I wonder who this guy is
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325854)
Rockingham, Australia
August 5, 2017 2:11am CST
My last post was about the model ship hanging in the church at the Abbey de Hambye in Normandy, France. Other interesting features were the choir-stalls.
If you look at the photo you can see two hinges below the carved head. These allow the board above to swing down to a horizontal position thus providing seats for the choir when they are not singing. I have seen these before and always thought they were pretty quaint. However in this case, there seemed to be only the one that had a face. The others had ornamentation but not faces.
We’re off to see an 11th century church in a minute so that should be very interesting too. Hope you all have a great day.
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8 responses
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
5 Aug 17
@moffittjc This is what was customary in the past and some carpenters in our days still find a way to leave a sort of signature.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Aug 17
@LadyDuck I think it's pretty customary for any good carpenter to leave his/her mark on their work. Kind of a "signature calling card" if you will.
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@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Aug 17
that was my exact thoughts too, Anna! If there was only one carved face like that in the church, it's quite possible that it was the master carpenter who built the church. Or, it could also possibly be the architect who designed the church.
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@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
5 Aug 17
Should you ever visit the German city of Ulm (between Stuttgart and Munich), you'll see two rows of choir stalls in the cathedral. Each has a carved head showing the person (a member of the rich families) whose stall it was (and who probably paid for the wonderful sculpture).
No idea why you only saw one head. My guess: This person was the only one who paid for a sculpture of he paid for all the stalls and was honoured with a portrait.
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@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Aug 17
I loved the fact that in ancient days carpenters took the time to pay attention to such intricate details. It's also quite interesting how they often left their "mark" or "signature" in their construction and designs. It is quite possible that this is the carving of the carpenter or architect of the church. My other thought is that it might be the face of the priest/monk who presided over the church at the time of its construction.
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@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
5 Aug 17
I think ML's explanation for the head is probably the case.
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@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
6 Aug 17
He must have been pretty important.
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