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Article: Is that a Moor's head?(The Last Word)
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- July 15, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Commonweal Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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There is a curious image on Pope Benedict XVI's coat of arms. It is not the scallop shell--a symbol associated with baptism and pilgrimage--or the bishop's miter, which occupies the place traditionally reserved for the papal tiara. It's not even the bear wearing a saddle. Instead, the image that draws the eye is a profile of a crowned African man, with bright red lips and a gold earring.
This emblem is called the "Caput Aethiopum" or "Moor's Head." Specifically, the image of the African king is the "Freising Moor" that has long adorned the coat of arms of the archdiocese of Munich-Freising.
Some might associate the Moor's head with the Magi, the African ...