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Cynghordy

The figures
The figures

The Cynghordy figures are mentioned in the book The Visual Culture of Wales : Medieval Vision. They are currently housed in Camarthenshire County Museum but were originally from an mansion house in Cynghordy. The figures were donated to the Camarthenshire Antiquarian Society and Field Club by a Captain Walter P. Jefferys but the date of the donation is not known. The figures were found embedded in the porch of the house when extensive alterations were made to it in 1886. The house was also said to contain a “disturbing phantom” in one of the rooms. The figures were originally painted and were cleaned by the society 1. It’s not stated whether the painting was whitewash or something more along artistic lines.

The Figures
The figures appear to be part of two pillars possibly from a doorway as there is carving on three sides of each figure (see below). Each of the front facing figures (left) gesture towards the pubic area. One figure holds something between its hands (an erect penis?) the other gestures towards the groin where a small rounded oblong lies, possibly a pudenda. Confusingly the “male” figure also has something between its legs which does not appear to be testicles and the female “pudenda” does not have a slit or opening which would definitely make it a representation of female genitalia. Both figures have vestigal nipples. On the right hand side of the “female” figure an animal with a long tail clings to her back. This has been interpreted as a monkey in The Visual Culture of Wales. One of the monkey’s lower legs could be interpreted as erect penis however this open to debate. On the left hand side of the “female” there is a figure with raised arms which appears to be standing on something. The groin is represented by a small incised triangle which may indicate the figures is meant to be female. On the right hand side of the “male” figure there is what appears to be another male figure with a large nose who appears to be holding a now broken erect penis. On the left hand side there are two figures and animal of some type which has been interpreted as Adam and Eve in The Visual Culture of Wales.  The “male” figure is also standing on a tube like structure which wraps round to both sides of the figure. This could be interpreted as a serpent with the head of the animal being the head of the serpent. However the carving is not clear and again this is open to interpretation. The “serpent” could equally simply be a piece of decoration for the male figure to stand on.

All in all these figures are puzzling, while the sexual organs have definitely been carved they have been done in an ambiguous way which leaves the sex of the figures open to question. The “male” figure has a lozenge between it’s legs which could indicate it is meant to be female yet it also holds a stubby “penis” in it’s hands. The “female” figure’s “pudenda” lacks a defining opening and could equally be interpreted as a flacid penis. The single side figures are a little more definite but even they are open to interpretation. Interestingly another set of Welsh figures in Llanhamlach are also ambiguous, along with the questionable “vulvar phallus” in Raglan. 

Thanks go to Gavin Evans of Camarthenshire County Museum for giving us a private viewing of the figures while the museum was closed and allowing us to take pictures of these remarkable figures. Copyright of the pictures remains with the museum and any enquiries for use should be addressed to them.

1. The Eleventh Year’s Transactions of the Camarthenshire Antiquarian Society and Field Club

The Cynghordy Figures side view

Male figure side view. Possible broken phallic figure

SheelaCynghordy03

 

“Monkey” on female figure’s back.

Raised arms figure
Raised arms figure

The Cynghordy Figures

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Gelsted a Sheela na gig in Denmark

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Evidence has come to light of Romanesque Sheela Na Gig and male exhibitionist type figures in Denmark

The figures are on the base of a font in the church at Gelsted Denmark

 

Female Exhibitionist Gelsted Church Denmark
Female Exhibitionist Gelsted Church Denmark
Hideko Bondesen – http://www.nordenskirker.dk/ [CC BY-SA 2.5 or CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

Male Exhibitionist Gelsted Church Denmark
Male Exhibitionist Gelsted Church Denmark
Hideko Bondesen – http://www.nordenskirker.dk/ [CC BY-SA 2.5 or CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons
The church’s website

http://www.nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Gelsted_kirke/Gelsted_kirke.htm

Studland

An almost abstract sheela
An almost abstract sheela

The Figures

St Nicholas church, Studland is something of a neglected treasure house of romanesque carving. It lies on the Dorset coast in the Isle of Purbeck.

The Studland Sheela is mentioned in passing in Images of Lust (page 117) but other than that there is very little mention of the figure in Sheela literature. A local guide book to the village of Studland mentions that there has not been much research into the corbel table of the church despite the richness of the carvings. The style of the carving on the corbel table is very much like that of Stoke Sub Hamdon even including some truly abstract figures.  The figure has the left hand holding open an grossly exaggerated vulva with a clearly defined clitoral hood. The right hand is also exaggerated and it’s execution makes it look more like a fin than hand (you can see this jutting out on the left hand side of the photo). It has no body to speak of, a badly worn face is directly joined to a pair of legs and the vulva. The adjacent figure gives you some idea of how it might have looked when new. Near the sheela there is also an acrobatic figure which could also be a less obvious exhibitionist. the figures upside down head is placed between it’s knees the while the whole body is bent backwards. Between the legs there appears to be a suggestion of a vulva complete with clitoral hood, this is however open to interpretation. On the other side of the church a pair of lovers embrace and appear to be enaged in intercourse. Another figure on the corbel table has been identified as broken megaphallic male by Malcolm Thurlby 1. The penis is now missing but the gigantic testicles can still be seen.  It’s well worth paying careful attention to the figures as a few are not always what they seem to be, an abstract pattern on closer inspection becomes the head of two grimacing monsters. The carving on the church on the whole is well executed if now a little worn. It’s surprising that more research into the church has not been done as while it’s corbel table may not be as well preserved as Kilpeck the richness of the carving rivals that famous church.

