Misericords—medieval strip cartoons

Press, 12 January 1987, Page 20

Misericords—medieval strip cartoons

From ROBIN CHARTER!? in London For aged and frail monks in the twelfth century, having to remain kneeling or steading In the church choir stalls while praying, perhaps seven times a day for hours on end, was good for the soul, but hell for the arthritis. Small, pivoting seats were in the stalls but only for very occasional use. Recllnatoria, leaning staffs, to take the weight off their feet, had come in but praying was still a physically trying business. In 1121, so the record show, the Cluniac Benedictine Abbot, Peter the Venerable, was the first to record the existence of scabella, small sitting places attached to the choir seats as an indulgence. In Germany, they became known as misericords, from the Latin mlsericordla, meaning mercy or pity. They quickly spread throughout Christendom, obviously popular with the more venerable of the clergy. The need for the misericord did not outlast the Reformation, enlightenment presumably bringing better understanding of physiology, and the name changed in meaning to encompass not tee purpose but tee decoration of the seat. The pivoted seats offered wood carvers of the day further opportunity to show off their skills. Because they were in restricted areas and, usually, tipped down out of sight, the misericords gave the carvers fairly free rein. The magnificent misericords they and their apprentices carved more often featured everyday scenes and animals, monsters and mythology, than tee religious subjects one might expect They have been described as a strip cartoon of tee Middle Ages — yet for all their „ beauty and originality, they have remained much out of sight and mind through tee centuries. A New Zealand entomolo* .gist is changing all that. His newly-published book of photographs of English misericords, the first such publication since 1904, is about to show the British public what they have been missing in some of their loveliest old churches. Dr Marshall Laird, born in Wellington and now living at Wellsford, north of Auckland, has written ‘'English Misericords" (published by John Murray, New Zealand distribution to follow) "and three or four scientific books as well" since retiring four years-ago. The 150 plates in the book are selections from thousands of photographs taken . by him over many years of visiting churches in Britain ;; as a hobby during his career as a vector pathologist

RIGHT: One of the muter* pieces-of misericord carving Is the paired birds at Wells Cathedral. Originally thought to be parrots, the birds have new been identified u the conifer-breed-ing, cone-opening crossbill, large numbers of which sporadically migrate to Englaad from Scandinavia. The first recorded appearance of the crossbill wu in 4MI, M years before this *isericord wu carved. It

shews th* birds sn a Scats | f fipe, their favourite tree.

Vector pathology, Dr. Laird explains. Is "a kind of shorthand for the biological control of medically important insects." In his case, it has led to a life of almost constant moving from the Pacific Islands in and after World War II to Geneva, with the World Health Organisation and Canada, from where he travelled the world studying insects for much of his career. Now an honorary research fellow at the University of Auckland, Dr Laird, who is 64, is to take up a six month consultancy with eh New Zealand Department of Health next year to do a survey of mosquito and insect infectation at air and seaports in the country. Cheerfully agreeing that Insect and medieval choir stalls make strange bedfellows, he explained , during a recent visit to his publishers in London that searching out and photographing misericords had been a wonderfully relaxing hobby during a life of scientific inquiry. "It was the flora and fauna in the carvings that first interested me, but then the photography became so exciting. Because the misericords are hidden away underneath the choir seats, it wasn’t until you wriggled into the position the carver had been that you could really appreciate them,” said Dr Laird. "It meant I had to adapt cameras and flashlight equipment especially for such strange positions. Technically, they were difficult pictures to take, but immensely rewarding because of that "There are more than 8000 misericords in Britain — and twice that number in France — yet so few people know they are there. I have even been able to show vicars and church wardens! carvings in their own churches that they did not known existed,” said Dr Laird.

Some to the carvings are vulgar, many are humourous; all are intriguing and give a fresh insight into ordinary life in the Middle Ages. “They turn up some amazing results. Close study of one carving showed banding rings placed on a heron, for example. Ornithologists believe the first band banding was done In Germany in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, yet this carving, was completed 200 years and more before that” Other examples of new discoveries about the Middle Ages involve bird migration, harvesting techniques and the use of primitve equipment. Carvers even depicted themselves at work, illustrations which gave historians a better idea of the tools and working techniques employed. John Murray, book publishers for several centuries, are especially pleased that such an important part of British history has been recorded by Dr Laird. Comparison with the only other published photographs of misericords, in 1904, shows the effects of time and especially atmospheric pollution on them. "Some, perfectly preserved in 1904, do not have the detail left today that they did then,” said Dr Laird. “They will only get less recognisable with time.” A 10,000 word text with the photographs describes the history of misericords and delves into meaning and significance of individual carvings. There is also a chapter on how to photograph misericords and a location index of many of the better example in Britain. The publishers see misericord photography as a possible successor to brass rubbing. Dr Laird is more of a •' realist — "not if you could see some of the positions I : had to wriggle into to view 1 the misericords from the carver’s aspect,” he says.