The Font At Winterbourne Monkton

[poliphilo]

The font is Saxon and the carving Norman (that's what my sources say, anyway) 



The zig-zag meander suggests water, and the curving shapes underneath look like horns of plenty.

And then there's this extraordinary figure.



A big-bellied woman, legs splayed, with a leafy sprig coming out of her vulva. In her right hand she holds a sickle. Her face is blank. Her headdress has little points suggesting either horns or a crown. The meander begins at the tip of her sickle and terminates in her cupped left hand. 

That's what I think we're seeing anyway. The carving is so rough there may be other interpretations. Traces of paint remain. 

Who is she- A river goddess? A fertility goddess? St Mary Magdalene? I really don't know. 

Comments

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

That's a nice picture of Ailz.
By the way, your churches make ours look like the often pale imitations that they are. It's true that there are a few outstanding examples of church architecture in America, but none can compare to the truly ancient ones in the UK.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I once spent the summer providing holiday relief for the rector of an 18th century church in Philadelphia. That was a very attractive building.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

We rode by it a few months ago. I'll take its picture next time.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see it again.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

They have a website, and they're hiring. I think I know the consultant they retained to guide them through the discernment process. See the "profile" pdf.

http://www.rahmweb.com/stjames/