Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

The Resurrection 

Piero della Francesca

Image: Wikipedia 

Christ is Risen. Alleluia!

He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia!

Memorably described in 1925 by Aldous Huxley thus "It stands there before us in entire and actual splendour, the greatest picture in the world” Piero della Francesca’s The Resurrection in Sansepolchro, needs little introduction and invites reflection, humility and prayer.

The physicality of the painting, gives it an impact that makes it so exceptional yet so accessible. Here is the resurrection of the body in a very real body, not ethereal but genuine flesh and muscle. This is a figure of Christ in which to put one’s faith and trust. As Huxley observed this is the face of a man - Man - who has been to the Dead and returned. Nothing less, nothing more.

Sleep holds you, sons of war: you may not see

(You whose charmed heads sink heavy in your hands)

How 'twixt the budding and the barren tree

With glory in his staring eyes, he stands.

There's a sharp movement in this shivering morn

That blinds your sense while it breaks your power:

The Phoenix grips the eagle: Christ reborn

Bears high the standard. Sleep a little hour:

Sleep: it were best ye saw not those bright eyes

Prepared to wreck your world with errant flame,

And drive strong men to follow mysteries,

Voices, and winds, and things that have no name.

Dare you leave strength half-proved, duty half-done?

Awake! This God will hunt you from the sun!

James Elroy Flecker.

Cited by Jane Stemp Wickenden in a post on the Medieval Religion discussion group.

For those who want to read more online about the picture, its history and composition, its symbolism and significance, I would suggest The Resurrection (Piero della Francesca) from Wikipedia, an article by Christine Zappella which can be read at both Piero della Francesca, Resurrection on Smart History and at Piero della Francesca, Resurrection from Khan Academy and, from the Edinburgh Dominicans, Piero della Francesca's Resurrection of Christ

There are also The Greatest Painting? from The National Review in 2013, On the trail of Piero from The Spectator in 2016, and The Stone and the Dream on JSTOR

The survival of the painting in World War II is seemingly miraculous, a testimony to the power of Aldous Huxley’s words of awed admiration almost twenty years later 

as recalled in his memory by Tony Clarke.

A happy, joyful and peaceful Easter to all my readers.

This is an editing together and revision of two of my previous posts, from Easter Day in 2016 and 2022.

Holy Saturday and the Harrowing of Hell

Today is Holy Saturday, the time when Christ descended to the dead and released those held captive in the underworld.

The Harrowing of Hades, fresco in the parecclesion of the Chora Church, Istanbul, circa 1315.

Image: Wikipedia 

From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday
The Lord descends into hell:

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.
For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.
I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

From the Office of Readings in The Divine Office for Holy Saturday 

Fra Angelico 1430s Dominican friary of San Marco in Florence

Image: Wikipedia 

Wikipedia has a useful summary of the theological traditions about Christ’s Decent into Hell and how it has been understood and depicted at Harrowing of Hell

The first Royal Maundy of King Charles III is distributed at York

Maundy Thursday was the first occasion on which the King has distributed the Royal Maundy as sovereign. Last year he did so on behalf of his mother at St George’s Chapel at Windsor. This year however it was given in coins bearing his portrait and title in the traditional service which was held at York Minster.

The history of the Royal Maundy is set out in considerable detail by Wikipedia at Royal Maundy

I posted about the service last year at The Royal Maundy and something about the history of the service during the sixteenth century two years ago in The Royal Maundy. I also posted about it as a tradition in this country and in other European realms in 2011 in The Royal Maundy

The Royal Mint website has photographs and an account of the King’s coins which can be seen at The Royal Mint Unveils His Majesty King Charles III’s Official Maundy Money Coins

Royal Central also has an article about this year’s Maundy at The first Maundy coins of the reign of King Charles III are unveiled

In addition His Majesty marked his visit to Yorkshire this week by granting the prefix Royal to the Yorkshire Regiment. This was created in 2006 by the amalgamation of three regiments that recruited in the historic county - The Prince of Wales Own Yorkshire Regiment, the Green Howards ( Alexandra Princess of Wales Own Yorkshire Regiment ) and the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment ( West Riding). The first two had strong royal connections as their names indicate and the late King Olav V of Norway was the Colonel-in-Chief of the Green Howards for many years. The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment was unique in being the only regiment that bore the name of someone other than a member of the Royal Family. Personally I regret the fact that since the 1960s so many historic regiments have been merged and then merged again, with the loss of county and local identity. There may be good operational reasons but I do wonder if the sense of belonging to a regiment with a county affiliation and that was part of soldiers’ family and locality helped to create and sustain comradeship.

