천사학(天使學)과 단테의 천사상(天使像) = Angelology and the Image of Angels in Dante`s Divine Comedy

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Angels symbolize the belief that there is indeed an invisible world in God`s creation which we cannot grasp with conventional vision. We can distinguish three approaches to world of the invisible. One is philosophical angelology which investigates the very existence of the invisible world. Theological angelology, on the other hand, begins with the belief that there is indeed world beyond our conventional vision. I look however to the Aesthetics of Angelology which depicts the invisible world through allegory in literature and visual art. Such Aesthetics already suggests that Ancient People were familiar with the world of the invisible, and thus could represent it in visual art. With modernity, people came to depend on empirical examination, and skepticism about the invisible world. Insensitive to the realm of the invisible, modernity led to superficiality. This is critical even in the realm of self-knowledge where people have become reluctant to examine their invisible selves. I investigated the Christian tradition of angelology, especially the writings of the Fathers of the Early Church. For the Fathers, the mission of the angels was the salvation of human beings. For instance, Dionysius Areopagita wrote that the angels worked to help humankind to be like God in ceaseless love and wisdom. Much later, we find angels as a model of sanctity. For instance, St. Francis is described as a seraphim in love, and St. Dominic became like the cherubim in wisdom. This reflects sensitivity to an invisible world in an earlier literature and visual art.

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 利倉 隆, "天使の美術と物語" 東京: 美術出版社 1999

2 Fox, Matthew., "The Physics of Angels" San Francisco: Harper San Francisco 1996

3 Dante Alighieri, La Divina Commedia, tr. by Singleton C, "The Divine Comedy, Princeton U.P" 을유문화사 1995

4 Lansing. R, "The Dante Encyclopedia" N.Y.: Garland Publishing, 2000

5 Keck, D, "Angels and Angelology in the Middle Ages" Oxford U.P 1998