From the the St John the Baptist, Cirencester
In St Michael and all Angels next to Croft castle, Herefordshire
In the church of St Laurence, Ludlow
Have you looked down too?
Lost in the past. Stories of people and places.
Misericords of St Laurence's church, Ludlow #symbols
Misericords provided support for the clergy and choir as they stood during long church services. In St Laurence's church in Ludlow, which I visited this week, there are 28 of them, the largest collection in any parish church. These were carved in the early 15th century and are decorated with symbolic images. Here are 10 of them.
This represents a harpy with bats' wings like her evil companions. Harpies were believed to charm men in order to destroy them. There is a definite anti-feminist viewpoint linked to Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Supported by dolphins, the mermaid was a seductress who lured men to their death.
The Bishop bathed in sunlight, supported by two mitres, represent the goodness of the church.
We might recognise these as the Prince of Wales feathers but when this was carved, they were remembered as the badge of Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince, father of Richard II.
And here is the Hart at Rest, badge of Richard II, deposed by Henry IV, the first Lancastrian King.
A falcon supported by heraldic fetterlocks were the personal badge of Richard Duke of York (1411-1460) lord of Ludlow.
Contrary to modern thought, owls were used in medieval symbolism to represent ignorance and darkness.
A swan with two leaves was the badge of Mary de Bohun who married Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king.
A griffin was said to guard hidden treasure so became a symbol of watchfulness and was adopted as a badge by Edward III.
Departing from royalty I will end with the drunken tapster, taking illicit wine from his master's cask, thereby breaking his trust.
This represents a harpy with bats' wings like her evil companions. Harpies were believed to charm men in order to destroy them. There is a definite anti-feminist viewpoint linked to Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Supported by dolphins, the mermaid was a seductress who lured men to their death.
The Bishop bathed in sunlight, supported by two mitres, represent the goodness of the church.
We might recognise these as the Prince of Wales feathers but when this was carved, they were remembered as the badge of Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince, father of Richard II.
And here is the Hart at Rest, badge of Richard II, deposed by Henry IV, the first Lancastrian King.
A falcon supported by heraldic fetterlocks were the personal badge of Richard Duke of York (1411-1460) lord of Ludlow.
Contrary to modern thought, owls were used in medieval symbolism to represent ignorance and darkness.
A swan with two leaves was the badge of Mary de Bohun who married Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king.
A griffin was said to guard hidden treasure so became a symbol of watchfulness and was adopted as a badge by Edward III.
Departing from royalty I will end with the drunken tapster, taking illicit wine from his master's cask, thereby breaking his trust.
Family weddings in the 20th century #fashion
In every family photo collection you will find wedding photographs. I have been looking through my family's photos and am intrigued by the different fashions. The picture above is my parents' wedding in Scotland in 1948. It was June but it was wet and windy. I vividly remember my grandma's fox fur falling out of the top shelf in the wardrobe and being scared of the beady glass eyes.
When Grandma married in 1912, she and her mother sailed across the Atlantic to Montreal where my Grandpa was working as an architect. There are no photographs of them together but this one shows her in a nearby park, after a very small wedding.
Five years later my husband's grandfather used his army leave to marry in September 1917. I am still trying to identify the regiment of Wilf's army uniform.
Sitting on the floor with a pudding basin haircut he doesn't look very happy.
There is a gap in years in our family until my wedding.
So here I am on a November evening in 1975 with my matron of honour, Jane. My mother crocheted my dress with a pattern from a womans' magazine and Jane bought the blue material to make her dress in Libertys in Regent Street. We both wore silver shoes with high heels.
I will conclude with a group picture from my parents wedding in 1948
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
I have been trying to discover more about life for a 19 th century soldier’s wife and children to fill out the account of my great-grandfa... -
The Gaiety Theatre introduced a new style of musical comedy to London in the 1890s. The group of female dancers employed by the thea... -
“The most photographed woman in the British Empire” Looking through my collection of Postcards of Edwardian actresses the most stri...