MICHAEL
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MICHAEL
days, and on the last day, when they came opposite to the tomb of Hadrian, Gregory beheld the archangel Michael hovering over the city ; and he alighted on the top of the mausoleum and sheathed his sword, which was drippingwith blood. Then the plague was stayed, and the tomb of Hadrian has been called the Castle of Sant' Angelo from that day, and a chapel was there consecrated, the name of which was Ecclesia Sancti Angeli usque ad Cce- los. Michael is also said to have ap- peared to command the building of two churches (see Mrs. Clement, Legendary and Mytholog. Art, p. 229). The first was on the eastern coast of Italy, and was called the church of Monte Galgano, which became a resort for numerous pil- grims. Again, in the reign of Childe- bert n, Michael appeared to Aubert, bish- op of Avranches, and commanded that a church should be built on the summit of a rock in the Gulf of Avranches, in Nor- mandy ; and JIont-Saint-lMichel became one of the most celebrated places of pil- Persian empire. Here also Michael, in particular, is j grimage, as it is one of the most picturesque in scenery, designated as the prince of the Jews. So in Zech. i, 8, \ From this time Michael v.-as greatly venerated in the 14, the guardian angel of the Jews exhibits his solici- j Church of Rome, especially in France. He was selected tude for them and his care over them. The same thing as patron saint of the country and of the order which is again exhibited in Zech. iii, 1, 2, where the angel of Louis instituted in his honor.
Gnostic Gem of Michael. (The lower figure shows the size of the gem.)
the Lord rebukes Satan on account of his malignant in- tentions towards the high-priest Joshua. So again in Rev. xii, 7, 9, Michael and his angels are represented as waging war with Satan and his angels. This passage stands connected with ver. 5 of the context, which rep- resents the Man-Child (Jesus) as caught up to the throne of God. The war waged would seem to have arisen from the eift)rts of Satan to annoy the ascending- Saviour. Such appears to be the symbolic representa- tion (see Stuart's Comment, ad loc). The allusion in Jude 9 is more difficult to understand, unless, with Vi- tringa, Lardner, Macknight, and others, we regard it also as symbolical ; in which case the dispute referred to is that indicated in Zech. iii, 1 ; and "the body of Moses" as a symbolical phrase for the Mosaical law and institu- tions [see Jude], in accordance with the usual mode of speaking among Christians, who called the Church "the body of Christ" (Col. i, 18, 24 ; Rom. xii, 5). A com- parison of Jude 9 with Zech. i, 8-14 gives much force and probability to this conjecture (see F. U.AVolter, De Michaeli cum diaholo Utigante [Rinteln, 1727-9]). Ac- cording to others, " the body of Moses" here means his proper and literal body, which the Lord secretly buried (Deut. xxxiv, 5, G), and which Satan wished to present to the Jews as an object of idolatry (comp. 2 Kings xviii, 4). " The allusion seems to be to a Jewish legend attached to Deut. xxxiv, 6. The Targum of .Jonathan attributes the burial of Moses to the hands of the angels of God, and particularly of the archangel Michael, as the guardian of Israel. Later traditions (see CEcumen. in Jud. cap. 1) set forth how Satan disputed the burial, claiming for himself the dead body because of the blood of the Egyptian (Exod. ii, 13) which was on Moses's hands" (see Quistorp, A^«;« Michaelis de corpore Mosis disceptatio fabula sit? [Gryph. 1770]).
Michael as a Saint in the Church of Rome. — This archangel is canonized in the Roman calendar, and his festival, called Michaelmas (q. v.), is celebrated on the 29th of September. The legends preserved by Roman Catholics relate that jMichael appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce to her the time of her death, and that he received her soul and bore it to Jesus. And again, tliat during the 6th century, when a fearful pestilence was raging in Rome, St. Gregorj^ advised that a proces- sion should be made, which should pass through the streets singing the service which since then has been called the Great Litanies. This was done for three
Representations of the A rchangel as a Saint.—" Mi- chael is always represented as young and beautiful.
tot Michael.
As patron of the Church IMilitant, he is ' the winged saint,' with no attribute save the shield and lance. As conqueror of Satan, he stands in armor, with his foot upon the Evil One, who is half human or like a dragon in shape. The angel is about to chain him, or to trans- fix him with the lance. But the treatment of this sub- ject is varied in many ways, all, however, easily recog- nised. As lord of souls, St. Michael is unarmed ; he holds a balance, and in each scale a little naked figure representing the souls; the beato usually joins the hands as in thankfulness, while the rejected one expresses hor- ror in look and attitude. Frequently a dremon is seiz- ing the falling scale with a Plutonic hook, or with his talons. In these pictures the saint is rarely without