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A Vindication of the RedheadThe Devil Has Red Hair and So Do Other Dissemblers in Ancient Discourses

A Vindication of the Redhead: The Devil Has Red Hair and So Do Other Dissemblers in Ancient... [The origin of the historical Western and Eastern distrust of red hair began long before the Romans encountered the Goths. The Judeo-Christian understanding, as reflected in both the Old and New Testaments, is that all red-haired creatures, human and nonhuman, are reprobate, beginning with Satan and his league of demons. The Bible has often described Satan as having red hair like a goat and as such has been the Judeo-Christian basis of associating red hair with wickedness, deception, and rogues. Since the Bible describes Adam as having been formed out of clay and his name translates as “red,” the assumption is that the first man ever had red hair. Since Eve was formed from his rib, then, she, too must have red hair. Before Eve, though, Jewish legend has Adam coupled with red-haired Lilith. From the first family, the chapter moves to Cain with his red hair and then Esau. The most notorious biblical character depicted in paintings as a redhead is Judas Iscariot, and his depiction is explored. From Judas to Judith and finally to Salomé, the chapter concludes its study of redheads in Judeo-Christian narratives.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Vindication of the RedheadThe Devil Has Red Hair and So Do Other Dissemblers in Ancient Discourses

Ayres, Brenda
Springer Journals — Jan 1, 2022
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28 pages

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Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
ISBN
978-3-030-83514-9
Pages
21 –48
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-83515-6_2
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[The origin of the historical Western and Eastern distrust of red hair began long before the Romans encountered the Goths. The Judeo-Christian understanding, as reflected in both the Old and New Testaments, is that all red-haired creatures, human and nonhuman, are reprobate, beginning with Satan and his league of demons. The Bible has often described Satan as having red hair like a goat and as such has been the Judeo-Christian basis of associating red hair with wickedness, deception, and rogues. Since the Bible describes Adam as having been formed out of clay and his name translates as “red,” the assumption is that the first man ever had red hair. Since Eve was formed from his rib, then, she, too must have red hair. Before Eve, though, Jewish legend has Adam coupled with red-haired Lilith. From the first family, the chapter moves to Cain with his red hair and then Esau. The most notorious biblical character depicted in paintings as a redhead is Judas Iscariot, and his depiction is explored. From Judas to Judith and finally to Salomé, the chapter concludes its study of redheads in Judeo-Christian narratives.]

Published: Jan 1, 2022

Keywords: Bible and red hair; Gothic; Satan; Salome; Gabriel Rossetti; The Spire

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