Angel/s of the New Year

DianeOD

Does anyone know of traditions about an Angel of the New Year?

It would take too long to explain in detail, but a number of different lines of enquiry keep bringing me back to the 'first of the year' ceremonies and gifts, and with reference to one or more angels.

In which context, I simply note - without prejudice - that Seraphim are depicted in an English cathedral-church of Southwold as standing on a wheel, with face and hands red, the rest gold, and scroll in left hand inscribed Scus, Scus, Scus.

In some tarot calculation-games, the Fool is traditionally known by terms similar to this.
 

baba-prague

Is this what you're referring to? (I used to live quite near to Southwold):
http://www.simonknott.co.uk/suffolkchurches/southwold 200parclosenorthleft.jpg It is a single angel standing on a wheel and it's part of a series. Here is the explanation (just from the website, but seems fairly scholarly):

these are the nine orders of angels, with Gabriel at their head, and flanked by angels holding symbols of the Trinity and the Eucharist. Mortlock says that they are so similar to the ones at Barton Turf in Norfolk that they may be by the same hand, in which case the central screen is also by that person. They are, from left to right, the Holy Trinity, Gabriel, Archangels, Powers, Dominions, Cherubim, Seraphim, Thrones, Principalities, Virtues, Messengers, and finally the Eucharist. The Holy Trinity angel still has part of the original dedicatory inscription beneath his feet. Hover and click to see them enlarged.
http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/Southwold.htm

It's a fairly conventional depiction (and a lovely one). I don't think it has anything to do with an angel of the New Year. Isn't that more of a central European idea? I'm not sure how old it is (i.e. angel of the new years as a concept), I thought only 19th century but I've never looked into it.

Or are there angels standing on wheels elsewhere in this church? Do you have a picture?
 

Huck

DianeOD said:
Does anyone know of traditions about an Angel of the New Year?

It would take too long to explain in detail, but a number of different lines of enquiry keep bringing me back to the 'first of the year' ceremonies and gifts, and with reference to one or more angels.

In which context, I simply note - without prejudice - that Seraphim are depicted in an English cathedral-church of Southwold as standing on a wheel, with face and hands red, the rest gold, and scroll in left hand inscribed Scus, Scus, Scus.

In some tarot calculation-games, the Fool is traditionally known by terms similar to this.
Click to expand...

Hm ... in the problem about the 1.1..1441 ... see

http://trionfi.com/0/d/

we tried to find out, if the 1st of January was a special day with special festivities.

1. it was a day of gambling and for games, testified by a German source. Gambling is also testified, and that's more deciding, for the court of Galeazzo Maria Sforza in Milan, which means annually in the time around 1470.
So the whole situation of 1.1.1441 with Bianca Maria present (mother of Galeazzo Maria) turned out to be also a day of gambling activities (what we suspected already by the general situation).

2. It was used as the day of the feast of the fools in many regions in Europe (not especially Italy - we've no direct note) - occasionally this feast also was connected to card playing. The feast was attacked and forbidden just around the relevant time. First the council of Basel attempted a prohibition (1433 ?), and then the French king did (1445).

http://trionfi.com/0/d/91/
 

Ross G Caldwell

DianeOD said:
In which context, I simply note - without prejudice - that Seraphim are depicted in an English cathedral-church of Southwold as standing on a wheel, with face and hands red, the rest gold, and scroll in left hand inscribed Scus, Scus, Scus.
Click to expand...

"SCUS" is probably the abbreviation for "Sanctus" in this case.
 

baba-prague

Ross G Caldwell said:
"SCUS" is probably the abbreviation for "Sanctus" in this case.
Click to expand...

Yes, though I can't see a scroll in the image in any case. But maybe I'm missing something - it's a small photo.

I think if this is the angel referred to then it shows again that it's usually best to consider images like this in context. Taken out of context, e.g. without the series of which it forms a part, it's too easy to ascribe a mistaken interpretation of the original intention and meaning.

But, as I say, it may be that Diane was referring to different angel pictures in this church?
 

Ross G Caldwell

baba-prague said:
Yes, though I can't see a scroll in the image in any case. But maybe I'm missing something - it's a small photo.

I think if this is the angel referred to then it shows again that it's usually best to consider images like this in context. Taken out of context, e.g. without the series of which it forms a part, it's too easy to ascribe a mistaken interpretation of the original intention and meaning.

But, as I say, it may be that Diane was referring to different angel pictures in this church?
Click to expand...

