NEW light will be shed on medieval Dartmoor religion at a public research lecture being held by the Dartmoor Society on November 20.
'Facing Sin — Image and Identity on Medieval Dartmoor' by art historian Sue Andrew will begin at 7.30pm at the Roland Levinsky Building at Drake Circus in Plymouth following a wine reception at 6.30pm.
The roofs of the parish churches of Dartmoor and its borders are particularly rich in late medieval oak bosses which have, until recently, been little studied. Many are carved with human heads: some spew foliage, stick out their tongues or appear to be idly chattering; others wear elaborate horned headdresses with devils perched atop.
This lecture will examine the ways in which these carvings may have been seen and understood by a medieval, largely illiterate, audience. It will suggest that the bosses were part of a wider scheme which encouraged self-recognition and confession of sin as a prerequisite to salvation. The lecture will be accompanied by many detailed images of bosses, stained glass and wall and screen paintings from Dartmoor and beyond.
Sue Andrew is researching 'Late Medieval Figural Roof Bosses in the Parish Churches of Devon' for a PhD in Art History at the University of Plymouth. She has visited upwards of 200 churches to date for her project and continues to be inspired by the range and beauty of medieval imagery still to be found in the parish churches of Devon despite the destruction of the Reformation years and over-restoration of the Victorian period.
Tickets are £6 for society members and full time students and £7 for non-members in advance by Monday November 17. Send cheques (with sae) payable to the Dartmoor Society to PO Box 38, Tavistock, Devon PL19 0XJ or buy tickets on the door.
The lecture is supported by Dartmoor National Park Authority and Research and Graduate Affairs, Faculty of Arts, University of Plymouth For further information call 01822 617004.