GARGOYLES AND GARGOUILLE (DRAGON) 

 

Halloween festivities have just ended, during which time we had been mercilessly bombarded with all that was dark, ominous and scary. This was the time when ugly was beautiful and fear mongering was the norm.

My thoughts during this period had naturally turned to a varied, yet common motif donning, mainly historical buildings of most western metropolises, Toronto being no exception. Blissfully unaware we all go about our daily business under the protective gazes of grotesque gargoyles. Yes, gargoyles; but Gargoyles are actually the good guys for they are said to frighten off and protect those structures, old buildings or churches from any evil, harmful spirits.

About AD 631-641, a colourful French legend had sprung up about St. Romanus (“Romain”). In this the former chancellor of the Merovingian king Clotaire II who was made bishop of Rouen, recounted the tale of how he’d delivered the country around Rouen from a diabolical monster called Gargouille or Goji.

The description of La Gargouille pegged him to be a typical dragon, with bat like wings, long neck, and the ability to breathe fire from its mouth.  At that time this dragon had engendered much fear and perpetrated much destruction with its fiery breath. Spouting water, he supposedly devoured men and ships whole.

Each year, the residents of Rouen were forced to placate Gargouille with an offering of a victim, usually a criminal, though it was said that the dragon much preferred maidens.  St. Romanus promised to deliver the townspeople from this terrible danger and in recompense they would all be baptized and later construct a church. 

It is natural to have multiple versions of such a popular fable: In one scenario, St. Romanus purportedly subdued the creature using a crucifix and led the then docile beast back to town on a leash made from his priest’s robe. In another version St. Romanus captured the beast with the help of the only volunteer, a condemned man.

In both cases the monster was led back to Rouen and burned, but only partially. You see the head and neck, being tempered by its own fiery breath, could not be incinerated. Undaunted, the head of Gargouille was still utilized for protection and was promptly mounted on the wall of the newly built church to scare off evil spirits.

Since then, in commemoration of St. Romain, the Archbishops of Rouen were granted the right to set a prisoner free on the day that the reliquary of the saint was carried in procession.

Gargoyles were viewed in two ways by the church; the primary use was to convey the concept of evil through the form of the gargoyle. Some medieval clergy viewed gargoyles as a form of idolatry, for example, in the 12th century St. Bernard of Clairvaux was famous for speaking out against gargoyles. Also, gargoyles were said to scare evil spirits away from the structure, thereby reassuring the congregants that their church was a safe haven from evil spirits.

On the practical side, Gargoyles serve another vital purpose in architecture. Usually an elongated, granite beast with a spout, was designed to direct the flow of rainwater off of the roof. A trough, cut in the back of the gargoyle (the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall) directed rainwater to exit through the open mouth. Ingeniously therefore, the damaging rainwater was also steered away from the masonry walls and the mortar between to prevent erosion.

Gargoyles had their humble beginnings in the form of fountainheads. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Etruscans and Romans fancied these animal configured waterspouts. The term gargoyle was most often applied to medieval work, but throughout history some means of water diversion, when not conveyed in gutters, were adopted. In ancient Egyptian architecture, gargoyles showed little variation, typically carved in the form of a lion's head. Similar lion-mouthed waterspouts were also seen on Greek temples, modeled in the marble or terracotta cymatium of the cornice.

Many medieval cathedrals included gargoyles and chimeras. Although most had grotesque features, over the years the term gargoyle had come to include all types of images. Some gargoyles were depicted as monks, or as combinations of real animals and people, many of which were humorous. Unusual animal/human hybrids, or chimeras, did not act as rainspouts and are more properly called grotesques. They served more as ornamentation but are now synonymous with gargoyles.

Both ornamented and unornamented waterspouts projecting from roofs at parapet level were a common device used to shed rainwater from buildings until the early eighteenth century. After that time more and more buildings installed drainpipes to carry the water from the roof gutters to the ground and only very few buildings using gargoyles were constructed. This was because some people found them frightening and sometimes heavy ones were eroded and fell off, causing damage.

In 1724, the London Building Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain made the use of downpipes compulsory on all new construction spelling the general demise of Gargoyles and relegating them to place in history and fable.

Still Gargoyles are popular as ornamentation on distinctively styled modern buildings. There they not only live but also thrive, frightening and fuelling the imaginations of new generations.

THE END

KIYOHIME AND THE HEARTLES PRIEST

 KIYOHIME AND THE HEARTLESS PRIEST

 (A JAPANESE FOLKLORE REVISED BY BOST)

 

According to Japanese folklore Kiyohime (or simply Kiyo) was the daughter of a village headman named Shōji, on the Hidaka riverbank. The family was wealthy enough to entertain and provide lodging for traveling priests, who often passed by on their way to a shrine famous for ascetic practices.