The figures face is only visible in subdued lighting
The figures face is only visible in subdued lighting

A view of the Studland sheela with the crudely carved face clearly visible. On a previous visit during a bright summer day the face invisible as can be seen from the photo aProceedings of the Dorset N.H. and A.F. Clubbove. Its also interesting to note that the article below from the Proceedings of the Dorset N.H. and A.F. Club also shows the figure as faceless. The picture to the left was taken on an overcast winters day and the face was clearly visible.

Victorian bowdlerised version of the sheela na gig
Victorian bowdlerised version of the sheela na gig

This figure appears in a somewhat abstract form in A Study on the Work of Preservation of the Church of St Nicholas, Studland, Dorset from the Proceedings of the Dorset N.H. and A.F. Club Vol. XII. 1891 as can be seen below. It interesting to note that the figure has not undergone the usual Victorian bowdlerisation prevalent in many studies of the period. A PDF copy of this report can be downloaded from Dr Colin Parsons site on the church here.

 

Proceedings of the Dorset N.H. and A.F. Club

Musician next to sheela figure
Musician next to sheela figure

The Sheela with adjacent figure. The adjacent figure may be playing a rote, a type of lyre. This would seem likely as musicians are often found on corbel tables.  There is a sculpture of an ass playing a rote in Oakham castle where the instrument is depicted in a similar blocky manner 2.  The nearby church of Worth Matravers also holds a rote playing figure on the corbel table the body is more awkwardly twisted than the example on Studland.

Possible exhibitionist acrobat
Possible exhibitionist acrobat

Adjacent acrobatic figure possibly another exhibitionist i.e. the clitoral hood is directly above the head.

Broken phallic figure
Broken phallic figure

This figure has been identified as a broken phallic male by Malcolm Thurlby and Anthony Weir. At first I was somewhat doubtful of this interpretation but as you can see from the photograph it is indeed a broken megaphallic male.The hands can be seen still grasping the grossly enlarged base of the penis the remnants of which can still just be made out under the encrustation of lichen. It’s interesting to note that both the male and female figure on the church are exaggerated or megaphallic and megavulvic respectively

Hidden Monsters
Hidden Monsters

 

Abstract corbel
Abstract corbel

Abstract Corbel (compare to Stoke Sub Hamdon figures)

The Lovers Corbel
The Lovers Corbel

The Lovers. This corbel, while not overtly exhibitionist does seem to represent a couple having intercourse. It’s worth comparing these figures to the lovers at Kilpeck which are more chaste in their embrace.

 

Studland Church
Studland Church

1. The Romanesque Church of St Nicholas, Studland (Dorset)”, Malcom Thurlby and Karen Lundren in Proceedings of the Dorset  Natural History and Archaeological Society.
2. Art and Patronage in the English Romanesque. Sarah Macready Ed. and F.H. Thompson Ed. page 103

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Wimborne

Male exhibitionist corbel
Male exhibitionist corbel

The Church

Wimborne Minster
A religious building of some type has existed in Wimborne since the beginning of the 8th century. The present church is a mixture of styles but many of the interior arches and much of the central tower dates from 12th-13th Century. Thee Minster has a number of Romanesque/Transition Period carvings and arches. These combine both features of Romanesque and Early English architecture and decoration as can be seen below. The church has a number of fine carvings above the arches which appear Romanesque in style.

The Figures

The Male exhibitionist corbel
This figure was found by Rachael Harding on a trip to Wimborne Minster in January 2009. No one in the church seemed to know about which is unsurprising as the exhibitionist details can only be found with telephoto lens or binoculars. The figure is holding a broken object in the right hard while the left holds a what appears to be a piece of cloth to its mouth. The figure also has a pair of stubby legs and a modest penis and testicles. This and the acrobat corbel are set high in the rafters to the right of the main entrance to the church. Their position, flush with the roof would seem to indicate that the corbels were originally moved from elsewhere.
Another damaged male exhibitionist (along with a female figure) exists in Dorset at Studland.

Acrobat corbel

Acrobat corbel high in the rafters

 

Wimborne Arches
Transitional Arches at Wimborne combining pointed EarlyEnglish/Gothic arches with Romanesque chevron ornament. The sculpture adorning the arches is very much Romanesque in style.

 

 

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