Another carving in the same chancel may be in derision of some official of the papal court, which, in the thirteenth century, on an occasion of the contumacy of the nuns in refusing to pay certain tithes, caused the church, with that adjoining, of the lay brethren, to be closed. The nuns defied all authority, broke open the chapels, and in general during the long contest acted in a curiously ungovernable, irresponsible manner.
A PAPAL MONSTER, SWINE, YORKSHIRE.
IMPUDENCE, BISHOP’S STORTFORD,
HERTFORDSHIRE.
At Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, are some misericordes, which, says Miss Phipson, are stated to have originally belonged to Old St. Paul’s. Among them is the annexed subject. The wicked expression of the face, and the general incorrectness of the composition, are a historical evidence of indecorum akin to the gestures of the Beverley carvers.
From the fine choir carvings of Westminster Abbey yet another example is given. It is one in which the spirit of the old Comptes a Plaisance is well illustrated. A well-clad man, suggesting Falstaff in his prime, is seated with a lady among luxurious foliage. His arm is right round his companion’s waist, while his left hand dips into his capacious and apparently well-lined pouch, or gipciere. He has been styled a merchant. He is manifestly making a bargain. The lady is evidently a daughter of the hireling (hirudo!), and is crying, “Give, give.” In spite of this being the work of an Italian artist, the artistic feeling about it would seem to recall slightly the lines of Holbein.
A QUESTION OF PRICE, WESTMINSTER ABBEY.