A subject closely resembling this, but treated in a very inferior manner, is to be seen in an illuminated manu Fig. 148. THE TRINITY IN ONE GOD, SUPPORTING THE WORLD. not devoid of interest in itself: "Buonamico Buffamalco painted four frescoes in the Campo Santo. In these compositions we see represented the creation of the universe, in which the Father Almighty is depicted as five cubits in script. God is the centre of nine concentric circles, seven of which are of flame: he holds in his right hand the compasses, with which he measures the extent of the world; and in his left the balance in which it is weighed. It answers to the well-known text in the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, "Omnia in mensurâ, et numero, et pondere disposuisti" (chap. xi.). Number is shown by the nine mystical circles surrounding God, measure by the compasses, and weight by the balance. For these reasons the globe is constantly placed in the hands of the Trinity, and sometimes also beneath their feet, as in the admirable manuscript of Anne de Bretagne, preserved in the Bibliothèque Royale. At about two-thirds from the commencement of this beautiful book, is a picture of God the Father, in the habiliments of a Pope, with a long white beard, a disk-like nimbus encircling the head, a snowwhite alb, green stole, and a red cope, adorned with orfray and historiated decorations with figures in gold, and the feet covered with golden slippers; the three fingers of the right hand are extended, in the act of benediction. On the left is Jesus Christ, in a brown robe, a red mantle, his head height, raising the grand machine of the sky and the elements. Below this picture, two angles of which are occupied by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, Buonamico wrote in capital letters (Majuscules) a sonnet explanatory of the subject, which is here inserted, as it will give some idea of the amount of scientific knowledge generally possessed at that period." Buffamalco died in 1340, aged 68. The following sonnet is that written below his painting :"Voi che avvisate questa dipintura Di Dio piè, toso sommo creatore "In nove gradi angelica natura In ello empirio ciel pien di splendore "Levate gli occhi del vostro intelletto Per questo mondo si vede la gloria, Lo basso, ed il mezzo, e l' alto in questa storia." bare, and crowned with thorns. He holds in his left hand the Cross of the Resurrection, the triumphal Cross, usually borne aloft in processions. His beard is red, and the nimbus Fig. 149.– THE TRINITY IN ONE SINGLE GOD, HOLDING THE BALANCES AND From an Italian Miniature of the XIII cent.* * The above drawing is taken from the Psalterium cum Figuris, a manuscript of the twelfth century, with Italian miniatures of the twelfth and thirteenth. The miniature from which this drawing is taken appears to be of the latter period. resembles a disk: there are no wounds in the hands, and on the feet are shoes like those worn by the Father. The feet of both the Father and the Son rest upon a globe, in the upper part of which shine the sun, the moon, and the stars, while below undulate the waves of the sea, which is ploughed by vessels; in the intermediate space, rise towns surrounded by verdant meadows. Between the heads of the Father and the Son is the Holy Ghost, as a white dove with a red beak and outstretched wings: he wears a disk-like nimbus. This Holy Trinity is painted on a gold ground, and is enframed in an oval aureole completely bordered with clouds. In the four corners, on the outside of this luminous aureole, are the four evangelical attributes turning towards the Trinity, and each holding a scroll, on which is written, “Mattheus homo, Johannes avis, Marcus leo, Lucas vitulus." The symbols of the Evangelists are of azure, slashed with gold: all are winged, but without any nimbus. The Father and the Son support between them a large open book, on which is written 66 'Ego sum alpha et O. principium et finis." In fact, next to the globe, the attribute most constantly seen in the hands of the Trinity, is the book of life, the Bible. The drawing copied from the "Cité de Dieu " (Fig. 143) has furnished an example of this description. On that book, in addition to the preceding inscription, which is that most commonly seen, are others of analogous signification. Ego sum qui sum," Rex regum," 66 * In another manuscript in the Bibliothèque Royale (No. 886) also cotemporaneous with Anne de Bretagne, there is a Trinity resembling that described above. It is at about the middle of the manuscript; the Trinity is in an aureole of gold circumscribed by a circlet of blue clouds. The Father is represented as a Pope, with white hair and beard, and about sixty or seventy years of age, the "Ancient of Days." The Son, on his right hand, is in a violetcoloured robe with a reddish cope, his head uncovered, but crowned with thorns. Upon his feet are shoes resembling those worn by the Father, red slippers with golden ligatures; he is about thirty or thirty-five years of age. Between these two figures, and about on a level with their foreheads, is the Holy Ghost, in the form of a snow-white dove with wings outspread. The Father and Son hold between them an open book, on which written : "Sancta Trinitas, Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus. Ego sum alpha et O." The book has seven golden clasps, symbolising the seven Apocalyptic seals. "Dominus dominantium." The greater number of those already given, as seen in the Book of Jesus Christ, are likewise inserted in the Book of the Trinity.* The Byzantine manuscript dedicates to these inscriptions an article as follows: INSCRIPTIONS FOR THE TRINITY. The Father Eternal-The Ancient of Days. The Holy Ghost-He who proceeds from the Father. "In representing the Father and the Son with Scrolls, unrolled, write on the scroll of the Father, 'I begot thee before Lucifer;' or else, 'Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.' On the Gospel, in the hand of the Son, write, Oh Holy Father, I have glorified thee on the earth, I have declared thy name unto men;' or else, 'I and my Father are one; I am in the Father, and the Father in me.'"+ *A Romanesque enamel, of the twelfth century, in the collection of M. Didier Petit, of Lyons, represents God seated on a rainbow, and surrounded by an undulating edge of clouds. This figure of God performs, with the right hand, the gesture of benediction after the Latin manner; in the left he holds a long book, resembling the "Liber precum" in the Bibliothèque Royale. The book is open; on the recto and verso of two pages are the following letters, in small Roman minuscules, slightly uncial: a b c d e f g-hik m n o p. These fourteen letters are thus arranged, seven on each page. I know not whether any signification can be assigned to the number and selection of these letters. In any case, this alphabet, which is nearly complete, and inscribed on the divine volume, is undoubtedly intended to signify that all knowledge comes from God, and that the book in his hand is that of the Holy Scriptures. This A I O FX MSN MEM indication may be found at No. 184 of the Catalogue of M. Petit. I saw this enamelled plate in 1843, at the time of the sale, and myself made a copy of the alphabet, if so it may be called. We find in No. 204 of the same catalogue : "Enamelled plate, the cover of a manuscript, representing Christ in the act of benediction, and holding in his left hand a tablet, on which are graven certain letters, in Roman and uncial characters." The letters are thus arranged, and placed within a frame. The A only is uncertain. See the Guide de la Peinture (Epμnvéla τns (wypadiкns), nearly at the conclusion. The Holy Ghost is there said to proceed froni the Father, but not from the Son. The inscription, taken from Psalm cix., is more complete than with us, who usually give the commencement only. The Greeks, less charitable, more harsh, and more Judaising in their ideas of Christianity, add the words," until I make thine enemies thy footstool." |