It must be this one -
http://www.simonknott.co.uk/suffolkchurches/southwold 200parclosenorthright1.jpg

I can't make it out clearly, but the typical abbreviation for "Sanctus" as in the angelic praise, is "SCS" in majescule or lower-case letters, with a tilde to indicate the abbreviation. I can see the tilde over the words on the scroll.

According to the wikipedia article "Sanctus" -
"The text is adapted from Isaiah 6:3, which describes the prophet Isaiah's vision of the throne of God surrounded by six-winged, ministering seraphim. A similar representation may be found in Revelation 4:8."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctus

Naturally, according to the Southwold website you provided, this angel is a Seraph.

Ross
 

jmd

There are also other representations on wood panelling in various Cathedrals in continental Europe (for example, the Notre Dame of Paris, Amiens and others), many of which include various saints, or indeed representations of the (pseudo-)Dionysian hierarchy.

What I fail to see is any connection between these and an intention to incorporate the same in tarot depictions. When first faced with the incredible range (and duplication of specific symbols across saints and spiritual beings - for example the use of the Wheel), we may be tempted to make connections where none are intended, but in this case, is there a specific connection claimed? Do we, by way of analogy, see in the word 'caterpillar' a feline form?

Even though this playfulness with words (by the 'language of the birds') may have had far more prevalence in times past than today, I personally doubt that the written 'ScS' or 'scus' would even have been pronounced as 'Scuz', but rather seen and pronounced as the word for which it stood.

Outside of a specific given relation shown between a foolish figure and 'scs' (and of course some texts do make reference to foolishness being saintly too, but an additional step is here required), the images as given with 'scs' are representations of the hierarchy they depict, I would have thought, and not the fool.
 

DianeOD

Wow - thanks for those reactions, and some real insights.

Thank you so much for the reactions and assistance.

No closer, alas, to finding out if there was ever a feast in Europe (pre protestant era) which marked a 'New Year' and had legendary connection to some 'great angel'

But perhaps all I need do is a few calculations... minus the days of this, and then that calendar reform. Correlate with older ecclesiastical dates for Feast of of e.g. Christopher, or Michael, or Gabriel... or one of the big ones.

I expect that will probably reveal something relevant.

But thanks for that allusion to the Feast of Fools sometimes being held on January 1st. I didn't know that. reminds me, I must check when the older 'new year' - Easter - was officially replaced by January 1st as the day of New Year.

Concerning the pack's "fool" figure, I don't know if anyone saw my paper, "The Place of the Fool"

I took it down because discovered that the title had been used by someone else - think theirs is on tarot Passages (maybe) and since they had published first, I felt my own should be taken down to avoid confusion.

If its to be mounted anywhere again, I'll try to think of another title. Trouble is, its chiefly about the vrious reasons: iconographic, underlying reference, mathematical factors.etc for the fool's placement at '0'!

Re the "scus" . thanks, stupid not to realise it. Strange that Hus. doesn't think of it either. (BTW his "Emblems" is now available on the web - sort of - through Googlebooks.

Thanks Baba - I did know the order of the angelic figures, simply had no particular reason to mention the rest. It was the 'word' scuss which I had noticed. (In some cases, the fool or a particular game etc. in ordinary tarot games is known as skuss. The remark was not entirely serious. But I hadn't 'got' the allusion to Sanctus.. holy, holy etc.

Comment about such images being common. Actually Hus. mentions only this one example of Seraphim as standing on a wheel.

He does mention Baron turf and Norwich, with seraphim (clothed with feathers) and with thurible. but those are his only listed examples of representations for the higher orders of angels and their emblems within churches.

Apart from what calendar calculations might produce... no closer to knowing if there's a legend of a great angel anywhere associated with the start of a 'New Year'. I'll accept the start of the ecclesiastical year, lunar year, classical Greek year, annual market rosters... anything. Just a "start of the year" celebration, and tradition of an angel with it..and preferably one that had been around long enough to be considered a folk-festival.
 

DianeOD

re Dionysian hierarchy

Assume you mean the Aereopagite.

Actually, in the case of St.denis, which began the Rose window/gothic light tradition in Europe, Abbott Suger is thought to have included those allusions deliberately.

I recently found his 'Account of... administration' has been published on the web, and doubtless something of the usual discussion of the Denis/dionysius elements in the church will be on the web too.

D the Aereopagite accepted then, of course, as authentic and orthodox. I guess everyone knew their angelic hosts.
 
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