As a side note, I've found the popular story as to why Halloween is on Oct. 31st to be a bit misleading. Halloween is the eve of All Hallows (All Saints) Day. It's placement in the calendar is just so because it is (used to be) the vigil fast before one of the most important feast days.
So, the real question is, why is All Saints on November 1st? Pope Gregory III dedicated an oratory in the original St. Peter's Basilica to All Saints on November 1st in the mid 700's. So, as to the argument that ancient Celtic peoples celebrated this day as the day of the dead and therefore All Saints was placed there to help Christianize them doesn't hold water.
1. Ireland began to be Christianized in the mid 400's thanks to Palladius and St. Patrick.
2. In the 400's the universal church (East and West) was celebrating All Saints on May 13.
3. By the 600's Ireland was sending missionaries out to convert other people (probably safe to guess that most of Ireland is fully converted).
4. Mid 700's Pope Gregory III, of Syrian extraction, dedicates the oratory to All Saints on Nov. 1st. Was he thinking about pagan Celtic tradition? I don't think so. The Irish didn't need accommodations for ancient pagan beliefs. They had already been celebrating All Saints on May 13 with no issues in Ireland for hundreds of years.
5. Even though the saints are dead, both Christian theology and popular understanding see the saints as alive in heaven, able to enjoy the company of God, Jesus and the other saints. Would that be the day of the dead or day of the living?
(For more details see: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0199.html)
I love Medieval art depicting groups of Virgin Martyrs. The way the artists incorporate the symbolism is like a new discovery to me. The best type of paintings in this category (in my opinion) are the Virgo inter Virgines "Virgin among the Virgins." Unfortunately, there has only been one thorough, scholarly study of these types of paintings, a dissertation by Stanley Edward Weed in 2002. You can find an abstract of the article online, but you have to pay/belong to a research library to read the real dissertation.
However, I can show you the few Virgo inter Virgines paintings I could find.
This is by the Master of the St. Lucy Legend (an anonymous artist known by his most famous work of art). L-R- St. Apollonia (holding her tooth in a pair of tongs), St. Ursula (a very tiny piece of arrow sticking out from under her skirt), St. Lucy holding her eyes on a plate, an unidentified saint with a bell and a crown, St. Catherine of Alexandria (her wheel decorates her dress), St. Mary Magdalene (holding nard perfume), St. Barbara (her cloak decorated with her symbol, the tower), St. Margaret (holding a cross, and St. George slaying the dragon in the distance behind her), St. Agnes (identified by her lamb), St. Agatha (holding her breast in a pair of tongs), St. Cunera (a companion of St. Ursula, holding a crib, and an arrow).
The unidentified saint drives me crazy! I wish I could figure out who it is. Maybe it was meant to be St. Gudule holding a lantern?
This is Gerard David's masterpiece, and my favorite of the whole genre. I searched high and low for the identities of a few of the saints who are very small or who seemed to have no identifying marks. I finally found a French website that listed their names. I haven't been able to corroborate the names with another site, so take this for what it's worth.
L-R- St. Dorothy, recognized by her basket, (man above her is the donor), St. Catherine of Alexandria (crown), St. Agnes (lamb), unidentified saint, St. Fausta (holding a saw, instrument of her martyrdom), Mary and baby Jesus, St. Apollonia (holding her tooth), St. Godelieve (wearing the scarf that was the instrument of her martyrdom), St. Cecilia (looking at her musical instrument), St. Barbara (a tiny, tiny tower on her cap), donor's wife, St. Lucy (holding a ring).
I wonder if the unidentified saint is really the daughter of the donor. She only has her face to identify her.
Happy All Saints and All Saint's Eve!
