Gargoyles: legends, origins and meaning

Gargoyles: legends, origins and meaning.

Of all the mythological beings that populate medieval bestiaries, Gargoyles are, possibly, one of the most misunderstood.

In principle, we must reject the idea that Gargoyles come from classical mythology. Its origin is much closer in time: the Middle Ages.

The word: Gargoyle comes from French gargouille, which means “throat.” The term derives from Latin gurgulioeither gargulaand, further back, from the Indo-European root garwhich means “to swallow”, a nuance that the Spanish language preserves in the word throat.

But what is the relationship between Gargoyles and the act of swallowing? Other languages ​​provide us with an interesting key.

In Italy the Gargoyles are known as DoctifyO well Gronda Sporgente, an architectural term that means something like “prominent eaves.” In Germany the Gargoyles Are calls Wasserspeier, “water vomiter”; Dutch analogue term: Waterspuwer: “spits water.”

All this terminology about Gargoyles points to their architectural usefulness, since they are, in addition to being a symbol and a reminder of hell, a necessary element in cathedrals to drain the roofs.

The evolution of Gargoyles in art occurred suddenly, although at first they were not called that way. The first artists to represent them called them Griffins, alluding to the creature from Greek myths, but very soon the Gargoyles They acquired their own relevance, as personal as it was grotesque.

It is interesting to note that the meaning of Gargoyles has to do with the representation of the impossible. With classical models exhausted, artists resorted to the depths of their imagination to describe horror in its purest form. The gigantic classical beasts no longer worried. On the contrary, for this new kind of horror that sprang from the churches, a blind, idiotic, obstinate horror that distributed hunger and blessings in unequal shares, a creature was needed capable of embodying the most abominable of the infernal hosts.

It was thus that the Gargoyles began their eternal surveillance over Gothic cathedrals, and even in baroque buildings with few religious pretensions. From the heights they scrutinize the traveler, constantly reminding him of the tragic destiny of his soul, what awaits him on the other side if he deviates from the path indicated by the holy edifice that lies under his clutches, like an enormous corpse.

The oldest Gargoyle legend comes from France, and is worth briefly commenting on.

In the mid-600s AD, a man named Romain, known as Saint Romanus, first chancellor of the Merovingian king Clotaire II, recounts the scourge of an infamous monster in the lands of Rouen. He calls it Gargouille—or Goji, in other versions—and describes it with the typical reptilian attributes of French dragons: bat-like wings, hypnotic gaze, and flaming jaws.

In some versions of the legend, Saint Romanus subdues this creature with a crucifix, in others, he strikes him down with the help of an outlaw. Whatever version we study, the truth is that Saint Romanus defeats the Gargoyle and takes her to the city of Rouen, where she is burned amid long celebrations.

However, the Gargoyle’s head did not burn, as if its skull had been designed to resist the fire of its own jaws, so that, unable to burn it properly, Saint Romanus ordered the head to be placed on the main door of the church of Rouen. This, according to legend, was the first Gargoyle to fulfill the role of guardian of a church.

Some time later, and to commemorate the name of Saint Romanus and his unknown assistant, the archbishop of Rouen began the tradition of freeing one prisoner each year, who had to walk alongside himself under the stony gaze of the Gargoyle and, perhaps, together remind him how it had been defeated.

Mythology. I Medievalism.

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