A circle of stars often represents unity, solidarity and harmony in flags, [1] seals [2] and signs, and is also seen in iconographic motifs related to the Woman of the Apocalypse as well as in Baroque allegoric art that sometimes depicts the Crown of Immortality.
The New Testament's Book of Revelation (12:1, 2 & 5) describes the Woman of the Apocalypse: And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth. .... And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. [3] In Catholic tradition she has been identified with the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially in connection with the Immaculate Conception. Mary is often pictured with a crown [4] or Circle of Stars.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was somewhat controversial in the medieval church, and the liturgical Office for the feast was only established in 1615. In 1649, Francisco Pacheco (father-in-law of Velázquez) published his Art of Painting firmly establishing the detailed correct iconography for paintings of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, which included the circle of stars (he also advised the inquisition in Seville on artistic matters). This was followed by Murillo and his school in very many paintings, and influenced non-Spanish depictions. [5] [6]
The European flag, first adopted by the Council of Europe, consists of 12 golden stars in a circle on a blue background. The stars symbolise the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe. [7] The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of member countries, though the circle is a symbol of unity. [7]
Arsène Heitz, one of the flag designers, in 1987 revealed that his inspiration was the crown of twelve stars of the Woman of the Apocalypse, often found in modern Marian iconography. [8] However, he did not suggest that the finished design held a religious meaning. Paul M. G. Lévy, the official responsible for the design process, denied any religious inspiration for the flag design. [9] [10]
The Zodiac is an ancient circle of stars [11] where some stars are symbolically combined into 12 star signs also known as constellations. The etymology of the term Zodiac comes from the Latin zōdiacus, from the Greek ζῳδιακός [κύκλος], meaning "[circle] of animals", derived from ζῴδιον, the diminutive of ζῷον "animal".
The Crown of Immortality is a separate and earlier motif (and metaphor) which also uses a circle of stars. It has been widely used since the Early Church as a metaphor for the reward awaiting martyrs, but they are not depicted in art wearing a circle of stars. In art the use is mainly in Baroque allegorical compositions, and those with Ariadne.
The flag of Europe or European flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe.
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not defined as a dogma until 1854, by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus. While the Immaculate Conception asserts Mary's freedom from original sin, the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, had previously affirmed her freedom from personal sin.
A crescent shape is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter, or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus as follows:
We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation are days on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation, according to the third commandment.
In heraldry, the term star may refer to any star-shaped charge with any number of rays, which may appear straight or wavy, and may or may not be pierced. While there has been much confusion between the two due to their similar shape, a star with straight-sided rays is usually called a mullet in English heraldry while one with wavy rays is usually called an estoile.
Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn is the prominent Christian icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by the faithful in the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Lithuania. The painting was historically displayed above the Vilnius city gate; city gates of the time often contained religious artifacts intended to ward off attacks and bless passing travelers.
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary on 8 September. It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Miraculous Medal, also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal of Paris, France.
The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is a Catholic male clerical religious congregation founded, 1670, in Poland. It is also known as Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Its members add the post-nominal letters M.I.C. after their names to indicate membership in the Congregation.
Freising Cathedral, also called Saint Mary and Corbinian Cathedral, is a romanesque basilica in Freising, Bavaria. It is the co-cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Freising Cathedral is also known for being the place where Pope Benedict XVI was ordained a priest.
The Woman of the Apocalypse is a figure–often considered to be a reference to the Virgin Mary in Catholic theology–described in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation.
The Crown of Immortality is a literary and religious metaphor traditionally represented in art first as a laurel wreath and later as a symbolic circle of stars. The Crown appears in a number of Baroque iconographic and allegoric works of art to indicate the wearer's immortality.
Mary, the mother of Jesus in Christianity, is known by many different titles, epithets, invocations, and several names associated with places.
Mary has been one of the major subjects of Western art for centuries. There is an enormous quantity of Marian art in the Catholic Church, covering both devotional subjects such as the Virgin and Child and a range of narrative subjects from the Life of the Virgin, often arranged in cycles. Most medieval painters, and from the Reformation to about 1800 most from Catholic countries, have produced works, including old masters such as Michelangelo and Botticelli.
Arsène Heitz was a German-French draughtsman, born in Strasbourg, who worked at the Council of Europe. He is the co-author of the Flag of Europe.
Signum Magnum is an apostolic exhortation on consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Pope Paul VI. It was released on May 13, 1967 in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, on the 50th anniversary of Our Lady of Fátima, to coincide with the Pope's visit to the Sanctuary of Fátima, in Cova da Iria, Portugal.
The Virgin of Quito — also known as the Virgin of the Apocalypse, Winged Virgin of Quito, Dancing Madonna, and Legarda's Virgin — is a wooden sculpture by the Quiteño artist Bernardo de Legarda which has become the most representative example of the Quito School of art, developed in the Ecuadorian capital during the Spanish colonial era. This particular Virgin became a popular cult image which is still venerated — via innumerable replicas — throughout the northern Andes.
The Immaculate Conception is a painting by Italian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770). The painting was one of seven altarpieces commissioned in March 1767 from Tiepolo by King Charles III of Spain for the Church of Saint Pascual in Aranjuez, then under construction. This was originally an Alcantarine (Franciscan) monastery that was later assigned to the Conceptionist nuns.
Inviolata, integra et casta es Maria is a motet by Josquin des Prez. One of his most famous compositions, it divides the cantus firmus into three sections and is scored for five voices—two carrying the canonical melody and three free.