Dust jacket notes: "All over Europe uncounted numbers of gargoyles and grotesques leer down from the columns and towers of medieval churches and cathedrals. Since these carvings are virtually antipathetic to the aesthetics of Romanesque or Gothic architecture, and since they are certainly not Christian in intention, there must have been very strong reasons underlying their presence. This book sets out to show what these reasons were, illustrating the text with more than 100 examples of the art. The authors suggest that grotesque art stems directly from earlier pagan beliefs which the Church was unable - for its own safety - to fully eradicate, and so allowed to exist side by side with orthodox Christian images. The few contemporary documents surviving are naturally silent on such a taboo subject, but evidence comes from the objects themselves. An extraordinary picture emerges. Ronald Sheridan and Dr Anne Ross, Britain's leading authority on Celtic studies, identify these intriguing sculptures with pagan gods, giants, and folk figures whose antiquity may be as old as man's in Europe. Head-devouring ogres, foliate heads, biting and beaked heads, serpents - images which have been interpreted in terms of Christian visions of Hell - take on new meaning...."
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
gargoyles and grotesques: paganism in the medieval church,
By greta "femme crone" (phila., pa. United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gargoyles and Grotesques: Paganism in the Medieval Church (Hardcover)
I expected more from this book...the information covered is limited to basically photographs of gargoyles ( which are niceto look at). However: there isn't even dates on many of the photographs because the authors stated it wasn't neccessary; the photographs are dislayed in confusing order;and some of the nicer photographs are restricted to the book cover only....The classification of gargoyles into types is the best thing this book had to offer . However the types of gargoyles is something you can gather yourself from looking at the photos... explanations of types of gargoyles and thier metaphorical or historical contexts was very dissapointing. Case in point if you're looking for a professional, scholarly, or informational account of gargoyles, this book will dissapoint you. If you are adept with reading between the meager lines and gathering your own thoughts and concepts from the photographs you can get something from this book. The book mainly offers some photographs with subjective commentary.I'm a gargoyle fan..and am glad to have a new book in my collection...so I didn't regret spending the money even though I was disappointed.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
gargoyles and grotesques: paganism in the medieval church,
By greta "femme crone" (phila., pa. United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gargoyles and Grotesques: Paganism in the Medieval Church (Hardcover)
I expected more from this book...the information covered is limited to basically photographs of gargoyles ( which are niceto look at). However: there isn't even dates on many of the photographs because the authors stated it wasn't neccessary; the photographs are dislayed in confusing order;and some of the nicer photographs are restricted to the book cover only....The classification of gargoyles into types is the best thing this book had to offer . However the types of gargoyles is something you can gather yourself from looking at the photos... explanations of types of gargoyles and thier metaphorical or historical contexts was very dissapointing. Case in point if you're looking for a professional, scholarly, or informational account of gargoyles, this book will dissapoint you. If you are adept with reading between the meager lines and gathering your own thoughts and concepts from the photographs you can get something from this book. The book mainly offers some photographs with subjective commentary.I'm a gargoyle fan..and am glad to have a new book in my collection...so I didn't regret spending the money even though I was disappointed.
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