medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> Perhaps it's a simple question, but I just don't have the answer: 3 is the
> number of God (Father-Son-Holy Spirit), 5 is the number of Mary
> (Maria-Virgo-Mater) and 2 is the number of the devil. But why is that?
Dear Bas,
I hope you get a more informed response than this. I have
been collecting a few references to number symbolism in a haphazard
sort of way, trying to understand exactly how number symbolism
worked in the Middle Ages. The only constant in all of it seems to
be that nobody doubted that *everything*, number included, was
symbolic. There were certain constants in the "practice" of number
symbolism, largely based on the authority of such sources as Plato,
Isidore of Seville, Bede, etc., but it could be marshalled to widely
varied needs and circumstances.
The symbolism of 3 as the "number of God", for example, as you
suggest, comes from the Trinity, a classic example of symbolism
"after the fact", i.e. it does not primarily follow that there are 3
persons in the Trinity because the number 3 has an a priori symbolic
association; rather it's symbolic association derives from the
structure of the Trinity. This differs from the more
pro-active practice of number symbolism, in which 3 was
often accorded anthropological value, as well. According to Hugh of
St Victor, the number 3, because of the 1 which is its indivisible
constituent link, is fittingly referred to the soul. The soul flows
from the monad into threeness, because every essence is by nature
prior to its powers. The fact that the same 1 is found in the number
3, being multiplied in it 3 times, signifies that the soul is not
distributed into parts but consists wholly in each of its powers:
reason, wrath and concupiscence. Macrobius also declares that the
number 3 marks the 3 divisions of soul into cupiditas, animositas and
ratio. This same threefold nature of the soul is widely addressed,
e.g. by Chalcidius and Remigius of Auxerre. Undoubtedly a medieval
would maintain that there is no inherent contradition between 3 being
associated with both the Trinity and the human soul, since
*everything* is connected, but what one makes of the number 3 in any
given circumstance depends on what one is engaged with.
As for 5 as the number of the Virgin, I don't know where this comes
from. According to Joachim de Fiore, 5 is obtained by adding 3, the number
of the Trinity, with the 2 hypostases of Christ. If one stretches
the imagination hard -- seemingly a standard medieval practice --
I suppose one could arrive at a connection with the Virgin, but
this is certainly not the only possible line of argument
associated with 5.
And 2 as the number of the devil seems to be a
concretization of a more common line of argument. According to Hugh
of St Victor, 2 fits the body, as 1 fits the soul. William of
Conches' commentary on the Timaeus states: 'Even number, which can be
divided into two equal parts, refers to dissoluble things', while
Thierry of Chartres, in De sex dierum operibus xxx and Librum hunc,
states that the number 2 is said to be the principle of all otherness
and mutability and to represent matter, according to Plato and
Pythagoras.
This, I am sure, is not exactly the sort of answer you
had in mind, but I hope that it might at least put your questions
into a broader context. I continue to be amazed at the sort of
argumentation that medievals constructed around number.
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
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