The white stag, emblem of King Richard IIД«ut, why 11 Angels, an unusual number in medieval iconography since it had a negative connotation? Richard began his reign at age 11 in 1377, when he gave 11 gold coins called вЂangelsвЂ™ to Our Lady of the Pew at Westminster Abbey. King David makes the stag a symbol of the soul's longing for God: вЂњAs the hart pants after the fountains of water so my soul pants after thee, O God.вЂќ (Ps 42:1) As the stags crossing a river help each other, so should the Catholic crossing through the difficulties of the spiritual life help others who grow weak or tired. When the front stag tires, it moves to the end of the line to rest. When stags must cross a river to find food, they swim in a line with one stag's head resting on the rear of the one in front of it. When the stag is rejuvenated it sheds its horns after drinking from the spring, so those who drink from the Spring of the Living Waters are rejuvenated and shed their sins. So also, says the Bestiary, is the Christian saved, for вЂќsinвЂ™s trace is lost when in the baptismal font he is washed.вЂќ (Biedermann, 93) The stag then would drink large amounts of water to overcome the serpentвЂ™s poison, and thus be rejuvenated. It was also believed that a stag that was ill or old would draw a snake out of hiding and swallow it.

The water used to flush out snakes became symbolic of Christ's wisdom and purity, the Gospel, and the water that flowed from His pierced Side on the Cross. The stag was believed to pursue snakes into their holes or rock crevices, flushing them out by flooding the hole with the breath or water from its mouth, and devouring them.Д«ecause the snake is a symbol of Satan, the stag's war against them made the stag a symbol of Christ and the Catholic in his battle against the evil one. Early bestiaries describe the stag as a relentless enemy of snakes. The stag is a symbol for Christ, Who tramples and destroys the Devil. Each of the 11 angels wears a stag brooch

Christian diptic