Halo (religious iconography) between the alternative terms in English is rather unclear. The oldest term in English is "glory", the only one available in the Middle Ages, but now largely obsolete. It came from the French "gloire" which has much the same range of meanings as "glory". "Gloriole" does not appear in this sense until 1844, being a modern invention, as a diminutive, in French also. "Halo" is first found in English in this sense in 1646 (nearly a century after the optical or astronomical sense). Both "halos" and "haloes" may be used as plural forms, and halo may be used as a
What Is Art? must create to prosper, making for art that is insincere and most likely partisan - made to suit the whims of fashion or patrons. Art criticism is a symptom of the obscurity of art, for "[a]n artist, if he is a true artist, has in his work conveyed to others the feelings he has experienced: what is there to explain?". Criticism, moreover, tends to contribute to the veneration of "authorities" such as Shakespeare and Dante. By constant unfavourable comparison, the young artist is corralled into imitating the works of the greats, as all of them are said to be true