Stone Sculptures of ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ Characters to Adorn Medieval Church

Smithsonian Magazine ^ | 21 August 2020 | Claire Bugos

[BlackVeil]

isitors to St. Mary’s Church, a 12th-century parish in Yorkshire, England, will soon be welcomed by a cast of characters from C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.

As Harriet Sherwood reports for the Guardian, 14 limestone sculptures depicting Aslan the lion, Jadis the White Witch, Reepicheep the talking mouse and other magical creatures are set to replace worn medieval carvings on the church’s exterior. ...

[BlackVeil]

A link between literature and church decoration.

[BlackVeil]

Narnia Ping List.

[Getready]

I guess there are no more saintly real people anymore that one could make a statue to memorialize. I get it.

[moovova]

How long before they’re bowing down to these figures?

[HarleyD]

How cute. Apparently this church must have lots of money to throw away on gimmicks to attract people.

[Rockingham]

The Church of England is no longer in the business of cannonization. Saints there may be, but the COE is not about to endure the bother of trying to discern them.

[ClearCase_guy]

I really don’t think CS Lewis would approve.

[ReformedBeckite]

.....Apparently this church must have lots of money to throw away on gimmicks to attract people.

There is a possibility that the church didn't pay for them but the government did, I think the government owns the cathedral and pays for it's up keep, and heating etc during the winter because it is a national historical landmark. The liberal Church of England probably still have church services their but I doubt hardly any body attends, but thousands of tourist visit these historical sites.

Now if only the characters like Aslan and the other good characters of Narnia could come alive and wage war against the evils of the Church of England that would be great.

[Gingersnap]

I think this is great!

Many churches of that era are decorated with characters from folklore or local stories. I have always seen Narnia as a Christian allegory which would make it very appropriate.

The sculptures also seem to look very finely crafted and beautiful.

I’d rather see Aslan than some twisted dwarf or obscene figure.

[antidemoncrat]

Trying to compete with “The Church Of What’s Happening Now”?

[Cinnamontea]

I’d rather see Aslan than some twisted dwarf or obscene figure.

Agreed! I love the idea.

[BlackVeil]

I really don’t think CS Lewis would approve.

I thought that, myself, but then I considered that his books were meant to be a Christian allegory. And Lewis had great respect for creative writers such as the medieval romance poets, thinking that they preserved something wonderful and a way of sustaining our faith in an otherwise barren, modernist world. So, perhaps he would approve of these statues, but only as decorative items.

[21twelve]

Just last week I was reading about this kind of stuff. The gargoyles serve as roof drains and have worn out. Awhile ago some artist proposed using modern-day characters instead of the horrible monster faces (used to keep evil away).

IIRC the first modern character used was Darth Vader. Other Star Wars characters were also used on some cathedral.

http://irisharchaeology.ie/2013/08/grotesques-and-gargoyles-a-modern-twist/

This isn’t the article that I had read but gives some history of the newer characters. The article I read talked more about the use of modern characters to fit today’s culture.