Holy terrors : gargoyles on medieval buildings

148 Pages·1997·15.565 MB·English

by  Janetta Rebold Benton

ON
MEDIEVAL
GARGOYLES BUILDINgc
*S?.#;
1
«
(
t*«
aCHHTCTtlRE
b
HOLY JR^
TERR(
GARGOYLES ON MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS
JANETTA REBOLD BENTON
'1 ULTITUDES OF GAR-
goylcs haunt the medieval buildings of western
Europe, peering down from churches and cathe-
drals, houses and town halls. Holy Terrors offers a
fresh and irresistible history ofthese wildly varied
—
characters a society of stone creatures perched
high above the workaday world.
The true gargoyle is a waterspout, an archi-
tectural necessity that medieval artisans trans-
formed into functional fantasies. The informative
introduction to Holy Terrors explains everything
that is known or conjectured about the history,
the construction, the purposes, and the mysteri-
ous meanings ofthese often rude and rowdy char-
acters. The three chapters that follow are devoted
to the gargoyles themselves, imaginatively carved
of stone in the form of people, real animals, and
fantastic beasts. In clear, lively language, Janetta
Rebold Benton puts these personality-filled sculp-
tures into the context ofmedieval life and art and
captures their quirky diversity in her engaging
color photographs.
Concluding the book is an invaluable guide
to gargoyle sites throughout western Europe, as
^
well as suggestions for further reading. This is
(continue
ST^ ALLENCOUNTY PiJBL.C IJBPARV
3 833 03015 0830
1
729.5 B44h
Janetta ^Reb^ol,d., 11994455
Benton,
Holy terrors
RAW.M
VVI;
DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS FROM POCKET
'5^^\-^l
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
FORT WAYNE, INDIANA 46802
You mayreturn this bookto any agency, branch,
orbookmobile ofthe Ailen County Public Library.
OCMCO

HOLY TERRORS
GARGOYLES ON MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS
Dl(^Gj>^^ML^>^^y^n.y ^iQri^L\
"^^^^^
'.!*'
It/- »«
HOLY TERRORS
GARGOYLES ON MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS
JANETTA REBOLD BENTON
ABBEVILLE PRESS A PUBLISHERS NEW YORK A LONDON V PARIS
if
—
FRONT cover:
Mouth-pullerimp, onbalconyincourtyard. HoteldeSens, Paris.
BACK COVER:
Hairyhumanwithanimal head. Cathedral, Burgos,Spain.
frontispiece:
Lion, facade. Cathedral (Duomo), Orvieto,Italy.
jjB^ editor: NancvGrubb
^^iw'^j^ DESIGNER: CeliaFuller
9'^>*»
PRODUCTION editor: SusanMcDonough
PRODUCTION manager: LouBilka
T^^. ^•^'" Copyright© iggjjanetta ReboldBenton. Compilanon
** —
includingselection oftext and images copvTight £ 1997
AbbeWlle Press.Allrightsreservedunderinternationalcopvtight
conventions. Nopart ofthisbookmaybe reproduced orutilizedin
anyformorbyanymeans, electronic ormechanical, including
photocopving. recording, orbyanyinformationstorage and
retrievalsvstem. withoutpermissioninwritingfrom thepublisher.
Inquiriesshouldbe addressedtoAbbeville PublishingGroup,
488 MadisonAvenue,NewYork. N.Y. 10022.The te.xtofthis
bookwas setmTruesdeU. Printed andboundmSingapore.
Firstedition
2468 97531
10
LibraryofCongrtss Cataloging-in-PublkationData
Benton,JanettaRebold. 1945-
Holyterrors : gargovles on medievalbuildings/
Janetta Rebold Benton.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-7892-0182-8
—
I. Sculpture,Medieval. 2. Gargoyles Europe. I.Title.
NB170.B46 1997
—
729'.5 dc2o 96-36002
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION:
Some Facts and
Some Conjectures about Gargoyles
'^ 6 <•*
HUMAN GARGOYLES
<*: 46 >>
ANIMAL GARGOYLES
^' 80 »»
GROTESQUE GARGOYLES
^
100
<•)
Notes Gargoyle Sites to Visit
<«^ 126 i^ "^ 130 ip>
Acknowledgments Selected Bibliography
^
<^' 133 ,^ <^ 134
Index
-^ 136 |»
INTRODUCTION
Some Facts and Some Conjectures about Gargoyles
ooK UP! Look out.' A multitude of
gargoyles haunt the medie\"al buildings of western Europe, peering down trom churches and
—
cathedrals, houses and towTi halls. Clinging to edges and ledges, these projections caned of
—
stone in the form of people, real animals, or fantastic beasts mark rooflines, comers, and
When
buttresses, enhancing the picturesque quality- of a building's silhouette. the sk\^ is clear,
—
gargov4es mav merely glow^er from the towers but do not stand below them on rainy days.
Gargoyles are elaborate waterspouts. Usually taking the form of an elongated fantastic
animal, these decorated gutters are architectural necessities turned
into ornament. To pre\'ent rainwater trom runnmg; down the ma- i. (jargoyk shffwing trough
along hack, couT^ard, Hold of
soniy walls and eroding the mortar, water is carried a gargoyle's the Catholic Kings (Hostal dc
los Reyes Catolicos), Santiago
length awa\- from the building and thrown clear of the wall. As can dc Compostda, Spain.