Chapter V: Part 5

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.”

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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.

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.

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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_).

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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.

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ST. CATHERINE.—LUCAS CRANACH

(Dresden Gallery.)]