hand, the Divine seal marked by the monogram of Jesus Christ. In the left hand, a long staff terminating in a little cross. Feet richly shod, like those of angels on the reliquary of Limbourg. The following inscription runs all round this cupola, from base to frontal. It is, in a manner, a résumé of that which has been already given in detail: οἱ ἀμφὶ τὸν πρώτιστον νοῦν τὴν τριάδα νόες δεύτεροι "May the secondary spirits which surround the primary Spirit, the Trinity, working in a threefold manner, deliver the triple part of my spirit from the three passions, as is right for those who adore the Trinity." At the same Monastery of Ivirôn, in the church of the Ilavayia Пopraiτwooa, that is to say, of the Virgin Portress, or virgin guardian of the door, the angels who surround this Virgin are, on the one hand, Seraphim with six wings, named Εξαπτέρες, but without feet; on the other Πολυόμματα, Thrones, circles of five with four wings filled with eyes. In the great church of the same Convent of Ivirôn, named Ilavayías Koiunois, "Death of the Virgin," the porch, which is entirely painted over, shows in the vault the nine choirs of angels surrounding Jesus Christ, whose golden and cruciform nimbus is marked with O ON. Their names not being inscribed and their attributes being almost the same in all, it is not possible to define them. There are only two choirs more clearly defined than in the Church of the Archangels, the one being that of the Thrones, the other that of the Angels, properly so called. The Thrones are crowned as kings; they are clothed in long robe and mantle. They hold in the left hand a long sceptre or baton, with floriate termination; in the right hand a staff, with a cartel, banner, square, and flat, on which may be read: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of Thy glory." As to the angelic choir, it is represented by a crowd of two-winged angels, in soldiers' dress, with casque, cuirass, and shod in buskins, holding a floriate sceptre, and in the left, a staff with square banner on which we may read : "Holy, holy, holy! We seem now to have said enough upon all these Greek angels, still so imperfectly defined, notwithstanding the laws laid down by St. Dionysius the Areopagite; endowed with attributes too similar to allow of our distinguishing one from another without risk of error; baptised by names which have synonymous names, and which are borne by diverse choirs. In addition we still have to treat of the hierarchy of Latin angels and enlarge on this subject, but before doing so we must pass in review those angels executed in Latin churches under evidently Byzantine influence, and our remarks on this Romano-Byzantine hierarchy will serve to clear up what is still obscure about the nine choirs of the Greeks.* ["In his character of Messenger," writes Mrs. Jameson, "the Greeks represented John with large wings,_of which there are many examples in Byzantine art. For instance, in a Greek ivory diptych, in which he stands thus winged, with his head in a dish (charger) at his feet. In another instance, a picture half-length, he has large wings, and holds his own head in his hand." A somewhat similar representation of this figure is given at page 70, Vol. I. of this work, from a fresco painting in the Convent of Kaisariani on Mount Hymettus. The Greek Church translates literally the words of St. Mark: “Behold I send my angel before thy face (i. 2). In the West, where the spirit is more regarded than the letter, St. John has a nimbus, but the wings are dispensed with. In this illustration the angel-saint holds his cross and scroll in the left hand while giving benediction with the right, and on the scroll is written: ποιήσατε κάρπους ἀξίους μετανοίας. "Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance." The place of John in the hierarchy of angels is among the Dominations, as has been indicated in the extract from St. Dionysius given above (see p. 104) in the description of the Hierarchy in the church of Ivirốn. Wingless angels with feet firmly planted on the ground are seen occasionally in Western art. Thus in a manu * M. Didron did not live to carry out this portion of his work, and the following account of the Iconography of Angels is extracted and condensed from his essays on the subject in the Annales Archéologiques, vol. xi. pp. 346, 362; xii. p. 168; xviii. p. 72. script of the eleventh century, in the Bibliothèque Nationale, M. C. Bayet * has found an illustration of the Repose of Christ, where the Saviour is represented reclining on a couch, with fifty-seven angels and seraphs standing in serried ranks behind, none of whom have wings. Piero della Francesca also, in his Presepio, in the National Gallery of London, paints the noble forms of five wingless angels, who have walked across the hills to sing their simple hymn in the stable at Bethlehem (see Fig. 154).†] *See L'Art Byzantin. C. Bayet, p. 163. † N.B. The portions of this work enclosed in brackets are by the Editor. ICONOGRAPHY OF DEVILS. The Iconography of Lucifer and the rebellious angels should follow that of the Hierarchy of Heaven. The origin of these images is traceable to the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus in Isaiah we read, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the Morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit upon the Mount of the Congregation" (xiv. 12, 13). "The following illustration," says M. de Challemel, "shows Lucifer before his fall.* It is drawn from the MS. entitled 'Hortus deliciarum,' formerly in the library of Strasburg, which was written and painted for the Convent of * See La France Littéraire, vols. ii., iii. "Hist. du Diable." St. Odilius in Alsace. Strength and pride are the characteristics of this figure, standing with globe and sceptre, as one who would make himself equal to God. In another manuscript,*Bible historiée of the 13th century,' Lucifer is represented as irreverently seated in the presence of God, in illustration of the words I will sit also upon the Mount of the Congregation.' These are the only instances we have met with as yet of Lucifer before the fall." There is a manuscript in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, in Paris, No. 1186, called the Breviary of St. Louis, on the fly-leaf of which is inscribed, "C'est le psautier Monseigneur Saint Loys . . . lequel fu à sa mêre." The following illustration of the fall of Lucifer is taken from this breviary, and it adds no little to the interest of this miniature that it is found in a prayer-book of the celebrated Queen Blanche of Castille (A.D. 1220 to 1252), and was possibly given by her to St. Louis of France, when a youth under her careful guardianship. The painter of this miniature appears to have closely followed the instructions of the Byzantine painter's guide :— "Heaven. Christ seated as King on a throne, holding the Gospel open at the words: 'I have seen Satan like lightning fall from heaven.' A multitude of angels stand around in great fear. Michael is in the midst; on his scroll is written, 'Let us stand in awe and here adore the King our God.' Mountains are beneath, and a great gulf in which is written: TARTARUS. Lucifer and all his army fall from heaven. Above the forms [of his angels] are very beautiful; at a lower point they change to angels of darkness; lower still they are darker and blacker; below that again they are half demons, half angels; and finally they are all black and hideous demons. At the bottom, and under all the others, in the midst of the abyss -Lucifer, blackest and most terrible of all, lies prostrate on the ground, looking upwards." Thus in this illustration the forms of Lucifer's army, just falling out of heaven where the Lord is seated amidst His adoring host, are angelic still. They have the nimbus, wings and robes of prismatic colours, red, blue, green, etc., on a golden ground. But the features are already * See History of Our Lord in Art, Introd. vol. i. p. 56, where Lady Eastlake gives engraved facsimile of this figure. |