What is a gargoyle?
By definition a gargoyle is
a carving which projects out from a wall, the purpose of which is to
drain rainwater away from the wall. Given their utilitarian purpose
of water drainage, gargoyles generally have a pipe projecting through
the carving itself. Rainwater funneled towards the
pipe by a system of channels or pipes would flow through the pipe,
exiting from the gargoyle's mouth a foot or two away from the line
of the wall, rather than running straight down the wall and eating
away at the building foundations. Gargoyles are primarily, though not
exclusively, seen in ecclesiastical architecture.
When were gargoyles used?
Gargoyles as a decorative element were in use as far back as classical
Greece. The influence of the Greeks extended well into medieval Britain,
where Greek themed images such as griffins or centaurs are often
seen. Gargoyles became extremely common in English church architecture
in the post-Norman period, and can be found all the way through to
the Victorian Gothic Revival
What kinds of figures are used as gargoyles?
The short answer is, 'practically anything'. You'll see dragons, chimeras,
human and mostly-human figures, and some strange and wonderful creatures
that defy description. The most common motifs used for gargoyles
are fantastic beasts or distorted, grotesque human forms. In some
cases the gargoyle was probably intended as a form of charm to ward
off evil, or more simply, as a visual way to represent religious
themes to the illiterate masses of church-goers during the medieval
period.
St
Mary the Virgin church, Oxford. Note how the head of the gargoyle
extends well clear of the wall-line
Bloxham,
Oxfordshire - note the similarity with the winged example from
Adderbury
What isn't a gargoyle
The term 'gargoyle'
is, in common usage' applied rather loosely to any type of carving,
usually a grotesque animal or human form, found under or above the
eaves of a church, or terminating the drip-cap of a window surround.
The distinction is that these latter uses were purely ornamental,
that is, they served no utilitarian purpose, whereas a true gargoyle
was used for the very practical purpose of water drainage. This may
seem a pedantic distinction, but we may as well be accurate when we
use the term!
Some examples of carved figures which are
often incorrectly labeled as Gargoyles:
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