(O. ZSCKLERf.)
Bibliography: On 1. The results of early editing of the Opera are collected in MPG, vol. lxxix. Consult: Tillemont, Memoires, xiv. 189-218; Ceillier, Auteurs sacres, iv. 435, viii. 205-231; J. Fessler, Institutiones patrologiw, ed. B. Jungmann, ii. 2, pp. 108-126, Innsbruck, 1892; J. Kunze, Marcus Eremita, pp. 129 sqq., Leipsic, 1895; O. Zockler, Biblische und kirchenhistorische Studien, iii. 28-34, iv. 43-48, Munich, 1893; Neander, Christian Church, vol. ii. passim.
2. An early Vita is in ASB, Sept., vii. 283-343, and in excerpts in MPG, iv. 616-618. Consult: G. Minasi, San Nilo di Calabria, Naples, 1892; Krumbacher, Geschichte, pp. 195, 198; Neander, Christian Church, iii. 420-424 et passim.
NIMBUS: A symbol used by Christian artists from the fourth century to distinguish representations of the persons of the Trinity, Biblical and
saintly personages, and sometimes em- Origin, perors, kings, and other magnates. It Early consists of a circular or rectangular History, illuminated space surrounding the head
of the figure, with sometimes a number of lighter stripes or rays going out from the head. This usage has its precedent in several non-Christian religions — Brahmanism, Buddhism, Slavic paganism, and especially the religions of Greece and Rome. The choice of the attribute is somewhat surprising in view of the descriptions of divine and angelic apparitions in the Bible and the apocryphal and patristic literature. God and the angels appear to man there, it is true, amidst light, but also amidst clouds, fire, and lightning (Gen. xv. 17; Ex. iii. 2, xiii. 21, xix. 16, 18; Num. ix. 15, xiv. 14, etc.). In the narrative of the transfiguration of Christ, the radiance of his countenance and the glory in which Moses and Elijah appeared are emphasized (Matt. xvii. 1; Mark ix. 2; Luke ix. 28); but neither in the New Testament nor in extra-canonical literature is there any indication of a phenomenon analogous to the nimbus. In direct reference to passages like those cited above, primitive Christian and early medieval art depicted God (or the hand of God) amidst clouds at the sacrifice of Isaac and the giving of the law, and in flames at the burning bush, Christ with an aureole and later a mandorla, angels amidst clouds, etc. _ But at the same time the figures of God and Christ or their emblems, the angels, etc., appeared with even greater frequency with the nimbus, entirely without reference to any scriptural or patristic expressions.
Nimbus Nimes
THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Since pre-Christian art had been accustomed to depict not only gods and heroes but emperors and their families with the nimbus, the question arises from which usage the Christian artists borrowed their own. Without entering into a detailed discussion, it may be observed not only that if the nimbus was borrowed from the usage in regard to gods, it would be difficult to explain why it did not become prevalent before the fourth century, and also why the corona of rays, frequently used for Zeus, Serapis, Dionysius, Apollo, etc., was not adopted. When, on the other hand, it is known that the nimbus, from Constantine on, became one of the most usual tokens of imperial rank (not only for the emperors themselves but for the members of their families), both difficulties are removed by the adoption of the latter theory. Support is added to this conclusion by the fact that in the hundreds of sarcophagus-reliefs originating in Rome and Italy the nimbus is scarcely ever used even in the fifth century, while in the smaller number found at Ravenna, done under Byzantine influence, it occurs comparatively often. The same evidence is afforded by the paintings in the Roman catacombs, which represent Christ with the nimbus where he appears as teacher or lawgiver. The figure of Christ in the apse of Santa Pudenziana at Rome reminds the beholder at once of that of Constantius II. in the chronograph of 354; both figures are seated majestically on a throne covered by a large cushion, and both wear the nimbus — the only difference being in the clothing, the gesture of the right hand, and the object held in the left, a book with Christ and a scepter with the emperor. Evidently the nimbus was merely a token of rank.
