The grotesque in church art . THE PREACHING FOX, ST. MARVs, BEVERLEY. the scroll of truth and simplicity of life—call it the rule of hisorder. Yet how do many of his followers act ? With greedfor the temporalities, they aspire to the pastoral crook, anddevour their flocks with such rapacity as to threaten theup-rooting of the whole order. Such might be one rendering ; yet the placid cleric maybe simply introduced to shew the outward appearance of theravening ones. 26 202 THE GROTESQUE IN CHURCH ART. It has been a favourite explanation of these anti-clericcarvings to say that they were due to t
The grotesque in church art . THE PREACHING FOX, ST. MARVs, BEVERLEY. the scroll of truth and simplicity of life—call it the rule of hisorder. Yet how do many of his followers act ? With greedfor the temporalities, they aspire to the pastoral crook, anddevour their flocks with such rapacity as to threaten theup-rooting of the whole order. Such might be one rendering ; yet the placid cleric maybe simply introduced to shew the outward appearance of theravening ones. 26 202 THE GROTESQUE IN CHURCH ART. It has been a favourite explanation of these anti-clericcarvings to say that they were due to the jealousy whichexisted between the regular orders and the preaching carvings such as this last are sufficient to prove theexplanation erroneous ; preaching friars carried no croziers. Yet another instance from St. Marys shews us two foxesin scapularies reading from a book placed on an eagle-lectern. The bird—lectern or not—has round its head a kind of. FOXES AT THE LECTERN, ST. MARYS, BEVERLEY. aureola or glory ; it is probably an eagle, but who shall say itis not a dove ? The religiously-garbed foxes are aloneunmistakable. At Boston we have a mitred Fox, enthroned in theepiscopal seat in full canonicals, clutching at a cock whichstands near, while another bird is at the side. Close by thethrone, another fox, in a cowl only, is reading from a book. At Christchurch, Hampshire, we see the Fox on aseat-elbow, in a pulpit of good design, and near him, on THE FOX IN CHURCH ART. 203 a stool, the Cock ; it appears in the initial of this article. At Worcester, a scapularied Fox is kneeling before asmall table or altar, laying his hand with an affectation ofreverence upon—a sheeps head. This is one of the sidecarvings to the misericorde of the three mowers, consideredunder the head of Trinities. The Fox seizing the Hen, at Windsor, reminds of the
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