The association of eagles with visionaries (a la St. John) may be rare
iconographically but is not at all rare textually. Both the Vita of Lutgard of
Aywieres and the Visions of Hadewijch of Antwerp have textual descriptions of
St. John and the eagle in ecstatic contexts. Lutgard meditates upon the eagle
to produce an ecstatic experience, and Hadewijch is visited by "the eagle of
St. John" in one of her visions. I believe I have seen this motif in other
visionary writings as well but these are the two that immediately spring to
mind. -- Mary Suydam
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