Jazeneuil (Vienne)
The right-hand side of the doorway,
with mildly-hellish beasts on the right.
The purse of the rich man was seen as Satan's Scrotum.
Jazeneuil (Vienne)
The right-hand side of the doorway,
with mildly-hellish beasts on the right.
The purse of the rich man was seen as Satan's Scrotum.
A moneylender (or banker) at Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges
(Haute-Garonne)
is being swallowed by the jaws of Hell.
compare with the female hedonist at Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val
A corbel at Mailhat (Puy-de-Dôme) showing a person
with a moneybag
who seems to be a rogue monk.
From the same church a figure of the eternal punishment of Luxuria,
the Licentiousness of the Rich.
Fragments at Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne (Corrèze), photographed
by Adrian Fletcher.
The rich man is being ridden into Hell by a devil, while a toad-lizard approaches
Luxuria's groin.
The figure on the left may be Gluttony, having 'licked the platter clean'.
A tongue-sticking, possibly-hermaphrodite, chained devil
on one of the three West Doors of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Note that he is sitting on a pope, a wealthy cardinal, and a king.
A fine capital at Cunault (Maine-et-Loire) showing a devil claiming
a king or prince with impressive moneybag.
photo by Julianna Lees
A superb 11th.century capital at Ennezat (Puy-de-Dôme) has the unambiguous
inscription:
"in practising usury,
you do devil-work".
He is being hauled to Hell by two figures in fringed skirts which don't
look particularly demoniac.
His Pot of Riches is bigger than the moneybag around his neck.
"Le supplice de l'usurier. Il a sa bourse pendue
à son cou et à ses pieds son pot de terre abritant ses richesses.
Nu, il est empoigné par deux personnages démoniaques vêtus
d'un pagne.
La signification du message gravé est sans ambiguïté :
" en pratiquant l'usure, c'est pour moi que tu as travaillé
" fait dire le sculpteur à Satan."
(from Joël Jalladeau's excellent website : click
for more)
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