Monday, 6 February 2012

Grotesque

I've blogged about these things before but I couldn't resist putting up another one.


This one is on a different corner of the same church tower. Rather wonderful isn't he?

But what sort of creature? Some kind of lion with cloven hooves?

And what possessed those 12th Century builders to put him up here among the saints and apostles?

If anyone knows do comment!
Posted by at
Labels:

33 comments:

  1. Paul Tobin6 February 2012 at 13:27

    These are all over old Somerset Churches, wonderful photo. I love the expression on the face, I have days like that!

    ReplyDelete
  2. paws4thot6 February 2012 at 14:41

    My first thought was "hippogriff", but that should have the head of an eagle.

    Also IIRC these "ugly or monsterous" gargoyles were supposed to scare of certain types of deomon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Abi Burlingham6 February 2012 at 17:07

    He's lovely. Looks very jolly and cheeky. I do like to see these - they have a certain magic to them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. K M Kelly6 February 2012 at 19:30

    Hi Paul, I can relate to that - I was having a day like that today ;-)

    I think you're right about that, Ken.

    And Abi - I agree - very magical :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gwen Gardner6 February 2012 at 20:55

    I love gargoyles - they're kind of cute, really. I think they were put there to ward off evil spirits. I'm stopping by from the campaign to say hello - new follower here!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy6 February 2012 at 23:52

    I thought gargoyles were supposed to ward off bad spirits or something like that. They look so cool.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sue Sedgwick7 February 2012 at 00:21

    It looks like a delusional dog, about to try to fly. Someone ought to explain the importance of wings, and the likely consequences of not having any. Evolution has not been kind.

    ReplyDelete
  8. alberta ross7 February 2012 at 13:14

    hi - fellow campaigner and fellow Brit - I'm from the east coast and the sci fi group

    ReplyDelete
  9. David P. King7 February 2012 at 16:25

    Stopping by to say hello from the Campaign. I'm in your MG/YA group. Looking forward to the awesomeness.

    And your blog is sweet. Following! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mike Keyton7 February 2012 at 18:49

    And what possessed those 12th Century builders to put him up here among the saints and apostles? Maybe they didn't. Maybe they just arrived : )

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous8 February 2012 at 16:02

    wow, that is some stonework only its mother could love :)

    thanks for stopping by, and i look forward to reading more about your work!
    gina

    ReplyDelete
  12. akoss8 February 2012 at 16:46

    Impressive creature. I smell a seed idea for a new wip. Too bad I'm on a new draft ban this year.
    Nice to meet you. I'm a fellow campaigner.

    ReplyDelete
  13. LadyJai8 February 2012 at 19:09

    Just stopping by to say hi! I'm in short stories, Sci-fi, fantasy and YA of Rachael Harrie's Writers' Campaign. I've been a part of Rachael's campaign for a while now. It's amazing how we can network like this and meet some many awesome people.

    ReplyDelete
  14. yikici8 February 2012 at 22:00

    Gargoyles surely protect the saints. ;)

    I'm a fellow campaigner and a ROW80'er too -I recognise your blog from one of my blog-surfing moments. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Super Happy Jen9 February 2012 at 01:24

    It's a lamb, isn't it? With fluffy wool and his tongue sticking out. Must be a hot day.

    Hi from the campaign!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hildred Billings9 February 2012 at 15:08

    Aw, I think it's quite charming. Granted, I don't want it jumping off the building and stalking me around, but where it is is fine. ;)

    Nice to meet you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Katharina Gerlach10 February 2012 at 08:13

    I think with all the curls it might be a sheep. That would also fit a church setting. BTW, I'm a fellow Campaigner from the YA/MG group.

    ReplyDelete
  18. K M Kelly10 February 2012 at 15:22

    Wow - I'm away for only a couple of days and so many lovely new people have stopped by from Rach's campaign. I'm looking forward to visiting all your blogs!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Unknown11 February 2012 at 23:45

    First thing I thought of when seeing that was a falling goat. That's probably not what its supposed to be but its what came to mind.
    I found you in the sci fi list in the campaign and thought I would stop by to say hello.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous12 February 2012 at 23:48

    Hi, fellow campaigner. I'd just call it a gargoyle, and it's a nice ugly one. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Traci Kenworth13 February 2012 at 12:55

    Looks like a sheep to me.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Matthew MacNish13 February 2012 at 20:07

    Hi Kate. Just dropping in as an Origins Blogfest co-host, and am now your newest follower. Nice to meet you!

    ReplyDelete
  23. paws4thot14 February 2012 at 08:38

    Ok, further to my last, and more developed: I was sort of thinking about how, once you know why gargoyles are, they can become a jumping off point for all sorts of "low fantasy" stories, and in any period. "Benton, chap with wings, 5 rounds rapid!"

    ReplyDelete
  24. nutschell14 February 2012 at 19:11

    Dropping by from the Origins blogfest. :)
    That fellow must have an interesting story, having hung out there for years.

    your newest follower,
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Sue Ann Bowling14 February 2012 at 21:23

    Obviously one of Paddy's friends from St Patrick's Gargoyle. I'm stopping by from SF group in the Campaign. Is it possible to follow you via email?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Jess15 February 2012 at 14:46

    Stopping by from the Campaign! It's so nice to *meet* you!! Following along :)
    Tag, you're it! You've been tagged in a game of 11 Questions being passed around by the Platform-Building campaigners. You can pick up your questions at this link: http://writeskatedream-jmckendry.blogspot.com/2012/02/11-random-questions-go.html

    ReplyDelete
  27. kjmckendry15 February 2012 at 16:26

    I love all those creepy creatures! Great pic.

    Stopping by from the campaign. :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Deniz Bevan16 February 2012 at 02:50

    Love it! I just read Neil Gaiman's story about the gargoyle that protected a man's heart...

    ReplyDelete
  29. Marieke16 February 2012 at 17:24

    Nice to meet you! Fellow Campaigner and new follower here! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  30. Small Town Shelly Brown16 February 2012 at 20:30

    I have no words for this creature...

    ReplyDelete
  31. K M Kelly17 February 2012 at 20:09

    Hi fellow campaigners! I'm looking forward to getting involved in this!

    BTW, just to clarify - although I'm sure you all already know this - the creature in the picture isn't a gargoyle, it's a grotesque. Note, there's no water spout. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Michael Horvath20 February 2012 at 00:32

    I agree with a sheep or lamb. My understanding is that gargoyles protect the structure they sit upon. Could be wrong...

    ReplyDelete
  33. Chemist Ken2 March 2012 at 18:41

    They sometimes put up figures representative of alchemical literature on old churches and cathedrals. I wouldn't know which creature that is supposed to be in this case.

    Welcome from a fellow campaigner!

    ReplyDelete

Please share you thoughts, I'd love to hear from you....

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)