That said the now Royal Yorkshire Regiment is apparently the only regiment that now has a county appellation. The York Press has an article about the new regimental honour at King honours Yorkshire Regiment as 'Royal' during visit, as has the Army website at https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/04/royal-title-for-yorkshire-regiment/

Easter prisoner released in Malaga

Traditional Spanish celebrations of Easter are stylish and spectacular and marked by the processions of confraternities in their distinctive habits. One such is that of Jesus El Rico in Malaga, and they have a unique privilege - that of being granted the release of a prisoner. The tradition dates from 1759 and the beginning of the reign of the enlightened and reformist King Carlos III. It is described and illustrated in an article from EuroNews which can be seen at Easter pardon: Centuries-old Spanish ritual frees criminals

It has strong similarities to the much older Privilege of St Romain in Rouen. This custom was observed between 1156 and 1790, and took place on Ascension Day. I posted about it in 2012 in St Romanus of Rouen

The Liturgical Colours of the Triduum

Shawn Tribe has posted a second article about the changes made between 1955 and 1970 to the form and colour of the vestments worn for Holy Week and the Triduum on the Liturgical Arts Journal. Like his previous piece which I linked to in The Liturgical Colours of Palm Sunday it is a well illustrated exposition of the process and a useful reference point. 

Shawn’s article can be seen at The Triduum: Variations in the Vestments and Their Colours in the Span of Fifteen Years

Thoughts on the Green Man

The Daily Telegraph follows up it coverage of the Coronation Invitation with a piece today about the image of the Green Man, which is featured on the border of the card.

I had not realised ( because it had not occurred to me to ask ) that the concept of the “Green Man” as such only dates from 1939, and that he is a synthesis or consolidation of a whole series of images reduced to one in the aftermath of Sir James Frazer and The Golden Bough, which had been published in 1922. In that respect it is rather like Robert Graves’ 1948 book The White Goddess.  

That said it is undeniable that foliated heads were common in medieval and earlier decoration, even if we do not know the reason. They may have a common source, they might have connotations of fertility or of the underlying life force of nature, or they might be an oft-repeated joke. Many medieval churches have examples of this foliated face peering out upon the world, maybe mischievously, and not malevolently. I recall being in Gloucester Cathedral and realising that virtually all the bosses in a western bay of the north aisle of the nave sported the “Green Man”. 

So although his modern date of birth as an object of scholarly discussion might indeed be seen to be 1939 his antecedents and manifestations in decoration are centuries old, and geographically widespread. He is an archetype, a shared image, but historically without a single identity or mythology.

The Daily Telegraph article can be seen at How the ‘Green Man’ went from folklore to the King’s Coronation

Wikipedia has a well illustrated account at Green Man and also has an introduction to Graves’ book at The White Goddess

The Coronation Invitation

The design of the formal invitation to the Coronation was released yesterday. Created by the heraldic artist Andrew Jamieson and chosen personally by The King, it is a fine piece of work, and in full colour, unlike previous such invitations. The Daily Telegraph article about it  gives additional background to the design at First look at King Charles’s Coronation invitation 

The Royal Family website has an account of the design and includes several closeups of the border. This can be seen at The Coronation Invitation

The Mail Online has an article which analyses the symbolism in some detail ( and with a few errors and idiosyncrasies it must be said ) and is accompanied by a generous selection of photo enlargements of details at King Charles's coronation invite symbolism

In its design with a floral border the Invitation is strongly reminiscent of the artistic decoration of Letters Patent or of grants from the College of Arms. 

The arms of The King and of The Queen are rendered in a striking way - the blue boar of the Shand’s would look very well as a free standing Queen’s Beast. 

National floral symbols are obviously included as well as flowers one might see on or around the royal estates in the spring and summer, the flowers shown in threes as this is the third King Charles.

Spring floral imagery is very suitable both for an event in the month of May and also for the new beginning marked by a new reign, as well as a tribute to a monarch noted for his love of gardens and the natural world.

That theme is also referred to by the inclusion of the Green Man - a medieval symbol that draws inspiration from the past and the mythic, but which also has contemporary resonances with the new monarch’s long-standing concern not just for gardens but the wider environment, and looks to the future with its imagery of vibrant and fertile life giving energy.

The BBC News website has an illustrated piece about previous Coronation invitations which is interesting - although irritating in so far as it describes the invitations as “invites”, refers to monarchs being “coronated” and to King George VI being “appointed”…. where do they get their journalists from? Those points notwithstanding, the article can be seen at Coronation invitations through the ages

The Liturgical Colours of Palm Sunday

 

Shawn Tribe has one again a very useful and informative article on the Liturgical Arts Journal website about the changes between the 1950s and 1970s in the liturgical vestments and their colours for Palm Sunday and Holy Week. It can be seen at Palm Sunday: Variations in the Vestments and Their Colours in the Span of Fifteen Years

In it he links to two previous articles by him about two liturgical items of vesture which are guaranteed to set the pulses of some of us racing - the folded chasuble and the broad stole ( though as Shawn points out they are ultimately one and the same ). Both are very informative and are well illustrated. I am giving the links separately to make accessing these articles easier. From 2017 there is History and Designs of the Folded Chasuble on the Liturgical Arts Journal website, and from 2009 Use, History and Development of the "Planeta Plicata" or Folded Chasuble from the New Liturgical Movement

I agree with Shawn Tribe in lamenting the abandonment of so longstanding a liturgical use, one that helped differentiate penitential seasons, and one that gave a special quality to the Liturgy. It has therefore been good on occasion in recent years to watch Masses following the pre-1955 norms online at this time of year and to see both the folded chasuble and the broad stole make a welcome reappearance at those TLMs.