The Kursk Regional Museum of Archaeology presents a fragment of a cast bronze ring from the late 10th — 11th centuries. Four Old Russian rings with an image of a five-pointed star on the plate have been found on the territory of the Kursk region. The length of the preserved fragment is 2.5 mm, the width of the plate is 1.3 mm. An image of a five-pointed star with dots in the middle and on the sides is engraved on the ring plate. Three crisscrossing lines are carved on parts of the ring adjoining the plate.
The symbol of the five-pointed star (a pentagram or pentacle) has been known for a very long time. In the Near Eastern symbolism it was ascribed the properties of protecting from evil forces, and one of the most famous synonymous names of the pentagram was the “Seal of King Solomon”. Perhaps it was from those people of the eastern Roman provinces who embraced the new religion, and in the first place from the Jews, that the five-pointed star came to Christianity and became one of the Christian symbols.
The Kursk historian Andrei Gennadievich Shpilev cites a number of examples of using the pentagram to decorate Christian structures. They include a bas-relief with a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle surrounded by birds and flowers from the 11th century Church of Saints Peter and Moses in Solina (Croatia), as well as a bas-relief with two male figures with halos and a five-pointed star in the middle placed to the right of the entrance to the 12th century Saint-Hilaire Church in Salers-en-Toulon (France).
In Christian symbolism, the five-pointed star is usually associated with the five wounds of Christ, but no less popular is its identification with the Star of Bethlehem, which announced to the Magi the appearance of the Savior and showed them the birthplace of Jesus. It is known that in Christianity there is no established and generally accepted canon for the depiction of the Star of Bethlehem. There are six-ray stars, eight-ray and ten-ray ones, as well as twenty-five-ray stars on artworks and religious objects. If we take a look directly at Bethlehem, we see that the place of the birth of the Savior in the temple of Nativity is marked with a silver star with 14 rays. However, these rays symbolize the number of Stations of the Cross. However, the star of Bethlehem, which adorns Christian churches and monasteries, usually has five rays.
The symbol of the five-pointed star (a pentagram or pentacle) has been known for a very long time. In the Near Eastern symbolism it was ascribed the properties of protecting from evil forces, and one of the most famous synonymous names of the pentagram was the “Seal of King Solomon”. Perhaps it was from those people of the eastern Roman provinces who embraced the new religion, and in the first place from the Jews, that the five-pointed star came to Christianity and became one of the Christian symbols.
The Kursk historian Andrei Gennadievich Shpilev cites a number of examples of using the pentagram to decorate Christian structures. They include a bas-relief with a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle surrounded by birds and flowers from the 11th century Church of Saints Peter and Moses in Solina (Croatia), as well as a bas-relief with two male figures with halos and a five-pointed star in the middle placed to the right of the entrance to the 12th century Saint-Hilaire Church in Salers-en-Toulon (France).
In Christian symbolism, the five-pointed star is usually associated with the five wounds of Christ, but no less popular is its identification with the Star of Bethlehem, which announced to the Magi the appearance of the Savior and showed them the birthplace of Jesus. It is known that in Christianity there is no established and generally accepted canon for the depiction of the Star of Bethlehem. There are six-ray stars, eight-ray and ten-ray ones, as well as twenty-five-ray stars on artworks and religious objects. If we take a look directly at Bethlehem, we see that the place of the birth of the Savior in the temple of Nativity is marked with a silver star with 14 rays. However, these rays symbolize the number of Stations of the Cross. However, the star of Bethlehem, which adorns Christian churches and monasteries, usually has five rays.
