Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: vanity

The first settlement to be established in the area was a Celtic town, which developed into the Roman city of Luguvalium in the 2nd century. Excavations undertaken in the 1970s dated the Roman timber fort constructed at the site of present Carlisle Castle to the winter of AD 73. It protected a strategic location on the Roman road to the north and overlooking the confluence of the Caldew and Eden rivers. By the time of the Norman Conquest of England, Carlisle was in the possession of the Scots. This changed in 1092, when William the Conqueror's son William Rufus invaded the region and incorporated Carlisle into England. The construction of Carlisle Castle began in 1093 on the site of the Roman fort. The conquest of Cumberland was the beginning of a war between Scotland and England which saw the region centred around Carlisle change hands a number of times. During the wars, the livelihood of the people on the borders was devastated by armies from both sides. Even when the countries were not at war, tension remained high. Groups named "Border Reivers" were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. Carlisle Cathedral was founded in 1122 as a community of canons. Construction of the church was begun by Athelwold, who became the first prior. In 1133 the church was elevated to cathedral status and Athelwold became the first Bishop of Carlisle. The building was renovated in the 13th and 14th centuries, with impetus given by the presence of the court of Edward I in 1307. In the 15th and early 16th centuries the monastic buildings were renewed. With the Dissolution of the Monasteries from 1536 and the establishment of the Church of England by Henry VIII as the official church of the country, the monasteries were dissolved and Carlisle Cathedral was run by a secular chapter. During the English Civil War part of the nave of the cathedral was demolished by the Scottish Presbyterian army to use the stones to reinforce Carlisle Castle. Between 1853 and 1870 Carlisle Cathedral was restored. The church was built in the Anglo-Norman style, but little of it remains. In the 13th century, construction began on a new three-aisled church in the Gothic style, which also had a transept. A fire damaged the church in 1292 and much of the work had to be restarted. Around 1350, the 9-panel chancel window was installed, which is still one of the largest in England. The stalls have a series of skilfully carved misericords A mermaid

The town and castle date back to the founding of the Norman noble family Lacy. Walter de Lacy was given land here by William the Conqueror for his participation in the Battle of Hastings. He and his descendants founded the town and equipped it with strong fortifications. Following the Norman tradition, a wooden motte was first erected on a mound of earth. The oldest surviving stone part of the castle is the inner courtyard, which was built between 1086 and 1094 by Walter de Lacy's son Roger de Lacy. The town was expanded by donations from the de Lacy family and was first mentioned in a document in 1138. In 1177, the town is said to have already had 1172 inhabitants. In 1306, the town and castle passed to the Mortimer family by inheritance. During the Wars of the Roses, Ludlow Castle was briefly the headquarters of the leaders of the House of York: the future Edward IV lost the Battle of Ludlow in 1459, which led to his flight abroad and the provisional victory of the House of Lancaster. A parish church was established in the late 11th century. It is situated atop the hill around which the medieval town developed. After its initial construction the church was expanded and rebuilt in 1199 to accommodate a growing town population. In the late Middle Ages considerable wealth accrued to the town based upon the wool trade. Correspondingly the church underwent several further additions in that era. The major works occurred between 1433 and 1471 with a virtual re-building of the nave, tower and chancel elements. Two scenes of the choir stalls. Above: A mermaid flanked by two fish. She holds a mirror in her hand and symbolises vanity Below: On the left the devil, on the right the mouth of hell. In the centre, two woodwoses, the devil's assistants. The one on the right is holding a bagpipe, the one on the left has a drunken sinner on his shoulder.

