Holy terrors : gargoyles on medieval buildings PDF
Preview Holy terrors : gargoyles on medieval buildings
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.
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