medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Monday, December 20, 2010, at 10:16 am, Jim Bugslag wrote:
> ...As for the "wyverns" (or whatever), it is
> still debatable, in my view, just how to characterize them in terms of
> "symbolism"; they might equally have been considered appropriate
> decorative elaborations.
In this instance, given the presence of the feline-headed creature at top center in the composition <http://tinyurl.com/yzuqw9u>, one might think we are are in the presence of evil. Cf. 1 Peter 5:8, _ sobrii estote vigilate quia adversarius vester diabolus tamquam leo rugiens circuit quaerens quem devoret_. Those somewhat vine-like lines emanating from the latter's mouth are presumably evil exhalations (miasmas). The somewhat canine-headed dragons have smaller versions of these.
As far as placement is concerned, a good comparandum would be the dragon facing the entrance arch on the portico frieze (said to be originally earlier thirteenth-century) of the cathedral of Santi Pietro e Cesareo in Terracina:
http://tinyurl.com/23gf4bz
http://tinyurl.com/2hmlcv
There too I would take the dragon to represent the presence in the world of active evil (against which the church is a safeguard), even though the symbolism of the figures on the frieze as a whole (i.e., on what's left of it) is apparently varied. Proving that, though, would be a different matter.
Best,
John Dillon
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