Angels writing on the shoulders of time

Abstract

The article deals with the semantics of the sentence historia magistra vitae? The terms ›historia‹, ›magistra‹ and ›vita‹ are analyzed in depth on the bases of 17th and 18th centuries‹ iconologies, where history and the teacher are represented as allegorical personifications. In such a way History is described as »a young winged woman, robed in white; she writes while leaning on the shoulders of Time, who is an elderly man. She has one foot firmly planted on a stone, since history needs strong foundations. She looks back, for she works for posterity, enabling it to have a record of things past. She works speedily, hence the wings; she is disinterested – a sincere, pure witness of events, upon which she imposes order.« The article makes systematically use of such metaphors and discusses them in the context of modern concepts of historiography and historical research.