal!

Fountain duly
Sealed as holy!
Outpour for us
Rivers o'er us:
Fount of showers
For hearts' flowers!
Water ever
From thy river
To all thirsting souls impart:
Fount o'erflowing!
Through hearts going,
Grant ablution
From pollution:
Fountain, given
Pure from heaven!
From earth, wholly
Impure, throughly
Purify man's impure heart! Amen.

ST. BRIGID of KILDARE

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:36:24 -0600

Her life, according to Oengus the Culdee.

Fragment of an abecedarian hymn by Ultan of Ardbraccan:

Xps in nostra insula quae vocatur Hibernia
Ostensus est hominibus maximis mirabilibus
Quae perfecit per felicem coelestis vitae virginem
Precellentem pro merito magno in mundi circulo.

Ymnus iste angelicae summaeque Sanctae Brigitae
Fari non valet omnia virtutum mirabilia
Quae nostris nunquam auribus si sint facta audivimus
Nisi per istam Virginem Mariae sanctae similem.

Zona sanctae militiae sanctos lumbos praecingere
Consueuit diurno nocturno quoque studio
Consummato certamine sumpsit palmam victoriae
Refulgens magno splendore ut sol in coeli culminae.

Audite virginis laudes sancta quoque merita
Perfectionem quam promisit viriliter impleunt
Xpi matrem se spopondit dictus et fecit factis
Brigita aut amata veri Dei regina. Englished by Mary Francis Cusack:

Christ in our isle was shown to men,
By Brigit's saintly life;
Excelling all who came before,
She conquered in the strife.

Like her no other saint was found,
But Jesu's mother blest;
Her virtues and her wondrous fame
Can never be expressed.

With holy fervour girdled round,
The victor's palm she gains;
And like the glorious sun above,
In heaven refulgent reigns.

Then listen to this virgin's praise:
To Christ she gave her vow,
Faithful she kept it; her reward
Is reigning with Him now.

CRAFTSMEN of OBERAMMERGAU

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:50:03 -0600

LIFE Magazine, 1947:

GOLDEN MADONNA of ESSEN

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:50:34 -0600

Echo Germanica:

The Golden Madonna, so called because it is draped with a [1/100 inch] thick layer of gold, is the oldest known sculpture of the Virgin Mary in Western Europe. It was commissioned by Abbess Mathilde of Essen in 990, when the city consisted of little more than a cloister for unmarried noblewomen and the craftspeople they helped support. The Golden Madonna is the centrepiece of the Essen cathedral’s extensive collection of medieval art, much of which was acquired through the cloister’s close connections with the German imperial families.

ST. HEDWIG GLASS

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:50:54 -0600

Encyclopaedia Britannica:

Egyptian-made glass of the 11th or 12th century, of which only 12 known examples exist; they are among the last cut glass produced in the East. Their designs of stylized lions and griffins among palm leaves are cut in high relief, a technique derived from rock-crystal cutting. Carried to Europe by returning crusaders, these glasses often became the property of Western churches. Their name derives from St. Hedwig, patron saint of Silesia, who... performed a wine miracle in one of these glasses. Another glass - once belonging to St. Elizabeth [of Hungary] and later given to Martin Luther - was said to give strength to women in labour when they drank from it.

CHARLES the GREAT

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:35:54 -0600

His life, according to Einhard, and according to a monk of St. Gall.

Sequence for the Feast:

Urbs Aquensis urbs regalis
Regni sedes principalis
Prima regum curia.
Regi regum pange laudes
Que de magni Regis gaudes
Caroli memoria.

Iste coetus psallat laetus,
Psallat chorus hic sonorus
Vocali concordia.
Ac dum manus operatur
Bonum quod cor meditatur,
Dulcis est psalmodia.

Hac in die, die festa
Magni regis, magna gesta
Recolat Ecclesia.
Reges terre et omnes populi
Omnes plaudant simul ac singuli
Celebri laetitia.

Hic est Christi miles fortis,
Hic invicte dux cohortis
Ducum sternit milia.
Terram purgit lolio
Atque metit gladio
Ex messe zizania.

Hic est magnus imperator,
Boni fructus bonus sator
Et prudens agricola.
Infideles hic convertit,
Phana deos hic evertit
Et confringit ydola.

Hic superbos domat reges,
Hic regnare sacras leges
Facit cum iustitia.
Quam tuetur eo fine
Ud et iustus sed nec sine
Sit misericordia.

