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Medieval graffiti in England's churches
Topic Started: Jul 20 2014, 11:25 AM (311 Views)
CJ
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A very minor case of serious brain damage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28035013

Medieval graffiti of straw kings, pentagrams, crosses, ships and "demon traps" have been offering a tantalising glimpse into England's past. What do the pictures reveal about life in the Middle Ages?

A project to record the graffiti, which began in Norfolk, has now been rolled out to other areas and is gradually spreading across England.

Although the drawings discovered so far undoubtedly offer an insight into the minds of some - possibly bored - churchgoers in the Middle Ages, their precise meaning is not always clear.

For instance, on the walls near the entrance to Cranwell Parish Church, in Lincolnshire, there is a figure identified as "the straw man".

Brian Porter, Lincolnshire's medieval graffiti project co-ordinator, believes the figure to be a pagan fertility symbol, possibly etched before a May Day celebration.



So, does this mean that there were 'closet pagans' living in England in the Middle Ages? I don't know, but I wouldn't be too surprised if this turned out to be evidence of syncretism of pagan beliefs with Christianity as it was practised in Medieval England.
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