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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture From: "Cormack, Margaret Jean" <[log in to unmask]> >Can you (or other list members) comment on how common it is for a saint to be portrayed treading on a dragon, and when the motif starts to appear? the motif is, of course, quite ancient --think: an Egyptian god or Pharaoh striding on the back of a crocodile (symbol of Seth, an evil god), holding a lance and stabbing the beast in the mouth with it. (an interesting variation is in a Coptic relief, 2,000 years later, in the Louvre depicting a mounted "Roman" soldier stabbing a crocodile, under his horse, in the mouth.) but, it is may be that the English tomb sculptor did not have Egyptian artifacts before his eyes, or even in mind. closer in time (and space) might be somewhat later manifestations of the theme, as on the South porch of Chartres cathedral: http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/getimage-idx?cc=chartres;entryid=x-fcsp333610220;viewid=FCSP333610220.TIF;quality=m800;view=image http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/getimage-idx?cc=chartres;entryid=x-fcsp333610225;viewid=FCSP333610225.TIF;quality=m800;view=image the figure of the bishop on the right has been identified by Clarke Maines (and, perhaps largely accepted) as Becket, standing on Hank 2 and, as it were, Giving him the Shaft. the Chartres figure is only a generation or so before the York tomb, and the Becket connection might have particularly resonated with an English bishop. did Walt de Gray ever make a pilgrimage to Chartres? but, failing that, i would think that the motif is just too common to be able to say with any certainty that Chartres was the "model" for the tomb effigy. i'm sure that there is literature on the de Gray tomb which will probably run all this to Earth. c ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html