GothicGallery.com
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In case you didn't know...
Many cultures throughout history have created sculptures of fantastic creatures. These gargoyles and grotesques stir our imaginations, as they stirred the imaginations of the sculptors and carvers who created them. We try to understand them, to explain them. The most common belief is that they are protectors, keeping evil away from the buildings and their occupants. Rarely is a gargoyle found in isolation. Rather, they are almost always arranged in rows or clusters, clinging to edges and ledges, illuminating rooflines, corners, and buttresses. Whatever their purpose, they adorn countless cathedrals in the world. France has over 100 cathedrals, most built in the Middle Ages, with Notre Dame being the most famous. They've inspired curiosity, awe, laughter, and occasionally fear.
The best known examples of gargoyles are from the medieval period, a time when most people were illiterate. The carvings served the role of books, telling stories and reporting on life. The only documentation of the reasoning behind them is in the carving itself. Any original legends have probably been lost or have changed so much over time that they don't tell us anything about the original intentions. What is known about gargoyles, is that the word is derived from an Old French word Gargouille, meaning throat. The English words gargle, gurgle and gargoyle are derived from the same word. Originally a gargoyle was a water sprout, mounted on the eve and directing water away from a building. Technically an architect calls a waterspout on a building a gargoyle. If a stone carving carries no water and has a face or resembles a creature, these are technically called a grotesque. A Carving, which combines several different animals, is called a chimera.
Gargoyles and grotesques have always given carvers and sculptors a chance to use their creativity, to explore the possibilities of stone and imagination. They free us from the limits imposed by most other types of carving, and this was especially true in the Middle Ages. Sculptors who carved grotesque gargoyles may have found visual inspiration in the costumes of monsters with fur, horns, claws, and tails worn in mystery plays, in holiday celebrations such as the Feast of Fools. Stone carvers love creating these pieces, and viewers love seeing them. This may be the real reason why they exist.
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- 34 Pine Ridge Rd
- Buzzards Bay MA 02532 US
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