Located on a hill, Beaumont-du-Périgord was an English bastide, founded in 1272 by Lucas de Thaney in the name of King Edward I, who granted a charter to the town in 1286. In 1289 he authorized the building of a market hall. A city wall was built in 1320. The town was taken in 1442 by Pierre de Beaufort and Louis XI confirmed in 1461 the charter to the inhabitants. Besieged three times by the Huguenots in 1561, 1575 and 1576, the city was finally taken in February 1576, by the Protestants. After the peace treaty, the city returned to the Catholics but it was again besieged by the Huguenots in 1585. The construction of the fortified church Saint-Laurent-et-Saint-Front began around 1330. The nave is about 52 metres long and 13.50 metres wide. It even had a well inside to supply the population, that took shelter here, with water. It survived the many wars of the centuries quite undamaged but in 1810 a part of the vault collapsed. In 1869 the walls got restored so that a brick arch vault could be installed. Still very much intact is the facade´s frieze, dated 1330/40. The mermaid holding a mirror and a comb stands for vanity.

One of the first printed records about this gate stated in 1859 "Of all old monuments in the Rhine valley, none as mysterious as the portal (...) near the church in Remagen". The Pfarrhoftor (= Gateway to the parish close) still is enigmatic. It may have been erected for a nearby monastery, that centered around an St. Apollinaris shrine, it may have been in deed a gate to a parish close. Actually it known since the 17th century, when parts of it were found, walled in between the rectory and the encircling wall. The parts were recovered and like pieces of a puzzle joined together. Though the cope stone was lost, the large arch was easy to reconstruct. Wether the smaller side portal originally was left or right is unclear. The 22 carved reliefs here have triggered more than a dozend different theories. I will quote some. The carving style was not appreciated by the art-historians. Already Wilhelm Bode ("Geschichte der Deutschen Plastik") wrote in 1887 that the carver was "without any artistic ambition". For me this portal has parallels in Linden and Goegging. All three portals are roughly carved - and enigmatic, blending christian, pagan and ancient icons. The only point, that is undisputed is, that the portal was erected in the second half of the 12th century. It may be, that the reliefs, seen here, are just single icons, that are not interconnected to a certain "iconographic program". This is claimed by Paul Clement (1938), Georg Dehio (1933) and Josef Minn (1942). In 1947 Albert M. Koeniger published the results of his research, interpreting the reliefs as icons of eight (!) deadly sins as described by Bishop Burchard of Worms (965-1025), author of a canon law collection (aka "Decretum Burchardi"). A fish-tailed bird with bearded human face. Is this a male bird-siren? But then it should have a bird´s tail. Or a merman with wings? Some claim it is a harpy. For Koeninger this icon stands for vanity and/or foolishness. The artistic style of this carving is clearly different. It is way more ambitious. The beard of the chimaera is curly, the hair is nicely combed. Note the tip of the wing! The artist even used a stone driller here.

The Pieve di San Pietro a Gropina is located on a hill in the hamlet Gropina, that meanwhile belongs to Loro Ciuffenna. A chapel existed here already in the 4th century. Soon after Charlemagne had donated the area to the Nonantola Abbey, Benedictian monks erected a church here end of the 8th century. The church of today was probably built within the 12th century. At that time this was one of the wealthiest parish church with the diocese, having about 30 depending churches. The nave is flanked by pillars, that all have sculpted capitals. The capitals of left and right side differ in style. Within some decades two workshops have worked here. Maybe even more. The remarkable pulpit is based on a knotted pillar, is a striking piece of art. Some scholars attribute it to a "Master of Campione" (or a workshop). Next to the six-winged cherub (previous upload) are these two ladies. A long-haired mermaid in the (for mermaids normal) split-position and above a female in the same position. She has in immense amount of pubic hair and holds two giant snakes, that whisper sinful sentences into her ears. Or into his ears, as the person could be male... A victim of lust anyway.. In medieval times mermaids are seen as a symbols of vanity and lust, of sexual display, seduction and temptation leading to damnation. Lust is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Lusignan was the home of the "Maison de Lusignan" ("House of Lusignan") an old noble family deeply rooted in medieval legends, as once upon a time Prince Raymond of Poitou and Fairy Melusine founded the dynasty. The family resided in a castle, that in medieval times was one of the largest in France. The ruins of the castle got demolished in the 19th century, but this church, founded by Hugh IV, Lord of Lusignan, in 1024 just opposite the castle still exists. The church was completed in the early 12th century, but underwent a number of alterations over the century. It got already seriously damaged during a conflict between the House of Plantagenet and the House of Lusignan in 1168. In 1373, during the 100 Years´ War English troops seized Lusignan, during the siege and the reconquest, the tower - and the vaults collapsed. Already four years later, the damages were repaired. An elegant mermaid holding a mirror. A symbol of vanity.

