Gargoyles

Die argitektuur in Oxford is absoluut besonders. En die gargoyles wat wag hou oor die geboue en kerke is verskriklik interessant en/of eerie. Ek het 'n boekie gekoop oor die betekenis en geskiedenis van gargoyles en hier is 'n gedeelte daaruit: "The nightmarish heads that project from the walls of the medieval cathedrals and churches of Europe and that adorn the temples of India and Nepal serve two functions. Their first purpose is to remind the faithful that there is, ever present beneath the everyday world, another world peopled by monsters, demons and strange beasts, half-man, half-monster; a world close to hell itself which awaits all those who fall into sin. Their second function is apotropaic, they serve to ward off other devils and demons and thus protect the sanctity of the temple or church. This concept may seem strange to us but the medieval mind and the mind of a modern-day Buddhist or Hindu worshipper would see nothing at all unusual in the idea of using demons to ward off other demons."