birds

Article

In the Old Testament and the New Testament symbolic references to birds occur, and these were multiplied in medieval literature and art.

• The dove was an early type of purity, as in Canticle of Canticles, 5 and 6; of peace, as in the story of the Deluge; of simplicity and innocence, as in Matthew 10. In early Christian art it typified the Holy Ghost; and after, as the soul, it is sometimes seen flying from the mouth of the dead.
• The eagle, reputed to have the power of looking directly at the sun, is a symbol of Christ gazing undaunted on the brightness of God the Father, and of Saint John absorbed in contemplating the highest truth. The eagle was also a type of Baptism, from the legend that a dying eagle could renew its youth by plunging three times into a spring of pure water (Psalm 102).
• The pelican, feeding her young with the blood of her breast, symbolizes Christ the Redeemer; “nostro pelicano” as Dante calls Him.
• The phoenix, said to rise rejuvenated from its own ashes, is the type of resurrection and eternity.
• The peacock, believed incorruptible, represents immortality, and in later art, pride.
• The cock is the emblem of Saint Peter the Apostle, and sometimes of vigilance.
• The vulture represents greed.

Profiled saints associated in general with birds

• Blessed Gamelbert of Michaelsbuch
• Blessed Jose de Anchieta
• Pope Saint Zachary
• Saint Aldebrandus of Fossombrone
• Saint Ambrose of Milan
• Saint Bavo of Ghent
• Saint Benedict of Nursia
• Saint Boniface
• Saint Canice
• Saint Colette
• Saint Columbanus
• Saint Conrad of Piacenza
• Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
• Saint Francis of Assisi
• Saint Hilda of Whitby
• Saint Kentigern
• Saint Kevin of Glendalough
• Saint Martin de Porres
• Saint Oswald of Northumbria
• Saint Oswald of Worcester
• Saint Paul the Hermit
• Saint Scholastica
• Saint Ursus of Aosta
• Saint Valentine of Rome

Additional Information

• chicken
• dove
• eagle
• goose
• peacock
• pelican
• pheonix
• raven
• robin
• rooster
• vulture

MLA Citation

• “birds”. Emblems of the Faith. Saints.SQPN.com. 18 August 2010. Web. 25 May 2013. <http://saints.sqpn.com/birds/>