Radegonde (aka "Radegund", "Radegundis") was a princess, born in Thuringia around 520. She was married to Chlothar I but left her husband and founded the convent "Sainte-Marie-Hors-les-Murs" in Poitiers around 552. The nunnery was the first and became the most important in the Frankish Empire. After having received a fragment of the "True Cross" from the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, the name of the abbey changed to "Abbaye Sainte-Croix". In 587 Radegonde was buried here. The first church was erected over her tomb. Radegonde´s remains were exhumed in 1012 for public veneration, what triggered a major pilgrimage to Poitiers. After a major fire, the church was rebuilt. The church of today, constructed from the 11th to 12th centuries, was built in a combination of Romanesque and Gothic styles. Sculptured corbels line both sides of the nave. Mermaids often stand for vanity and hold combs and mirrors. This maid may hold a make-up jar.

The Catedral de Santa Maria in Tudela was erected late 12th century on the place, where the Great Mosque of Tudela (9th c.) had stood before. The cathedral is really large (65m x 52m) but unfortunately was closed, so I could not see the well known cloister. I was very impressed by the late-Romanesque "Puerta del Juicio". The slightly pointed portal, created wirthin the 13th century, has eight archivolts and 122 different icons. On the left side is an insight view into hell, demons and devils at work. Two evil-looking devils hold a Luxuria. The left (horned?) devil holds a round object behind the Luxuria´s head. Maybe a mirror, symbol of vanity.

Marciac has its fame from the annual Jazz Festival, that was going on, when I reached the small town - and decided to stay for two days. The interior of the late gothic "Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption" was quiet and uncrowded. The church was erected in the 15th century, but some older, Romanesque carvings got reused here. Under the power line is this mermaid, holding a comb and a mirror. So she stands for vanity, a symbol that can often be found in gothic churches.

Wilfred the Hairy (aka Guifré el Pilós), whom we just "met" as the founder of the nearby monastery in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, where his daughter Emma of Barcelona was the first abbess, founded the Monastery of Santa Maria in Ripoll in 879. Here his son Radulf de Barcelona was abbot. This was not only Wilfred´s family business, he was very succesful in the political power game of that time. The first church was consecrated in 888, but as the monastery grew it was "reconsecrated" in 935, 977 and 1032. When Oliba de Besalú, as well a descendent of Wilfred, was abbot here (1008 - 1046), this was a cultural center. More than 250 books were on the shelves of the monastery´s library. The church was the burial place for the Counts of Besalú and Barcelona. Still today many tombs can be found in the transept, including that one of Wilfred the Hairy. The decline started within the 15th century. In 1428 it was severely damaged by an earthquake, the restoration was done in Gothic style. The church got ruined the first Carlist War, the library burnt down, the last monks had left. In 1847 part of the cloister and soon after, the abbot´s palace got demolished. The Bishop of Vic organized the rebuilding, so that the church got consecrated again in 1893. The church of today is vastly a product of the reconstruction of th 19th century, but it may be "near" to the romanesque structure. The cloister got reconstructed end of the 19th century as well, but as only a part of it had been demolished, it still contains a lot of the original structure. The construction of the ground floor started 1180 and it took to the the early 15th century to complete it. The second floor dates to the 15th and 16th century. Some of the capitals are sculptured by Jordi de Déu (aka Jordi Johan). Jordi de Déu (+1418), born on the island of Sicily, with greek roots, was sold as a slave to catalan master carver Jaume Cascalls, who taught him sculpture. Two row boats on the sides of the capital escort this beautiful mermaid. She is holding a (broken) mirror in her hand, being a symbol of vanity.