“How Beautiful and Splendid This Angelic Creature Is”: Images of Angels in the First Translation of the Great Mirror (Speculum Maius)

The Great Mirror became a source of themes and subjects for the East Slavic literature. The article researches its angelic theme, the exploration of which allows us to understand how deeply the West European ideas had penetrated into the Orthodox consciousness. The range of problems concerned with spirits contains the most important philosophical aspects, which underwent a significant evolution in the 17th century during the process of the book’s adaptation in a new culture and its russification. The author analyzes the images of lightful angels represented in the book, reveals some features of their nature and appearance, compares the models of celestial hierarchy presented in this book and in some works of ecclesiastical writers, describes anthropological characteristics and “physicality” of the angels, recognizes the types of their service, and finds parallels between the angels appearance’s details shown in the collected novels and the types of iconic images of the spirits, established by the second half of the 15th century, the time when the source for the Great Mirror was made up. Key words: “The Great Mirror”, angels, archangels Michael and Gabriel, the celestial hierarchy, angel’s “body”, service, iconography Pages: 86-94

«Великое Зерцало», «тело» ангела, “The Great Mirror”, angels, archangels Michael and Gabriel, the celestial hierarchy, angel’s “body”, service, iconography

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