July 4, 2011

The Pelican in Her Piety...

... the Pelican in Her Piety is an allegorical depiction of Christ. In bestiaries, the heraldic mother pelican plucks at her own breast in order to draw blood for to nurture her young. This is known as vulning, in Latina vulnera, where the word 'vulnerable' is derived.

It is an image of self sacrifice.

No comments:

Post a Comment