- Roundel
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Roundel
- Place of origin:
England (made)
- Date:
ca. 1420-1440 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown
- Materials and Techniques:
Roundel of clear glass with painted details in a brown/black pigment and with yellow (silver) stain
- Credit Line:
Purchased with funds from the Murray Bequest
- Museum number:
C.112-1924
- Gallery location:
Sacred Silver & Stained Glass, Room 84, The Whiteley Galleries, case S3
Angels, celestial creatures, figure prominently in many of the world’s religions. Christianity inherited its devotion to angels from the Jewish faith from which it emerged.
From early on, the great theologians of the Christian church devoted much effort to identifying and understanding the role of angels in God’s creation. About the year 500, one scholar wrote a treatise called ‘The Celestial Hierarchy’. He scoured the Old and New Testaments for information relating to angels. From this he compiled a list of different types of angels according to their functions. He claimed that there were nine orders of angels, divided into three hierarchies. Each order had a specific function, such as the Order of the Archangels, who act as messengers between God and mankind. The author of this treatise is known as the ‘Pseudo-St Denis’ or ‘Pseudo-Aeropagite’, because he was once thought to be the St Denis (or Dionysus) the Aeropagite who is mentioned in the New Testament book of Acts.
All the orders were considered to be attendant on God and continually sang his praises. It became common in medieval art to show angels singing or playing musical instruments in adoration of God.
The angel in this roundel is playing a rebec, an early form of the violin. The instrument was known in England as early as the 11th century. The musician would rest it on the shoulder or across the chest, as depicted here.
