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Trivia!

lahbluebonnet made a valiant attempt at guessing the answer to the last trivia question (which was far too long ago, my apologies):- "The name of this architectural feature comes from the old french word for "throat" as they were used to channel water. Their usefulness in warding off evil spirits came later and is up for debate."

The answer is "gargoyle", which comes from the old French for "throat". If you think of words like "gargle" and "gorget" it makes sense. A close look at the photo to the left will reveal that the water was channeled off of and away from the building through a spout in the mouth of the figure. This one is from St. Vitus' cathedral, and is appropriately scary as we approach Halloween.

The trivia for today is more of a question for all of you:- What character, historical or otherwise, are you dressing as for Halloween? Or, if you don't participate in such a holiday (as I know many of my European friends do not), what is your current project?

Ironically I, like most of my fellow professional costumers, do not tend to dress in costume for Halloween. There's never any time to make something, it seems.
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  1. lahbluebonnetOctober 21, 2012 at 10:36 AM

    Oh, that's interesting about gargoyles! I honestly couldn't see any in the first photo. LOL But I do know how to recognize them but didn't know about their word history. No Halloween for us. I am currently hand stitching 18th century stays from my Burnley and Trowbridge workshop with the CW tailor a few weeks ago.
    Laurie

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