If the mosaics of the glorified Christ in the two niches at Santa Costanza in Rome are to be considered as old as the others existing Chronolog- in the former mausoleum, they are the ical Devel- oldest examples of the use of the nimopment. bus; but as this is justly disputed, the first place in proved antiquity must be assigned to the enthroned Christ with his symbol the lamb at Santa Pudenziana in Rome, belonging to the last decade of the fourth century. Christ has a circular golden nimbus with a border of green, the lamb one of blue. The nimbus is found even earlier for Christ in pictures in the catacombs, one of which (Garrucci, lxvii. 1), not earlier than the pontificate of Damasus, shows a simple circular nimbus; and the same kind, of a bluish hue, is found on the heads of Peter and Paul, who appear thus for the first time in mosaic in the triumphal arch of San Paolo fuori le Mura, probably belonging to the time of Leo the Great (Garrucci, ccxxxvii.). The mosaics in the nave of Santa Maria Maggiore, which De Rossi and others place in the pontificate of Liberius, are especially significant; here for the first time appears the circular golden nimbus for God, a white one with green border for the three guests of Abraham (Gen. xviii. 2), and a green one for " the captain of the Lord's host " (Josh. v. 13), which last picture places the nimbus for angels in the fourth century. Angels similarly adorned appear several times in the arch of San Paolo, dating from Sixtus III. Mary with the nimbus, oddly enough, does not appear in any designs which can be certainly dated in
the fourth century. The symbols of the four evangelists seem to have been finally introduced into Christian art toward the end of this century, and at Santa Pudenziana the evangelists appear still without the nimbus; at San Paolo Mark and John have it, and in several cases only the emblem of Matthew is thus distinguished, presumably as a mark of special dignity. The extension of the nimbus to personages not yet mentioned does not occur till the fifth century. It is found in the case of John the Baptist in the baptistery, and possibly in that of Laurence in the tomb of Galla Placidia, at Ravenna, and thereafter with increasing frequency. When early western art came to an end, with the close of the sixth century at Rome and a hundred years later in the provinces, the use of the nimbus was wide-spread, but not governed by any fixed rules; and thus the Middle Ages revived it, to use it more extensively than ever. In Renaissance art is found a certain aversion to the use of this adjunct.
As to form, the earliest Christian examples do not differ essentially from the Greek and Roman; but a characteristic innovation is introduced when the head of Christ, or of his symbol tha Form and lamb, is found with the nimbus con- Variations, taining the monogrammatic form jfc or f (see Jesus Christ, Monogram of) , sometimes flanked by A and Q, or with a cross. The cross became more and more usual, for the Father and the Holy Spirit as well. It must be remembered, however, that the use of the monogram and cross preceded the nimbus in the order of time, and are found in a few very early instances placed above the head. Different parts of the world show their own preferences in this matter. In the Roman and Italian sarcophagi both the plain and the cruciform nimbus are wanting; those of Gaul show the plain nimbus, but not the monogram or cross; those of Ravenna, on the other hand, frequently use the monogram and the A and O. The cross gradually became preferred over the monogram, and in the Middle Ages was the usual distinguishing mark of Christ. The monogram, however, is the older form, possibly belonging to the end of the fourth century, while the cruciform nimbus was an invention of the fifth; and not before the sixth is a rectangular nimbus found, in the majority of cases denoting that the person was still alive at the time of the representation. In Italy and Greece, and later in Germany, God the Father was designated in the less ancient art by a triangular nimbus with rays proceeding from it; and instances occur in Italy of the hexagonal form as an attribute of the cardinal virtues. In the Middle Ages Christian art developed a form of the nimbus which somewhat resembles the pre-Christian corona of rays. The beams of light proceeding from the head of the figure form a sort of sun or sometimes, especially in the case of Christ, a cross. To this form the way led through the kind of nimbus found in Gothic carvings, in which the effect of the disc-shaped frame is heightened by the introduction of rays, so that it was a simple matter to omit the frame altogether. Renaissance art either reduced the nimbus to a faint radiance surrounding the head, or dropped it altogether.
(NlKOLAUS MttLLER.)