Gargoyles
Return Home
Return to Mystical Creatures Page
Gargoyles are the grotesque carvings of faces and bodies of humans and animals. Serving originally as water spouts to direct the water clear of a wall, they can often be found on (Gothic) buildings and churches. In medieval times, the function of Gargoyles changed. They became representations of religious events, created for the illiterate population to "read". From the fact that Gargoyles are such hideous creatures stems the notion that they were created to avert evil. Placed on the outside of buildings supposedly kept evil out. In later times, most of them became mainly ornamental and served no other purpose than decoration. A Gargoyle is a grotesquely carved human or animal figure found on an architectural structure, originally designed (believe it or not) to serve as a spout to throw rainwater clear of a building. They later became strictly ornamental and assumed many forms. The word gargoyle comes from the Old French word Gargouille meaning throat or gullet. This word is used to describe the sound that is produced when water passes through the throat and mixes with air (origin of the word gargle). This word was originally used in reference to the drains atop cathedrals which were later carved into the form of beasts or animals. We generally describe gargoyles as any sculpted creature inhabiting the upper levels of buildings, be they cathedrals or not. Gargoyles which combine several different animals are also known as chimeras. Ancient myths often tell of beings made out of several creatures joined together in a single one: a human head on a lion body makes a sphinx, on a bird's torso a siren, and on that of a fish a mermaid. Some of these beings are true races, as the centaurs (half man and half horse), the harpies (another kind of woman/bird mixture), and the satyrs (men with goat's legs). Others come as one of a kind, as the Minotaur (half man and half bull), Echidna (half woman and half snake), and the Chimaera (or Chimera), this time a mixture of lion, goat, and snake. Gargoyle", the dictionary definition: a spout usually in the form of a grotesquely carved face or figure, projecting from a roof gutter. From the Old French "gargouille" and the Late Latin "gurgulio", both meaning throat. (from Chambers Concise dictionary) "Gargoyles (in the strict sense) are carvings on the outside of buildings designed to direct water from the roof away from the base of the walls... ...Some gargoyles are undecorated but many are zoomorphic or anthropomorphic - often very imaginative and/or grotesque. This has led to the term 'gargoyle' being applied more widely to any grotesque carving in medieval buildings." (from Bob Trubshaw, posting in BritArch archives, 23Feb1999) Over the last few years, gargoyles have become cartoon characters, a cult "animal" in Neo-Gothic circles, particularly popular in internet fantasy literature where they appear more naughty than truly evil, and even as a way of defining ones Gothic self ("I'm a gargoyle". "Oh really, I'm a vampire, but we could still go out together"). None of these have much to do with plumbing, but the meaning of words do change over the years, and "gargoyle" now seems to mean to many people to be any ugly or grotesque creature particularly if it lives on buildings or rocks.