serpent Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture (4 ed.)
... 1. In Classical architecture, an emblem of healing, wisdom, and the Messenger (Hermes, St John, etc.), so part of the winged baton or caduceus . 2. Arranged in a circle, with tail in mouth, a serpent suggests immortality ( see aaron’s rod ; ouroboros...
serpent Quick reference
A Dictionary of the Bible (2 ed.)
... First appears in the * Bible in the * J story of the * creation (Gen. 2: 4–3: 24), as an explanation of human sinfulness. The serpent (not yet identified with * Satan or the devil) is the tempter. * Aaron was endowed with a power to change his staff into a serpent in order to bring pressure on * Pharaoh (Exod. 7: 10). Moses had a ‘bronze serpent’ which possessed properties of healing (Num 21: 4–9), which is referred to again in John 3: 14–15. Paul also had an encounter with a snake, supposed to be poisonous (Acts 28: 1–6), though poisonous...
Serpent Reference library
Reginald Morley-Pegge, Philip Bate, Stephen J. Weston, and Douglas Yeo
The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments
...20th-century serpent makers besides Christopher Monk ( d 1991) included his successors Keith Rogers ( d 2008) and Nicholas Perry, and David Harding of Abingdon. Serpents are also made by Mathias Wetter and Stefan Berger of Switzerland; in addition to historical copies in wood and leather, they manufacture a carbon-fibre serpent. The revival of interest in the serpent since the late 20th century is chronicled in the Serpent Newsletter , edited by Paul Schmidt, who also maintains a serpent website. Three 19th-century serpents: (a) Serpent d’église, two...
serpent Reference library
The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture (2 ed.)
...the Immaculate Conception , Mary is seen as treading on the serpent, as the symbol of sin, since she was born sinless, and in the Incarnation she is the bearer of the One who is the ultimate conqueror of sin, and as God promised at the moment of cursing the serpent, there would be enmity between the serpent and her ‘offspring’—that is, Jesus Christ. An indirect result of God's condemnation of the serpent for its craftiness is its adoption as a symbol of wisdom, as in the saying ‘as wise as the serpent’, i.e. as underhand, secretive, and sly. In fact, Christ...
Serpent Reference library
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)
...and Romans and not infrequently the figure of a serpent was depicted on their altars. In the temple of athene at Athens a serpent, believed to be animated by the soul of erichthonius , was kept in a cage and called the Guardian Spirit of the Temple 5. Wisdom: ‘Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves’ ( Matthew 10:16 ) 6. Subtlety: ‘Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field’ ( Genesis 3:1 ) 7. The devil : as the Tempter ( Genesis 3:1–6 ); in early pictures the serpent is sometimes placed under the feet of the Virgin ...
SERPENT Reference library
The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (2 ed.)
...this precedent, may be seen to derive from the Hebrew verb s r f (burn). In the Bible the serpent was regarded as a symbol of evil, and as such figures as the tempter in the story of the mgarden of Eden ( Gn . 3). Its negative association with the tree of life stands in contrast to Babylonian myth, in which the serpent appears on a tree as one who bestows life. As proof of Moses’ divine mission to Pharaoh, his staff turned into a serpent ( Ex 4.2–4). A brazen serpent ( Nehushtan ) served to cure the stricken Israelites in the wilderness ( Nm . 21); the...
Serpent ([Bible]) Quick reference
A Dictionary of Reference and Allusion (3 ed.)
... [Bible] In the book of Genesis, the Serpent, which was ‘more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made’, persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of *Eden , saying that ‘in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil’ (Gen. 3). She in turn tempted *Adam to eat and as a result of this disobedience they were banished from the Garden of Eden. > A source of problems in an otherwise happy situation; someone showing...
serpent Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Music (6 ed.)
... Obsolete bass member of cornett family, 8′ long and roughly S‐shaped, hence the name. Made of wood, sometimes of metal; had 6 fingerholes and sometimes keys. First introduced in Fr. towards end of 16th cent., where it was used in church to double male vv. Became popular military‐band instr and was in use in Eng. church bands to mid‐19th cent. (mentioned by Thomas Hardy...
serpent Reference library
Jeremy Montagu
The Oxford Companion to Music
...serpent . A wind instrument consisting of a sinuously curved, widely conical wooden tube with six fingerholes, a metal crook extending from it, and a cup mouthpiece similar in size to that of a trombone. Up to 13 keys were added on later models. Initially devised as a bass instrument to support voices in French churches, it became a popular military instrument throughout Europe, and the orchestral brass bass before the invention of the *ophicleide and the *tuba . Its wide bore gives it a rich tone, which ensured its popularity in village bands. The...
Plumed serpent Reference library
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)
...serpent A mythical creature that is part snake, part bird. The term is applied particularly to the Aztec and Toltec deity quetzalcoatl , whose name means ‘plumed serpent’. D.H. Lawrence ’s novel The Plumed Serpent ( 1926 ) is set in...
