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jewish goth moodboard: owl
For medieval Christians the owl could do no right. It became the symbol of Synagogue, the female personification of Judaism. In the 16th and 17th century the bird remained linked to deceit and wickedness. There are images from this period of an owl with spectacles or a burning candle. (x)
Link broken so I looked into this more.
From âPrey of Pray: Allegorizing the Liturgical Practiceâ by Zvi Orgad
Regarding a synagogue with wall paintings of owls in Germany
At first glance, the owlâs solemn gaze and pose implies a positive image. This might seem peculiar, because, based on several well-known biblical verses that talk about it nesting in ruined buildings, the owl is usually considered a harbinger of destruction. However, early modern Jews could actually adopt positive connotations for the owl as a herald of redemption from these same verses, as they do not refer to the destruction and bitter end of Israel, but of the empires that enslaved the people of Israel. The owl in the verse, âThe desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there [âŠ]â (Isaiah 34:11, NIV) is part of a prophecy telling of Godâs revenge on Edom: â[âŠ] God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolationâ. In Jewish tradition, Rome and its Christian heirs are identified with Edom.5 Thus, European Jews could interpret this verse as a promise of Godâs vengeance on the rulers of the Christian lands where they were persecuted.
Thereâs also some further reclamation in manuscript art
Only a few owls were depicted in Hebrew illuminated manuscripts in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. Two images of owls might be seen as representing not just the narrative of redemption but also the actual embodiment of the Jew persecuted in a foreign land under Christian rule and anticipating being redeemedâŠIn this combined illustration, the owl is depicted en face, as was common in owl paintings in the medieval and early modern periods. In consequence, the owl acquired personality and potentially enlisted the viewerâs sympathy. In contrast, the face of the man on the left is hidden by the hand holding the stick, so he can be interpreted as an anonymous threatâŠMoreover, the painting shows the owl isolated and protected from his human pursuer, whoâdespite his threatening poseâcannot harm it. This composition may relate to the closing line of the piyyut, Vehi Sheâamda: âNot only one [enemy] threatened to destroy us, and the Holy One blessed be He, saved us from themâ. Therefore, the letter âŚâ protecting the owl in this illustration might stand for âmelekhâ (the kingâthe Almighty). Further, to describe the owl being protected from its enemies, the painter depicted it hiding in the darkness. This darkness may be a symbol for exile, as it is called in the begging for redemption at the end of the piyyut: âYou will turn the darkness of night into daylightâ. Thus, in this scene, the owl might represent the Jewish people anticipating redemption.
The sympathetic rendition of the owl in the Prague Haggadah and its identity as representing the enslaved people of Israel may have been a response to negative traits that were associated with owls in medieval Christian literature and the obscene qualities that were considered âJewishâ, for example, in the aviary and bestiary books. The owl was described as a bird that prefers darkness over lightâjust as the Jew rejected the light of Jesus. Many owls were depicted with two horns, which might have recalled the popular medieval horned image of Jews, especially Moses, and anti-Semitic images of horned Jews seen in early modern German lands.14 The text in bestiaries emphasized the owlâs hatred toward Christianity, which was expressed by living in the ruins of churches, eating the pigeonsâ eggs, and drinking oil from the lamps of the church altars.
Owls may also have been sometimes used to represent king David; personally since I saw this post years ago, Iâve associated owls with the Shekinah and Chokhmah
Could it be, then, that the owl in the Unterlimpurg Synagogue was an embodiment of King David himself? This possibility should be seriously considered, as in the Book of Psalms, attributed to King David, the author compared himself to an owl: âI am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruinsâ (Psalm 102:6, NIV).
Need to add this to my Renaissance-era book. Omg