One day a handsome visiting priest named Anchin, having arrived at dusk, accepted the gracious invitation to be Shoji’s guest for the night.

 He was served a sumptuous meal and, was treated very well all during the evening with his needs generously provided for. He was even given the best bedroom.  Unfortunately, during the course of the night his attention was taken by Shoji’s rather bashful, beautiful daughter Kiyo.

As Anchin was rather a debonair, handsome young priest with suave manners and eloquent tongue, Kiyo quickly became smitten by him. 

 Anchin had only recently joined the order of priesthood, besides, he’d always been a passionate, hot blooded young man; seeing that his feelings were reciprocated by this enchanting girl and so wanting more time to get to know Kiyo, he deferred his morning departure and instead made up a plausible excuse so as to extend his stay for a few more days.

It was a beautiful time of year, when the Earth wore the bright coloured cloak of spring and frolicking birds and insects filled the air with cheerful melody. A few surreptitious, fervent meetings led to intimacy and Anachin, having totally lost his head, fell deeply in love with Kiyo.

Unfortunately, Anchin, being a principled, devout individual, furthermore, being dedicated to his chosen vocation, he just as quickly regained his wits (right mind) and wished to extricate himself from this erroneous infatuation (obsession). His initial desire had been to let her down gently; nevertheless, seeing her as the temptress, his demeanor henceforth became icy cold towards her, and he refrained from any further covert meetings.  

Poor Kiyo wracked her brains for any explanation for this sudden change in Anchin and, failing to do so, fell into deep dismay.  In her view she’d been taken advantage of and most cruelly and reprehensibly victimized by Anachin; especially since until then she had been virtuous and proper. The rejection by this heartless rogue Priest fed the furies of her emotions fanning them into intense hatred. 

 When one afternoon Kiyohime was away visiting a neighbour, Anachin took advantage of her absence to escape this sticky situation. He quietly made his excuses to his host Shoji and quickly departed. 

She was incensed when she returned and found him already gone without a word. Beside herself, she dashed out of the house leaving her baffled father behind.

Tears coursing down her cheeks she ran and ran in hot pursuit of the unfaithful lover, with her heart in a terrible grip of fiery rage.  Kiyohime eventually caught up with Anchin at the edge of the Hidaka River.

Anchin, sighting her first, quickly hired the moored ferryman to help him across the river. Once on board, Anchin pressed the boatmen to gain speed.  Paying him additional funds, he further cautioned the boatman not to let her cross after him.   

Distraught Kiyohime was crushed when she saw Anchin’s icy, heartless glare before he turned his face away to urge the boatmen for speed. She was so incensed; she bit her lip until blood trickled down her chin. Oblivious to her pain she dove into the rapid flowing river and started to swim towards them.  She wanted some explanation, even a feeble excuse for his breaking his promise to her. While swimming in the torrent of the Hidaka River, thrashing this way and that, her heart was so filled with rage that it literally burst. Suddenly pitch darkness engulfed the waters. At that same moment she underwent a transformation, growing scales, becoming misshapen, and stretching until she turned into a fierce Dragon.

When Anchin looked back and, this time, saw her in the altered state of a monstrous Dragon effortlessly gliding through the foamy tumultuous waters, his heart skipped a beat.  Fortunately, the boat had just reached the other shore. Bypassing the boatman who was trying to moor his craft, he simply jumped onto the shore. His feet firmly planted on the ground; he raced towards the temple called Dōjō-ji.  His heart still in his mouth, sweating profusely and panting heavily, he begged the priests of Dōjōji for their cooperation and help in escaping this monster, the terrible evil spirit scourge that had taken on the form of a Dragon.   They believed in Anchin and quickly lowered the bell of the temple to hide him under it.

The Dragon at first hesitated to enter the temple. But then her icy breath blew open the enormous doors in a miasmic cloud of fog, dust and debris and she manifested inside.

“Where is he?” She roared. But no one was there to answer her as all the priests had taken flight and hid. Her fiery breath could have razed the temple to the ground, but she still retained some benevolence and instead forcefully restrained her wrath. 

She looked about her for a time, and then her keen sense picked up the frightened odor of Anchin quaking terribly, though well hidden, inside the giant bell.

Seething, the Dragon sliced through the air right across the room and coiled her enormous tail around the bell.  She thrashed the bell loudly for several times.  Anchin was nearly driven insane with all the noise and vibration.  However, he was trapped and deep down he knew he would pay for his momentary lapse of judgement and sin. So resigned to his fate, he started to pray quietly for absolution.

Too late!

For just then the Dragon having tired of this fruitless torment, gave a gigantic belch of fire that engulfed and quickly melted the bell with Anchin inside.

The End.