Abstract of a Lecture delivered February 28, 1916.

The number of carvings of animals, both in stone and wood, still existing in our churches is very large. Many of them are of a curious character, and would be difficult to account for without reference to the sources from which. they were derived. The evidence points to the carvers having worked chiefly from pictures-and not from natural models, recomposing the subjects according to their needs. Many of the creatures which they depicted were either fabulous, or so rare that they were not likely to have seen them. Of the many sources from which the carvers borrowed, an important one was undoubtedly the illustrated bestiaries, which were very popular in the Middle Ages, especially in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They contain many pictures of animals, birds and reptiles. - [Author]

Language: English