Thursday, May 30, 2013

An Ancient Motif

Writes Simon Carnell in Hare (2010) . . .

In many bosses on the ceilings of parish churches in Devon and Cornwall, as well as in a stained glass window in Paderborn Cathedral in Germany, there is a motif of three hares running in a ring, linked by their ears. This has been interpreted as an allusion to the indissoluble unity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Though as recent researchers have discovered, it's an ancient motif which also occurs in Buddhist China and in Iran. In contexts, that is, separated by thousands of miles and 500 years.


See also the previous post: Ancient and Enigmatic.

No comments: