medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Thanks again John!
The "snake-holder" sounds very appropriate in this context, and has
contributed with a different perspective, also a non Christian topic.
In Northern France would a snake-catcher not make any sense, so it
had of course to be exchanged with something more familiar (which
turned into more peaceful garden work).
I will perhaps return to the subject after having seen the relevant
litterature. After all is the Filocalus calendar of 354 A.D. a
corner stone in the history of modern thinking, so it would surprice
me if we can solve all the problems here right away.
All Best
Erik Drigsdahl
At 21:20 +0200 01/07/03, John B. Dillon wrote:
>As I said, Ophiuchus is a constellation. The names of anciently identified
>constellations (and yes, O. is one of these) are transmitted in numerous
>texts. For name+description I'd check out Aratos' _Phainomena_ or
>Manilius' _Astronomica_ or perhaps some encyclopedic texts. "Ophiuchus" is
>a latinisation of his Greek name, Ophiouchos, meaning "snake-holder"; in
>Latin this constellation is also called Anguitenens or Serpentarius.
>
>I had associated O. with December as that is where he occurs in modern
>descriptions of the Zodiac. But, as I have since learned, he is a
>relatively recent addition to that august company. You would have to find
>out for yourself if, and if so then where, O. appears in ancient and
>medieval calendrical schemes.
>
>On a very different line of thought, March is both the end of winter and,
>in some systems, the beginning of the new year. A common western symbol
>for the arrival of the new year is that of a snake glistening in its new
>skin, having just shed the old one. Whereas that seems iconographically
>remote from your figure, there may be an underlying natural-world
>connection between them.
>
>If your figure is, as you indicate, derived from one in which a human
>points to some other creature to indicate his/her occupation, then perhaps
>your human is a snake-catcher.
_____________________________________________________________________
Mag.art. Erik Drigsdahl CHD Center for Haandskriftstudier i Danmark
Kapelvej 25B 3.tv Phone: +45 +35 37 20 47
DK-2200 Copenhagen N Email: <[log in to unmask]>
DENMARK http://www.chd.dk
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