Characteristic elements of the French and German Gothic architecture of the Middle Ages, i Gargoyle (particularly iconic are those of the Church of Notre-Dame in Paris) are gathering documents Usually modeled with fantastic or animalistic features with wide open jaws. In medieval churches these sculpted and richly adorned terminals appear at the Download of the gutter canalsso as to divide the flow into several points. Their original function was both practical and symbolic. First of all, they served download rainwater from the roof or the cornices making it flow away from the wall walls to avoid infiltration and erosion phenomena; secondly, they served by “Guardians” of the Cathedrals: Their grotesque features were designed to remove the evil spirits and – according to other theories – to affect fear in the faithful, who would have found escape in church, and remember the torments of hell to those who sins during earthly life.
How the tradition of the Gargoyle was born and what their function is
A curious French legend explains the origin of the Gargoyle. The myth tells that in the year 520, near the Seine, near Rouen, a terrible aquatic dragon lived: Gargoouille, also known as Grand’goule. The monster, which spitting water and not fire, devastated the region by flooding the fields and was appealed only with annual sacrifices. In the seventh century, the courageous Roman priest – future archbishop of Rouen and Santo – decided to face the beast and promised to free the country in exchange for the conversion of all citizens and the construction of a church. Accompanied by a condemned to death, he arrived in the monster’s den and managed to tame him with a sign of the cross; Subsequently he dragged him to the village with a leash made with his cassock. Grand’goule was burned on a stake by citizens, but only the head and neck did not look after; They were therefore placed on the city walls as a warning and protection from evil spirits.
Legend aside, many historians have tried to interpret the iconography of the Gargoyle pushing beyond their mere apotropaic function – that is, to remove the evil one. The idea of placing sculptures with animal features guarding temples and buildings is certainly not new and in fact occurs in numerous cultures of the ancient world (among the multiple examples: the Chinese “Shishi” stone lions). However, it should be remembered that not all the Gargoyle were born with a precise allegorical intent: often the sculptors allowed themselves formal freedoms for pure aesthetic taste or for the exercise of imagination. A more articulated theory attributes to grotesque figures an educational and moral value; According to some scholars, the Gargoyles also had the purpose of Fear fear in believersreminding them of the penalties of hell and pushing them to look for refuge in faith, crossing the threshold of the Church. The medieval cathedrals, moreover, were the “stone book” with which to instruct a people largely illiterate: facades, portals, cornices etc. they were almost always adorned with Apocalyptic scenes of damnation and redemption. In this great sacred theater, every sculpture, mask or bas -relief contributed to impressing and guiding the consciousness of the community of faithful, as a sort of warning to repent and not fall into sin.
The origin of the term “gargoyle” and meaning
Gargoylein Italian “Gargolla” or “Garguglia”, derives from the ancient French gargouillewhich means “throat” or “garganta”. In turn, this word comes from Latin gurguilan onomatopoeic term that recalls the “gurgling” of the water. Already in classical antiquity there were decorative documents: in the Greek temples, for example, the dried drips in the shape of a lion’s shape to channe the rainwater were widespread. The medieval architects therefore resumed this tradition, but significantly expanded the formal vocabulary: if initially the Gargoyle were in fact associated with the terminals with protomes Leonineover time the term ended up indicating any Doccione carved with bizarre features. Later, he also extended to all the monstrous figures protruding by cathedrals and castles, even when without the hydraulic function: just think of thenineteenth -century neo -Gothic architecturewhich reported “in vogue” the Gargolles almost exclusively as decorative elements, sometimes with an internal figure, thanks to the introduction of new drainage systems and multiplasses integrated into the buildings. Even today, in common language, we call “Gargoyle” any stone creature perched on the cornices of the Gothic buildings.
Famous examples of Gargoyle in Paris and Milan
The Gargoyle fall fully in the Gothic imagination and contribute to intensifying the austere, mystical and shady aura, typical of medieval churches, which in itself characterizes the architectural style. Those of the Notre-Dame Cathedral In Paris they are perhaps the best known, thanks to Victor Hugo’s novel Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) and the Disney animated film The hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). In reality, it is good to specify that they are neither original elements nor doctors: they are in fact Stone chnams with only decorative functionadded in the second half of the nineteenth century from Eugène Viollet-Le-Ducduring the restoration of the cathedral. The intervention, aimed at repairing the damage suffered during the French Revolution and the anti-lummy riots of the thirties of the nineteenth century, aimed to return its original medieval characteristics to the building, according to the idealized vision and the aesthetic revisited proper to the neo-Gothic period. Although famous figures like The Stryge – The thoughtful creature resting on the elbows And perched on the chimeter gallery-they are actually nineteenth-century reinventions, Notre-Dame is undoubtedly the cathedral with the most famous gargoyles in the world.
A particularly interesting example in Italy is certainly the Milan Cathedral, which preserves 96 Gargoyle, many of which with the function of Doccioni and the marked demonic appearance; Some date back to the very first phases of the construction, started in 1386. A legend linked to the origins of the cathedral says that the Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti He decided to build the Duomo after making a bad nightmare: the devil would have appeared in his dream threatening him to tear his soul, unless he had built one of the largest churches in the world, populated with images of evil. Despite the determination, Visconti never saw his cathedral completed: he died in 1402, a few years after the start of the works. On the other hand, it would have been almost impossible to attend the completion of the work, destined to request almost six centuries of construction.
The Gargoyles between curiosity and pop culture
Cartoons like Gargoyles – The awakening of the heroes (90s) imagined them as creatures that during the day were statues and at night they come to life to protect the city; Disney, with the aforementioned Gobbo of Notre Dame, in nice councilors of Quasimodo. These modern reinterpretations testify how much the Gargoyles, although born in medieval times, have entered the collective imagination and pop culture, even outside Europe. Emblematic case is that of Washington National Cathedralbuilt in the twentieth century in neo -Gothic style and adorned by many Gargoyle and masks, most of which consist of faces of famous characters. Among the latter, one has become famous for having the features of Darth Vader: the universally known “villain” of Star Wars. His presence is due to a drawing competition organized in the eighties by the same cathedral, through the magazine for children National Geographic World, and who invited young readers to imagine one of the statues that would adorn the west towers then under construction. The iconic Vader mask placed himself in third place and was proposed by Cristopher Rader, a boy from Keney, Nebraska.
Gargoyle of Darth Vader. By Cyraxote – Own Work, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
