Gargoyles: Demons in the Sky or Grotesque Guardian Angels?
An exploration of the history, myths and enduring legacy of gargoyles in popular culture.
Supernatural Safeguarding: Hidden Objects in the Post-Medieval Home
What do a child’s shoe, a cod-liver oil bottle, and a desiccated cat have in common? They’re all objects that have been discovered in unusual locations within buildings. In fact, a vast variety of objects have been found (from pantaloons to chickens), often dating to the 18th and 19th centuries, under floorboards, hearthstones, and thresholds; […]
The Mystery of the Green Man
Finding Green Men in medieval churches was a game for myself and my young charge; others have made it an all-engrossing spiritual quest. Deep things have been said about the head in the leaves: he is a trickster, a prophet, the guardian and revealer of mysteries. Well, maybe.
Grotesques, Green Men and Glorious Angels
The Church of St Mary and St David in Kilpeck in Herefordshire has been a centre for Christian worship since the 12th century, and today is a place of pilgrimage.
#PhallusThursday – The Penis as Potent Symbol
Many classical sculptures today have lost their penises to time and prudery but the ancient world was awash with explicit graphic imagery.