nimbus (nimbus)

[ peared on the earth, hence in later use the halo of saints; cf. L. nubes, a cloud, nebula, a mist, Gr. νέφος, νεφέλη, a cloud, a mist: see neb ula, nebule. Cf. nimb.] 1. A cloud or system of clouds from which rain is falling; a rain-cloud. See cloud ) (g).-2. In art and Christian ar chæol., a halo or disk of light surrounding the head in representations of divine or sacred personages; also, a disk or circle sometimes depicted in early times round the heads of emperors and other great men. The nimbus of God the Father is represented as of triangular form, with rays diverging from it on all sides, or in the form of two superposed triangles, or in the same form (inscribed with the cro ) as that of Christ. The nimbus of Christ contains a cro more or le enriched; that of the Virgin Mary is a plain circle, or occasionally a circlet of small stars, and that of angels and saints is often a circle of small rays. When the nimbus is depicted of a square form, it is supposed to IMG:content-1395.jpg:[merged small][subsumed][merged small][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed] The Nimbus as variously represented in Sacred and Legendary Art. -1, God the Father; 2 and 3, Christ; 4, Charlemagne; 5, Emperor Henry II. indicate that the person was alive at the time of delineation. Nimbus is to be distinguished from aureola and glory. 3. In her., a circle formed of a single line, drawn around the head and disappearing where it seems to go behind it.