A Little Book of Gargoyles and A Little Book of Misericords (by Mike Harding)
My mom had this incredible ability to find the most unique gifts. When she bought me books, she did so keeping in mind my dream of having a home library to display beautiful books. I have no idea where she came upon these two little books that she selected for my interest in gargoyles.
Author Mike Harding wrote a four-book series titled, A Little Book of The Green Man, Stained Glass, Gargoyles, and Misericords. I own A Little Book of Gargoyles and A Little Book of Misericords. My copies were published in 1998 by Aurum Press Limited. Harding visited churches and cathedrals across the British Isles, Ireland, and Europe to photograph each subject and learn the interpretation of these mystical pieces of art. Each book offers an introduction to the subject and a brief description of each photograph. These books are a neat; small in size and length, which makes them easy to devour.
In A Little Book of Gargoyles, Harding explains that gargoyles serve two purposes. One is to “remind the faithful that there is, ever present beneath the everyday world, another world people by monsters, demons and strange beasts, half-man, half-monster; a world close to hell itself which awaits all those who fall into sin.” The second purpose is to ward off devils and demons as a means of protection. I think a lot of people are scared of gargoyles and perceive them as having evil intent.
I have acquired a collection of gargoyles too. The one pictured was gifted to me by my husband. I love that the gargoyle is holding a book. He’s called the Gothic Guardian of Bibliography. I interpret that to mean he is protecting my books, so he has a permanent home on my library shelf. I found the gargoyle on Amazon and have linked him below in case you’re interested in having one protect your books too.
Pictured below are some pages from the book I thought were especially interesting: Devils and the Damned, The Celtic Head, and Buddhist Demons. Fans of Alice in Wonderland may appreciate Rabbits and a Friendly Dog. The image of the rabbit “is said to be the model for the White Rabbit in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll’s grandfather was rector of St. Mary’s for a while and it is possible that the author saw the rabbit there as a child.”
In A Little Book of Misericords, Harding informs that the misericord is “a carved wooden tip-up seat, was designed to give some comfort to the older monks during the very long hours of service.” The wooden carvings are amazing works of art. I can only imagine the time, talent, and creativity that went into making these meaningful additions to furniture. As Harding mentions, many of the meanings for these carvings are lost to history; however, people continue to offer their best educated guesses.
Pictured below are some of my favorite pages from the book: The Unwise Owl and Unicorns. The interpretations of these carvings aren’t exactly favorable or have happy endings. I still find the carvings absolutely magnificent.
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