Angel's tatoo

[spikenbuffy]

What's the story behind Angel's tatoo in your mind? Why or when do you think he did it?
I don't remind any scenes of Angel talking about his tatoo apart of Angel (BTVS S1).

 

[Nix]

I think he got the tattoo after the curse and it stands for strength in fighting to be Angel and forgiven rather than Angelus and obviously not his real name.

 

[nightshade]

Do we see it in any of the flashbacks?

 

[hoponlilmama]

Angel's tattoo

Angel had a large tattoo behind his right shoulder as one of his most defining physical traits. It depicted a winged lion with the addition of the letter "A" beneath it.[1] In 1997, Rupert Giles used the mention of "a tattoo behind his right shoulder" from a Watcher Diary as a mean of...

buffy.fandom.com

"The design is based on a illustration from the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript Gospel book created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland, that depicts the symbols of the four evangelists. Angel's tattoo is a copy of the symbol known as Lion of Saint Mark."

According to that link above, how he gets the tattoo is referenced in a comic. Liam wakes up one day after a night of drinking and it appeared. Which if you've ever watched those tattoo removal shows, some stories start with: "I was drunk, and..." 😂

 

[Ethan Reigns]

To me, it looked like an ostrich with a dog's head and fish for legs, complete with dorsal fins on the fish.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

To be fair, the Lion of St. Luke is based on Ezekiel's Vision of the Chariot, and that "face" does belong to an "angel." But it was probably selected because it looked cool.

If they had kept to that, and some how made the Ox, the Man and the Eagle "something." Like, maybe the Whirlwind, or the Master had three other great champions or bodyguards, like a Four Heavenly Kings Situation, maybe. Or made "The Lion," the otherworldly power that was using Angel as his champion. The Lion, Eagle and Ox versus the Wolf, Ram & the Hart?

 

[NileQT87]

It's a gryphon from the Book of Kells.

With an A for Angel(us), which firmly dates it to post-Liam.

 

[Moptop]

Looks like something a biker dude would get, or a gang member!

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

I recall it being something about the Order of Aurelius. Which gets weirder, as the Master had a Minion named Luke, which leaves a John and a Matthew. If John is the Beloved Disciple, that fits Darla, the dear one. That would leave a Matthew, as the tax collector would be a badass vampire who drank people, or something. That does also fit Luke, who was collecting for the master.

So, I would guess the Master was going through an Antichrist phase a few hundred years ago, before Aurelius died and the Master took over.

 

[NileQT87]

It's from the Book of Kells (it's a gryphon/griffin--both spellings are accurate), which is Irish.

The A is more likely to be for Angel or Angelus, though Aurelius is valid if it weren't for it being so notably Irish.

From Wikipedia:

Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, by the Middle Ages, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Since classical antiquity, griffins were known for guarding treasures and priceless possessions.[3]

Interesting description of its possible meaning in regards to Christianity:

The account of the "gryphes" by Isidore of Seville (d. 636) lacked any Christian allegorical interpretation, and the griffin is classified as a "beast of prey".[120] Thus Isidore (Etymologies xii.2 .17)[5][121] gives:

The Gryphes are so called because they are winged quadrupeds. This kind of wild beast is found in the Hyperborean Mountains. In every part of their body they are lions, and in wings and heads are like eagles, and they are fierce enemies of horses. Moreover they tear men to pieces".

And in medieval heraldry:

Griffins in heraldry are usually portrayed with the rear body of a lion, an eagle's head with erect ears, a feathered breast, and the forelegs of an eagle, including claws.[145]

The heraldic griffin "denote[d] strength and military, courage and leadership", according to one source.[145] That it became a Christian symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine,[146] was already touched upon above.

Sound like somebody we know?