These two delightful figures carrying a a bunch of grapes are on a Misericord in St. Mary's Priory, Old Malton, North Yorkshire.
Misericord means 'act of mercy' and these are small let down seats used to provide relief to a person in the long prayers of medieval services. Churches did not have seats at this time so misericords or niches in the wall were put there for the elderly or infirm.
The misericord pictured is of Joshua and Caleb carrying a bunch of grapes and is based on the story in Numbers 13. Spies have been sent into the land of Canaan by Moses and the fruit is proof of the fertility of the land.
you have captured wonderful details and provided, as usual, terrific information along with the shot. thank you so much for sharing this with us. i always learn so much when i view one of your photos besides the enjoyment of simply seeing them. how wonderful.
@thresheg@ivan@juliac Thank you. I love looking at these carvings and seeing how various verses of the bible were interpreted by the carvers. katharine
@catsmeowb@lhart@busylady@monkeykid Thank you. I'm glad you liked these. I think these are some great Victorian carvings that are sympathetic to the Medieval ones that were impossible to photo. katharine
@vanya Thanks Vanya. Lots of our churches and cathedrals have them, especially if they were monastic in origin. I think they are fascinating glimpses into the medieval mind. Katharine
@seattlite@pyrrhula Thank you. glad you liked this bit of history. I used to teach in Malton before I had the girls and took school parties to look at the church. Katharine
@vignouse Thank you. It was difficult to choose just one of them. I love little details like this and their history - there is a detailed leaflet about these misericords. Katharine
