A charming survey of these mischievous creatures, illustrated with engaging color photographs from the rooftops of Europe and Great Britain.

Multitudes of gargoyles haunt the medieval buildings of western Europe, peering down from churches and cathedrals, houses and town halls. Holy Terrors offers a fresh and irresistible history of these wildly varied characters-a society of stone creatures perched high above the workaday world.

The true gargoyle is a waterspout, an architectural necessity that medieval artisans transformed into functional fantasies. The informative introduction to Holy Terrors explains everything that is known or conjectured about the history, the construction, the purposes, and the mysterious meanings of these often rude and rowdy characters. The three chapters that follow are devoted to the gargoyles themselves, imaginatively carved of stone in the form of people, real animals, and fantastic beasts. In clear, lively language, Janetta Rebold Benton puts these personality-filled sculptures into the context of medieval life and art and captures their quirky diversity in her engaging color photographs.

Concluding the book is an invaluable guide to gargoyle sites throughout western Europe, as well as suggestions for further reading. This is the first book for adults to provide an intelligent and entertaining overview of medieval gargoyles, and it is bound to increase the already abundant legions of gargoyle admirers.

Other Details: 109 illustrations, 108 in full color 140 pages 8 x 8" Published 1997

Roman city of Pompeii, preserved by the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in A.D. 79.

In the early Middle Ages, rainwater usually ran down the roofs and poured from the cornices directly onto the public streets. True gargoyles are thought to date from the beginning of the twelfth century. In the Gothic era, especially during the thirteenth century and thereafter, gargoyles became the preferred method of drainage. (Not all medieval waterspouts were carved as gargoyles, however. Even during the centuries when gargoyles were extremely popular, simple troughs might be used, particularly in areas of a building not exposed to view.)

An explanation, more charming than credible, for the gargoyle's name, ability to spout water, and physical form is found in the following tale. A dragon called La Gargouille—described as having a long, reptilian neck, a slender snout and jaws, heavy brows, and membranous wings—lived in a cave close to the River Seine in France. It had several bad habits: swallowing ships, causing destruction with its fiery breath, and spouting so much water that it caused flooding. The residents of nearby Rouen attempted to placate La Gargouille with an annual offering of a live victim; although the dragon preferred maidens, it was usually given a criminal to consume.

In the year 520, or perhaps around 600, the priest Romanus (or Romain) arrived in Rouen and promised to deal with the dragon if the townspeople agreed to be baptized and to build a church. Equipped with the annual convict and the items needed for an exorcism (bell, book, candle, and cross), Romanus subdued the dragon by making the sign of the cross and led the now docile beast back to town on a leash made from his priest's robe. When La Gargouille was burned at the stake, the head and neck, well tempered by the heat of the dragon's fiery breath, would not burn. These remnants were mounted on the town wall and became the model for gargoyles for centuries to come.

Selected Garoyle Sites to Visit

Belgium

Bruges: Porters' Lodge (Poortersloge). This late Gothic building served as the meeting place for the burghers of Bruges and, evidently, also gargoyles.

Town Hall (Stadhuis). In addition to the gargoyles on the balustrade, do not miss those high on the tower.

Brussels: Cathedral of Saint-Michel. The many gargoyles include howling demons clutching small people.

Town Hall (Hôtel de Ville). Here is a wonderful array of especially expressive—and grotesque—gargoyles.

Ghent: Belfry (Belfort). There are gargoyles on all levels; ascend the tower to look down on the gargoyles' water troughs.

Mechelen/Malines: Cathedral of Saint Rumbald (Sint-Romboutskathedraal). An encounter between a monkey and a woman takes place high on the apse end.

England

Grantham: Angel and Royal Hotel. On the hotel facade is a gargoyle that appears to be a face when seen from the front, but a defecating man when seen from the right.

Parish Church of Saint Wulfram. The sky shows through some gargoyles' huge open mouths.

Heckington: Parish Church of Saint Andrew. Gargoyles here include a monster grasping a soul, with a boat (the Church) beside them; a wildman; and a man with an ax beside a cow with a worried expression.

LichWeld: Cathedral. There are gargoyles of all species here.

Lincoln: Minster. Do not miss the music-making gargoyles—one plays the bagpipes, another blows a horn.

Oxford: University. Although the many gargoyles on several buildings here are largely restored or modern, a visit to Oxford will not be a disappointment.

Patrington: Church of Saint Patrick. See especially the gargoyles in the form of a laughing monster embracing a woman, and Samson rending the lion's jaw.

Thaxted: Parish Church. In spite of their weathered condition, Thaxted's gargoyles are vividly animated.

Wells: Cathedral. Beware of the men with barrels on their shoulders on the north side of the cathedral.

York: Minster. Among the many gargoyles here, on the south side is a leering devil behind a woman.

France

Albi: Cathedral of Sainte-Cecile. The gargoyles are seen against the redbrick cathedral.

Autun: Cathedral of Saint-Lazare. Look carefully on the south side for the gargoyle in the form of a defecating man.

Cahors: Church of Sainte-Etienne. A rare siren/harpy gargoyle is on the north side.

L'Epine: Church of Notre-Dame. Easily visible on this tiny gem are a wildman, jester, drunkard, and many others.

Paris: Cathedral of Notre-Dame. A climb up the north tower provides access to a narrow walkway from which gargoyles and grotesques can be seen at eye level. Much here is nineteenth-century restoration work by Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, started in 1845 to repair damage done to the cathedral during the Revolution.

Sainte-Chapelle. The gargoyles are accurately restored.

Poitiers: Cathedral of Saint-Pierre. The west-facade gargoyles are original thirteenth-century work.

Reims: Cathedral. Many of these gargoyles are restored.

Strasbourg: Cathedral. The highly animated gargoyles here are among the most expressive found anywhere.

Toul: Cloister of the Old Cathedral of Saint-Etienne. Within the cloister, the visitor is surrounded by gargoyles.

Villefranche-sur-Saône: Church of Notre-Dame-des-Marais. The antics of the goat and woman take place on the north side.

Germany

Cologne: Cathedral. A great many gargoyles, seemingly of every type, appear on all sides.

Freiburg: Cathedral of Our Lady (Münster). The defecating person is on a south side buttress.

Italy

Milan: Cathedral of Santa Maria. Around the cathedral are the giganti—huge figures that support water-spouting figures on their shoulders. Most of these are early fifteenth-century work, although some are Baroque additions from the first half of the eighteenth century. A small elevator provides access to the roof and a close look at the gargoyles there.

Venice: Basilica of San Marco. On the upper level are early-fifteenth-century doccioni-figures holding vases on their shoulders from which the water issues.

The Netherlands

Den Bosch (modern name for 's-Hertogenbosch): Cathedral of Saint John (Sint-Janskathedraal). This is the best location in Holland for viewing gargoyles, which date from c. 1500 or the early sixteenth century. A unique feature is the gargoyles that leap out at figures straddling the flying buttresses.

Utrecht: Old Cathedral (Domkerk) and its cloister. The Old Cathedral offers a beast feast, especially on the apse—note the "laughing cow." In the cloister, gargoyles scrutinize the visitor from all sides.

Spain

Burgos: Cathedral and its cloister. Here are hybrid animal-human gargoyles.

A true gargoyle is a waterspout, an architectural necessity that medieval artisans transformed into functional fantasies. In clear, lively language, this charming survey of these mischievous creatures explains everything there is to know about their history, construction, and purposes. 109 illustrations, 108 in color. 140 pp.

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• Arts & Photography
  
  
  • Sculpture
    • Appreciation