Serpent myths Reference library
The Oxford Companion to World Mythology
... myths Serpent myths are ubiquitous in world mythology. They are phallic and they penetrate the earth, making them frequent associates of the goddess in her many forms and objects connoting fertility . Chinawezi is the serpent Mother Goddess of the Luba Linda people in Africa . In other animistic traditions in places such as Native North America and Mesoamerica the serpent, represented by symbols suggesting lightning and a zigzagging river, can signify fertility as well. The Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl is the “feathered serpent.” In ...
Serpent Mound Reference library
William S. Dancey
The Oxford Companion To Archaeology (2 ed.)
...to form a double enclosure. Viewing the entire figure as a serpent, the enclosure is often said to symbolize an egg or small animal, which is the target of the serpent’s imminent strike. It has also been interpreted as the serpent’s eye. This configuration can be seen only from the air, and on the ground trees block the view of the entire figure. It follows the only access route to the enclosure and may have served to mark the location of the ritual place and memorialize the trail to it. Serpent Mound was excavated between 1888 and 1890 by Frederick W....
Feathered Serpent Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures
...controversial), the Feathered Serpent is depicted in quite similar fashion at both, including the icon's most innovative manifestation, the Feathered Serpent column. Another apparent new format was the “patron” position of the undulating Feathered Serpent behind the figure of a warrior/leader, implying a significant relationship between the creature and rulership. Also ubiquitous at both sites is the undulating Feathered Serpent on the cornices of stone benches, or banquettes, edging some rooms. This frequency of Feathered Serpent images, particularly at...
Midgard serpent Reference library
The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages
...serpent In Scandinavian mythology, the monstrous son of *Loki cast into the sea by the gods and the traditional enemy of *Thor . A widespread myth from the *Viking Age , found both in poetry and on carved stones, tells how Thor fished up the Midgard serpent . At *Ragnarok the two will kill each other. See also folklore and mythology: scandinavian . John Lindow M. Clunies Ross , Prolonged Echoes: Old Norse Myths in Medieval Icelandic Society , vol. 1, The Myths (1994). J. Lindow , Norse Mythology: An Annotated Bibliography (1988). —— Norse...
brazen serpent Reference library
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (4 ed.)
...serpent The image set up by Moses in the wilderness, on looking at which those who had been bitten by serpents were healed (Num. 21: 8, 9). Acc. to 2 Kgs 18: 4 it was destroyed by Hezekiah because the Israelites had been in the habit of burning incense to it. It is mentioned once in the NT as a type of the crucified Christ (Jn 3:...
Serpent’s Tail Reference library
The Oxford Companion to the Book
...’s Tail Independent British publishing company, established in 1986 by Peter Ayrton . Known for its counter-cultural publishing, self-consciously positioned against the mainstream, it publishes literary fiction, *crime , non-fiction, and literature in *translation . In 2007 , it was acquired by fellow independent Profile Books, which was established in 1996 . Claire...
brazen serpent, the Reference library
The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture (2 ed.)
...serpent, the When the Israelites were in the wilderness and the Lord sent fiery serpents to punish their disobedience, Moses was ordered to make a serpent of brass and set it up on a pole (Num. 21: 6–9): those who looked on it were cured, so it is often used as an OT type of the Crucifixion, because of Christ's saying (John 3: 14): ‘as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted...
Plumed Serpent, The Reference library
The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English
...Serpent, The , a novel by D. H. Lawrence , published in 1926 . Lawrence's Mexican novel was begun in spring 1923 and finished in February 1925 . Lawrence wrote it whilst travelling through Mexico and the USA. Today it is perhaps his most controversial work and certainly his most openly ideological. After its publication there is evidence that he regretted many of the opinions in it, and his next and last book, Lady Chatterley's Lover , reverses many of its ideas. The novel concerns Kate Leslie, an Irishwoman mourning the death of her republican...
The Serpent in Creation
A Dictionary of Creation Myths
...Serpent in Creation The serpent is a traditional working companion of the Great Goddess in the most ancient myths. It is sometimes the goddess herself and sometimes the phallic symbol of earth's fertile powers. In later patriarchal creation myths, the serpent becomes something to be conquered, something associated with the unformed mysteries of the dark goddess—Earth—as opposed to the rational and light‐bringing sky god ( see also Babylonian Creation ; Hebrew Creation...
Wainaba, the Serpent Ruler (Kush/Ethiopia) Quick reference
A Dictionary of African Mythology
...the Serpent Ruler (Kush/Ethiopia) A mythic dragon or serpent called Wainaba ruled the country for four hundred years. The monster was slain by a man called Angabo, the predecessor and father of the Queen of Sheba on the throne of Abyssinia. This serpent lived in Tamben, a district to the south of Aksum, and when it became known that it was coming to Aksum, Angabo promised the Aksumites that he would kill the monster if they would agree to make him king. To this they assented, and Angabo made plans to kill the serpent. He worked magic on the road by...
