The Encyclopedia of Angels

by Guiley, Rosemary

• ISBN13: 9780816050239
• ISBN10: 0816050236
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Facts on File

Summary

This volume describes a multitude of angels and also the evolution of how people have perceived angels throughout history. Detailed entries cover topics such as the importance of angels in major world religions, encounters with angels, and the depiction of angels in art and popular culture, making this second edition a great reference for anyone who would like to know more about angels.
The author draws from canonical, apocryphal, mystical, and esoteric texts to describe a wide range of topics, ensuring that this book will be an invaluable and comprehensive resource for years to come.

Excerpts

Praise for the previous edition:
Library Booknotes One of the Year's Best 1998.
This is a useful addition to the reference collection of any academic or larger public library.—Library Journal
...recommended for popular collections...—American Reference Books Annual
...a masterful treatment of the subject...—Library Booknotes
...there does not seem to be a single source of angel information left untapped...the book is handsomely illustrated.—Fate Magazine
...careful scholarship...recommended for both experiencers and nonexperiencers who need or want information about angels.—Exceptional Human Experience
Assuming a multitude of guises and functions, these intermediaries between God and humanity remain a source of endless fascination and speculation. An enlightening, comprehensive A-to-Z guide to angels of all kinds, The Encyclopedia of Angels, Second Edition provides a scholarly reference to the origins, natures, functions, and manifestations of angels. Sure to delight and inform students, scholars, and laypeople alike, this second edition is the definitive source on the subject. Carefully executed and extensive revisions cover 50 percent more material than the previous edition, adding unsurpassed detail and accuracy to an encyclopedia that is already impressive in scope and authority.
Engaging, fact-filled entries cover topics such as the history of angelologies, individual angels, the importance of angels in major world religions, encounters with angels, and depiction of angels in art and popular culture. Several entries cover prominent historical figures, such as Charles Lindbergh, William Blake, and Carl Jung, who claimed to have experienced first-hand interaction with angels. In addition, many entries have been updated, rewritten, and expanded, particularly topical entries like those on drama, music, or film. The encyclopedia also contains an expanded bibliography and approximately 65 new illustrations, as well as a new introduction and a foreword written by
Lisa Schwebel, Ph.D., Professor of Religion, Hunter College, City University
of New York.
New entries cover:Individual angels (Abaddon, Metatron, Zuriel, and many others)Types of angels (angels of glory, angels of sanctification, patriarch angels, and many others)Biblical stories (Adam and Eve, Ark of the Covenant, and more) Myths and folklore (Fairies, Lincoln Imp, Olympic spirits, and more) Key figures such as theologians, philosophers, and mystics (Eleazar of Worms, St. Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhardt, and others).