Day 59m: Deciphering the Damnation … (06/12/2019)
As was usually the case whenever entering a city of any size, I headed first and foremost to the local church, in this case the majestic Church Abbey of St. Foy — to pause in gratitude for my arrival and the day in general, as well as to reaffirm my humble resolve to do it all again for humanity tomorrow — should I be so allowed … 😉
Aside from its extraordinary insides, the Conques Abbey (completed in the early 12th century) showed off quite a few external oddities; none more intriguing than the hand-carved tympanum located above its western entrance. It turns out that as pilgrimages became safer and more popular over the years the focus on penance began to wane, and images of doom were used to remind pilgrims of the purpose of their pilgrimage. In this vein, the Conques tympanum quite flagrantly depicts the Last Judgment — with a fully fed-up Jesus presiding over the judgment of the souls of the deceased, and sending the damned & unworthy into the maw of a great Leviathan, who then excretes their souls into Hell. :O
Of course, such a depiction had no spiritual relation at all to Jesus Christ — either his actual nature or his actual teachings,* and yet there were a few humorous portions of the tapestry to be found amongst its images of trial & torture — one being the portrayal of animal poachers being roasted by the same rabbits they had murdered, and another showing a church bishop — a bishop who happened to be highly unpopular with the Conques monks at the time — being caught in one of Hell’s nets as well … 😀
“Do not judge so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you yourself will be judged, and the measure you give will indeed become the measure you receive in return.” ~ Jesus Christ (via Matthew 7:1-2)
P.S. Here is a better view of the amazing architecture of this magnificent building … 🙂
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