Winged Knights

DoctorArcanus

In the Sola Busca deck (XV Century) and in the Thoth deck by Crowley and Harris (1940s), the Knight of Cups has wings.

Do you know other examples of such knights?
Any ideas on the origin and meaning of such iconography?
Ancient examples of winged knights in art?

Marco
 

DoctorArcanus

Huck said:
St Michael fights the dragon ....
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Thank you Huck. In particular, I was thinking of winged knights actually riding a horse.

Marco
 

jmd

Very interesting iconographic link, Marco...

Of course, the Crowley-Harris Knight of Swords also sports wings, but quite distinct to the one you so link with the Sola Busca deck.
 

Huck

DoctorArcanus said:
Thank you Huck. In particular, I was thinking of winged knights actually riding a horse.

Marco
Click to expand...

http://www.wga.hu/art/d/durer/2/12/2apocaly/04apocal.jpg

.. a combination of wings and horseman (Dürer and the riders of the the apocalypse).

Winged knights on horse should be a rarity ... wings and riding on horses is a logical contradiction, cause wings indicate flying, not riding.
 

DoctorArcanus

I have found a couple of images representing St. Michael riding a horse:
http://www.laviadellangelo.it/it/foto/foto/arte4.jpg
http://www.telemarket.com/Telemarket/assets/product_images/MG07569F.jpg
I don't know if they are derived from some ancient iconography.

Huck said:
Winged knights on horse should be a rarity ... wings and riding on horses is a logical contradiction, cause wings indicate flying, not riding.
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I agree, it's a contradiction. I think this is what makes these two cards so interesting to me. A contradiction must be there for some reason... :)

Marco
 

Huck

... :) The horses are winged, too, in this examples .. so the contradiction horse/wings is solved.

And we're back to Bellerophontes and the Pegasos. Bellerophontes fought the Chimair ... or Chimare .. ??? What's that in English?

The Chimare ALSO was a sort of dragon. So perhaps a sort of identification of St. Michael with Bellerophontes in this unusual pictures?

Descendants of Pontos-Gaia and their fight with the children of Uranos-Gaia.
The monsters born by Echidne.

Perseus killed Medusa ... and his grandfather ... and could fly with the shoes of Hermes
Bellerophontes killed the Chimare ... and his brother ... and could fly with Pegasos, the horse
Oedipus killed the Sphinx ... and his father, who drove on a chariot (naturally with horses)
Theseus killed Phaia, the sow ... and his son by a curse, who died on a chariot with crazy horses
Herakles killed the rest ... and his children .. and Herakles killed Chiron, half-horse half-man, by accident
Orest killed Neoptolemos, son of Achilles, son of Thetis ... and his mother ... we guess, Achilles was the personification of a horse

... and Greek mythology ended

That's the Greek view on it.
 

venicebard

DoctorArcanus said:
In the Sola Busca deck (XV Century) and in the Thoth deck by Crowley and Harris (1940s), the Knight of Cups has wings.

Any ideas on the origin and meaning of such iconography?
Click to expand...
Marco, I notice a striking difference in these two images: in the Crowley image the wings are part of a generally triumphal feel the image has, but in the Sola Busca (created by deeper thinkers, methinks) it looks as if the knight leaves the Cup or Grail (of peace) on the ground and takes up his helm for combat.

Perhaps this somehow expresses pagan rejection of the Grail and a return to the martial values of the past, or perhaps it is simply portraying, not necessarily sympathetically, a certain type or class or group that does so.

Indeed one can take wings alchemically, as representing mercury's volatility (tendency of its vapors to leap into the 'air', meaning the upper part of the vessel). In Crowley's take on it, then, this volatility is being harnessed seemingly for its transcendent power, whereas in the Sola Busca it is as if to say: "Man, God hath given you wings, yet you fly to war."
 

Huck

kwaw said:
There is the winged Polish Hussars c. XVII century on:

http://www.100megsfree4.com/rusgeneral/soldier4.htm

http://www.cavhooah.com/polish.htm

http://www.rencentral.com/sept_vol1/hussars.shtml

Although I have seen some model figures advertising as 15th century the wings were part of the uniform from about the last quarter of the 16th {1576 on } century as far as I can find out.

Kwaw
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Interesting, I didn't know that. But looks like a normal development process from the earlier fine decorated European knight and likely also decorated Tartar and Mongol warrior to a more modern example of fighter, who might have also heard of and been inspired by Indians in North America ... :)

Likely the less populated new Polish kingdom demanded a quick mobile army which could cross large distances with ease. The skins of wild animals likely were necessary to protect against colder temperatures in these regions. The apparatus, which carried the feathers possibly stabilised the rider? Possibly a practical tool for long hours on horseback?

The moving feathers possibly were intended to confuse shooting enemies. The sound of the feathers was possibly an interesting feature as a psychological effect ... similar to war drums or other militarical music. It possibly concetrated the mind on the action of fight with no time to rethink fears and other disturbing and distracting moods.
 
Delphi The Unmentionable