Liminal Images

The presence of unusual, grotesque and rude carvings on ecclesiastical buildings have been explained in a number of ways, from reflecting the warped sense of humour of the masons, to a purely ornamental or marginal function. However, in this study of medieval sculpture from southern England, Alex Woodcock suggests that imagery should be seen in the same way as the buildings themselves, as liminal spaces mediating between the human, mortal world and the sacred and unknown. In examining various distorted and foliate heads, grotesques, mythical creatures, beasts and so on, Woodcock argues that these are wholly appropriate images for medieval religious life, reflecting the ambiguous and the unclassifiable in an unknown realm, whilst also having an apotropaic function. Placing emphasis on liminality, the study focuses in particular on heads - severed, foliate and otherwise - and whole figures, humans, animals and hybrids, including detailed studies of the siren and mermaid.