A Little Book of Misericords (Little Books of...Series)

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Summary: Under Bishops' Bums
Review: Simply put, a misericord is a bracket attached to the underside of a hinged seat in a church stall against which a standing person may lean. From the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries, these under-seat ledges became masterpieces of the woodcarver's art. In England and Ireland carvers made their misericords with an artistic difference, adding supporters -- small, often round carvings that flank the main image.

In this beautifully photographed and elegantly written little book, Mike Harding introduces us into the world of the rarely seen misericords and their supporters. We learn that misericords are not just carvings, but celebrations of legends, folklore, the lives and traditions of common people, bibles, bestiaries, or books of hours carved in wood. Or as the author puts it in an opening poem, "These homespun Winter's Tales/under the bums of Bishops,/worlds upside down, and turned to give/release to rheumatic monks." And ending with the splendid rhetorical question: "Did Bishops' bums have eyes to read?"