CHESMAYNE

 themefor                                                      “so this is christmas”  - when a child]

Magi

                                                                

01 A group of unspecified number guided by a mysterious star who presented gifts to the child Jesus in Bethlehem (gold, frankincense, and myrrh).   Our perceptions of the Magi have shifted in the past two millennia.   The account of them in Matthew’s Gospel is sketchy in the extreme.   Some see them as wise men, wandering scholars, astrologers, Zoroastrian priests or Medes skilled in the interpretation of dreams.  What they are definitely not said to be are KIs.  Tertullian understood them to be KIs come to pay homage to the Christ child.  The only clue to their identity appears in the Gospel account of Matthew: “There came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is He that is born KI of the Jews?   For we have seen ‘His star’ in the east, and are come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2).   “When they had heard the KI, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was” (Matthew 2:9).   If they were astronomers/astrologers, their role would have been to interpret the destinies written in the heavens, implying they were well-versed in the movements of the planets and stars.   Some people suppose that the star was a conjunction of two or more planets which would have served as a sign.  

               

Other possibilities include a supernova, a comet, a meteor, or perhaps the diamond planet Venus as the biblical star.   In recent times the number of UFO sightings escalates when Venus is at its most luminous.   It would certainly have taken something very unusual to persuade the wise men that the Messiah was about to come into the world.   The search for the answer must include a proper dating of the time of Christ’s birth.  Historians date the Nativity somewhere between 8 and 4 BC.  Chinese astronomical records indicates that a bright comet made its appearance in 5 BC.   This may have been quite spectacular, but comets like politicians are unreliable.  

 

However, the Bible account indicates that nobody apart from the wise men actually saw ‘the star’, (highly unusual for so striking a vision).  Halley’s comet (an obvious suspect) was not close to the Earth during the time-period of the Nativity.   The spectacle and fuss of a supernova explosion are absent from the Chinese records of the time.  Another possible happening was the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces, in 7 BC.  These two planets appeared close together on three separate occasions, in an event called a triple conjunction, which occurs once in about every 139 years.  Many assume that a simple conjunction such as this, rather than a dazzling spectacle, is the proper candidate for the Star of Bethlehem.   The Magi (wise men) would have been able to read the heavens, and the conjunction would have been heavy with meaning for them ie, Jupiter (KI of the gods), coming together with Saturn (symbol of Justice).  

                  

Adoration of the Magi

Mantegna
Italian, 1495 - 1505
Distemper on linen
Sight size: 19 ¹/₈ x 25 ⁷/₈ in.
 

Three kings pay homage to the Christ Child, who in turn makes a sign of blessing.   Jesus Christ, his mother the Virgin Mary, and Mary’s husband Joseph have haloes and wear simple garments, while the Magi are dressed in exotic clothing and jewels and bear exquisite gifts.  Caspar, the old, bearded and balding king, presents the Christ Child with a rare Chinese cup made of delicate porcelain.  Melchior, the younger, bearded king behind Caspar, has brought a Turkish censer for perfuming the air with incense; on the right, Balthasar the Moor carries a covered cup made of agate.   Mantegna’s composition of figures and objects compressed within a shallow space was based on his study of ancient Roman reliefs.  He used a neutral background and sharply defined details to focus the viewer’s attention on the kings’ adoration of Christ. 

02 Traditionally from the 6^th century they are named as:

Gaspar: The white one.   Melchior: KI of light.   Balthasar: Lord of treasures. 

                                         

Above right: “Kings and Christ Child”, Italy

03 These three KIs of the East offered gold (emblem of royalty), frankincense (in token of divinity) and myrrh (in prophetic allusion to the persecution unto death which awaited the ‘Man of Sorrows’).   Matthew 2:11, “They presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh”. Farmers in Somalia keep an age-old industry alive by harvesting Frankincense.   It is reaped from the bark of boswellia trees in the mountains of northern Somalia.  It oozes like sap from incisions cut into the trunk before hardening in the sun to become frankincense.  Nine months later the material, most of which ends up being burnt as incense in western churches, is ready for collection.  If it is collected before the nine months are up it is pale and without strength.  The trees which yield the finest gum grow only on steep, inaccessible barren slopes in the coastal mountain ranges in an area once known as Punt. 

                  

The Egyptians obtained incense from this region 2,400 years before Christ and it was used for rituals in their temples and tombs.   Today it is used as an ingredient in the perfume industry and an essential oil distilled from it is used in aromatherapy.   The traditional use in the West is for religious ceremonies.   The clouds of incense are somehow representative of the divinity - God veiled from sight.   Convoys of camels transport the incense to warehouses where, over two months, impurities are removed.   It is then shipped across the world.  

            

Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient Jewish village on the edge of the Dead Sea which contains the lost secrets of the production of the prized balsam oil used to anoint the KIs of Judah and other monarchs in the ancient world.    The balm produced at En-gedi from as early as the 6^th century BC was regarded as the finest in the ancient world, according to accounts by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, the Jewish chronicler Josephus and Talmudic writers.   The balm was made from a species of persimmon tree found only along the shores of the Dead Sea.

 

        

Left: Domenico Bigordi, called Ghirlandaio, Adoration of the Magi.  1487.  Tempera on wood, cm 172 (diameter).  Inv. 1890, n. 1619.  The tondo is dated 1487 and was commissioned by Tornabuoni family. The classical architecture on the back, symbolic reference to the downfall of the pagan world at the birth of Christ, reveals the artist’s interest for antiquity.   His style is richly descriptive as beautiful details of dresses, jewels and landscape point out.  Right: Shrine Of The Nativity Marking Christ’s Birth, Bethlehem. 

04 The Persians regarded them as members of the priestly caste credited with occult powers.

05 In Camoens ‘Lusiad’ the term denotes Indian Brahmins.

  

Left: Shepherds’ Fields Outside Bethlehem.  Right: Nativity. 

06 Amahl and the Night Visitors: opera by G.C. Menotti.   Commissioned for television.   It took its storyline from Hieronymous Bosch’s painting, ‘The Adoration of the Magi’.   Menotti tells the story of how a crippled boy, Amahl, offers his crutches to the Magi as a gift for the Holy Child, and is miraculously healed. 

07 Befana: (Epiphania) the good fairy of Italian children.   According to legend, she was too busy to look after the Magi when they went out to offer their gifts.   She waited to see them on their return, but they took another route.   Since then, every Twelfth Night, she watches for them. 

 
            Sm/Md/Lg Haw'n Manger

08 The City of the Three KIs: Cologne - reputed burial place of the Magi. 

09 Myrrh, a natural compound extracted from a group of tropical shrubs called ‘Commiphora’, has been linked with perfemery, embalming and medicine since the Ancient Egyptians.  The Romans used it for treating mouth and eye infections.   According to Mark’s Gospel, a myrrh wine called ‘vinum murratum’ was offered by the soldiers to Christ before the Crucifixion.   Research seems to indicate that myrrh can actually kill pain. 

10 Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christ’s birth on January 7^th.   Traditionally, they eat nothing until the first star appears in the sky.  Emmanuel means ‘God with us’ (Isaiah’s prophecy). 

Realm of the Magi