medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> Comtemplating my Christmas cards raises the perennial question, "When did
> angels become female?"
>
> [Yes, I know that angels are sexless, but male-gendered. Archangels tend to
> be more butch - especially Michael - but angels seem to look rather
> femme...]
Dear John,
The pictorial roots for the depiction of angels (quite separate from any theological
conceptions) lie in the Roman world. Roman winged victory figures were most
usually feminine, and during the 4th century, after the Edict of Milan in 313, it is
often a moot point as to whether some figures, on Christian sarcophagi for example,
were intended to represent Victories or angels. There are also some incredible
images of, probably, souls in the 3rd-century synagogue frescoes at Dura Europos
which are represented as winged female figures in long flowing gowns, remarkably
anticipating the usual way that angels were depicted later in the Christian tradition.
Merry Christmas!
Jim Bugslag
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