Gargoyles!
Etymology
n. gar·goyle [gär-"goil] Middle English gargoyl,
from Middle French gargouille; akin to Middle French gargouiller
and from the same root word from which we derive gurgle, gullet,
gully, gulp, gurgitation. Date: 13th 
century.
Definition
A spout usually carved in the shape of a human, animal or demon,
and connected to a gutter for throwing rain water from the roof
of a building; although later examples - particularly in the Gothic
Revival of the 19th century - served as merely decoration and served
no earthly function. Today, they are associated with close cousins
the grotesques, and Green
Men.
The
gargoyle often makes his perch
On a cathedral or a church
Where, mid eclesiastic style
He smiles an early Gothic smile.
-
Oliver Herford
Evolution
As early as the sixth century, Pope Gregory was instructing missionaries
to respect the rituals of pagan worship. Wisely, the Church accepted
these 'heathen' practices by incorporating them into the rituals
of the Church (and not for nothing did Christmas later quietly replace
the pagan Winter Solstice celebration.)
By
the 12th century, however, the venerable St. Bernard of Clairvaux
was ranting against the origins of the weird and irreverent carvings
in his cloister. This was at a moment of time when The Catholic
Church was now entrenched throughout the known world:
"What
are these fantastic monsters doing in the cloisters under the very
eyes of the brothers as they read? What is the meaning of these
unclean monkeys, strange savage lions and monsters? To what purpose
are here placed these creatures, half beast, half man?
St.
Bernard, the grand master of organization who established the austere
Cisterian order, was a stickler for dogma : What did monsters have
to do with Christ dying for our sins? Why did stonecarvers continue
to insist on this bizarre decoration? In his diatribe he finally
posed the eternal question of administers everywhere: ...and
what are they costing me?
A
century later, gargoyles finally became the natural progeny of the
grotesques St. Bernard railed against.
Not
only did they not go away, but those pagan grotesques were now serving
as a primitive form of machinery: hollowed out then lined with lead,
they were dubbed 'gargoyles' for the noise made as they violently
spit rain water away from ledges and outcroppings.
The
Last Gargoyle
Where is it? No one knows for sure, but an architectural historian
might find it sculking on a relatively recent Neo-Gothic building.
During the Victorian era, the Gothic
Revival was a phenomenon in England that saw
the reemergence of gables, parapets and - yes, real gargoyles -
that graced commercial stone buildings of the 19th century. It truly
was the gargoyle's last hurrah, but the mania for the little beasties
never really disappeared.
Washington
National Cathedral, completed in the late 20th
century, have featured them; and the Cathedral
of St. John the Divine in New York has yet to
be completed. So there's still hope.
Until
then, gargoyles and grotesques (wherever they have managed to survive)
continue to fire our imaginations as they watch over us in cities
throughout the world.
As
it turns out, it may be our turn to watch over them.
About
the Author
Joseph Chiffriller in his alter ego as the New
York Carver has known many gargoyles and carved a few
of his own. Source: http://www.chiff.com