Oleo laetitiae
Unctus dono gratiae
Caeteris prae regibus.
Cum corona gloriae,
Majestatis regiae
Insignitur fascibus.

O rex mundi triumphator,
Jhesu Christi conregnator,
Sis pro nobis exorator,
Sancte pater Carole.
Emundati a peccatis
Ut in regno claritatis
Nos plebs tua cum beatis
Caelis simus incole.

Stella maris, o Maria,
Mundi salus, vitae via,
Vacillantum rege gressus,
Et ad Regem des accessus
In perenni gloria.
Christe, splendor Dei Patris
Incorrupte fili matris
Per hunc sanctum, cuius festa
Celebramus, nobis praesta
Sempiterna gaudia. Amen.

Englished by Dom Laurence Shepherd:

O city of Aix! City of royalty I seat of princely power, and favourite court of kings!

O thou that so joyously celebratest the memory of King Charles the Great, sing thy praises to the King of kings.

Let this glad assembly give forth its hymns, and this sweet choir of music sing as with one voice of praise.

O sweet the psalmody, when the hand achieves the holy meditation of the heart!

On this festive day, let the Church proclaim the great deeds of the great King.

Let the kings of the earth and the people, let all and each, praise him with a holiday of joy.

This is the brave soldier of Christ, the leader of the invincible army, and he prostrates his enemies by tens of thousands.

He weeds the earth of its cockle, and with his sword cleanses the harvest from the tares.

This is the great Emperor, the good sower of the good seed, the prudent husbandman.

He converts infidels, he overthrows the temples, and the false gods, and breaks the idols.

He subdues haughty kings, he establishes the reign of holy laws and justice.

He defends the right, for he loves justice; but he tempers justice by mercy.

He is anointed with the oil of gladness, and with grace, above all other kings.

He wears the crown of glory, he is decked with all the emblems of kingly majesty.

O King that didst triumph over the world! O King that now reignest with Christ! O Charles! O sainted father! pray for us,

That we thy people, being cleansed from our sins, may be made fellow-citizens with the blessed in the kingdom of heaven.

O Mary! Star of the Sea! that didst give to the world its Saviour and its Life! guide our faltering steps, and lend us to Jesus our King, in everlasting bliss.

O Jesus! Brightness of the Eternal Father! Son of the Virgin-Mother! we beseech thee, by the merits of the Saint whose Feast we celebrate, grant us to come to everlasting joy. Amen.

SHEELA-NA-GIG

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:52:39 -0600

Ina May Gaskin:

Historians and archaeologists have long been fascinated about the meaning of the sheela-na-gig figures of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England and other parts of Europe... My idea is that this figure was probably meant to reassure young women about the capabilities of their bodies in birth. Ellen Prendergast, in an article written for an Irish historical journal, remarked: After a lifetime's awareness of such figures I am convinced their significance lies in the sphere of fertility, and that what is depicted... is the act of giving birth.

Whether Ms. Prendergast and I are right or not, I can testify that a sheela-na-gig figure can be a great help at birth. As you can see, the vulva of the crouching figure is open enough to accommodate her own head. Such a sight is quite encouraging to a woman in labor.

[Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. Bantam Books: New York, 2003]

VELENJE PANELS

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:51:27 -0600

National Gallery of Slovenia:

The panels are a remnant of the wings of a Late Gothic altar of the Holy Cross. In the central part of the altar was a painted, or more probably a sculpted group of the Crucifixion: on the inner (festive) side of the wings were scenes of Christ’s suffering, two of which are in the Narodna Galerija in Ljubljana, and two in Vienna. That these are really the festive sides is indicated by the gold background. On the working-day, outer side of the wings were scenes of the Finding of the Cross, of which only two are preserved in the Narodna Galerija, while the scene of the unearthing and the recognition of the True Cross (when touched by the Cross, a dead man rises again) and perhaps also the fourth scene, of the entry into Jerusalem of the emperor Heraclius with the Cross, which he had torn from the hands of the Persians, are missing. The panels, which were once painted on both sides, were later sawn up so as to make two out of one; the external pictures of the Viennese panels, with the legend of Saint Helen, have unfortunately been lost. Furthermore, all the panels were painted over a number of times.

In the first panel below, Pontius Pilate has the visage of Vlad the Impaler.