Vesica piscis in the context of "Mandorla"

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⭐ Core Definition: Vesica piscis

The vesica piscis is a type of lens, a mathematical shape formed by the intersection of two disks with the same radius, intersecting in such a way that the center of each disk lies on the perimeter of the other. In Latin, "vesica piscis" literally means "bladder of a fish", reflecting the shape's resemblance to the conjoined dual air bladders (swim bladder) found in most fish. In Italian, the shape's name is mandorla ("almond"). A similar shape in three dimensions is the lemon.

This figure appears in the first proposition of Euclid's Elements, where it forms the first step in constructing an equilateral triangle using a compass and straightedge. The triangle has as its vertices the two disk centers and one of the two sharp corners of the vesica piscis.

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👉 Vesica piscis in the context of Mandorla

A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with vesica, a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in traditional Christian iconography. It is distinguished from a halo in that it encircles the entire body and not just the head. It is commonly used to frame the figure of Christ in Majesty in early medieval and Romanesque art, as well as Byzantine art of the same periods. It is the shape generally used for mediaeval ecclesiastical seals, secular seals generally being round.

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Vesica piscis in the context of Escutcheon (heraldry)

In heraldry, an escutcheon (/ɪˈskʌən/, ih-SKUTCH-ən) is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word can be used in two related senses. In the first sense, an escutcheon is the shield upon which a coat of arms is displayed. In the second sense, an escutcheon can itself be a charge within a coat of arms.

Escutcheon shapes are derived from actual shields that were used by knights in combat, and thus are varied and developed by region and by era. Since shields have been regarded as military equipment appropriate for men only, British ladies customarily bear their arms upon a lozenge, or diamond-shape, while clergymen and ladies in continental Europe bear their arms upon a cartouche, or oval. Other shapes are also in use, such as the roundel commonly used for arms granted to Aboriginal Canadians by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, or the Nguni shield used in African heraldry (likewise, Christian organisations and Masonic bodies tend to use the same shape, also known as a vesica piscis).

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Vesica piscis in the context of Lemon (geometry)

In geometry, a lemon is a geometric shape that is constructed as the surface of revolution of a circular arc of angle less than half of a full circle rotated about an axis passing through the endpoints of the lens (or arc). The surface of revolution of the complementary arc of the same circle, through the same axis, is called an apple.

The apple and lemon together make up a spindle torus (or self-crossing torus or self-intersecting torus). The lemon forms the boundary of a convex set, while its surrounding apple is non-convex.

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