Corpus of the misericords at Worcester Cathedral
N01 |
Pelican in her piety. 19th Century Supporters - Oak-leaves and acorns. |
N02 |
Dragon devouring a man in a girdled tunic, the head has been swallowed. {Judas in the Jaws of Satan} 19th Century Supporters - Hound gorged. |
N03 |
Headless robed figure under a canopy. Supporters - Double eagle. |
N04 |
Wyvern. Supporters - Basilisk. |
N05 |
Stag couchant under a tree. Left Supporter - Missing. Right Supporter - Round design of leaves. |
N06 |
Woman with distaff and a man digging Possibly a reference to “when Adam delved and Eve span” Left Supporter - Man, with grotesque head, and the legs and feet of a quadruped, wings of a bird and head and neck of swan. Right Supporter - Woman, with grotesque head, and the legs and feet of a quadruped, wings of a bird and head and neck of swan. |
N07 |
The Clever Daughter. A woman nude, except for a large meshed net draped around her, riding a goat and carrying a rabbit under her arm. Supporters - Floral mask. |
N08 |
Basilisk. Supporters - Weasel glancing inwards, holding a sprig of rue, which gives it immunity from the basilisk’s deadly glance. |
N09 |
Lion with the head of a woman, wearing a square cap. Supporters - Dove preening. |
N10 |
Composite creature with hooded woman’s head. Left Supporter - A hawker with a gauntlet. Right Supporter - Hawk and prey. |
N11 |
King with richly caparisoned horse and a page. Supporters - Sphinx, bust of a man with a flat cap and bushy hair. |
N12 |
Sow suckling five piglets. Supporters - Large round double flower. |
N13 |
Lion and dragon fighting. Left Supporter - Seated lion. Right Supporter - Dragon rampant |
N14 |
Swineherd striking down acorns from a tree; two pigs underneath. October. Supporters - Large oak-leaf design. |
N15 |
Two men, each holding a long roll of parchment apparently disputing. Supporters - Fowl having bald bearded man’s head. |
N16 |
Samson holding a lion and holding its jaws with both hands. Supporters - An intricate large circular design of leaves. |
N17 |
The Judgement of Solomon. The King with the Queen, is sitting under a canopy. On thee King’s left, forming the supporter is an officer of state with a sword about to divide a living child carried by a woman. On the other side is a woman with a dead child wrapped in burial clothes. |
N18 |
Moses and a companion with the Tables of Law. A devil stands between them on a pedestal. The Brazen Serpent. Supporters - Serpent with calf-like head, entwined. |
N19 |
Abraham offering up Isaac. The hand of an angel is grasping the point of Abraham’s sword. A ram stands behind Abraham on his left. Supporters - Man’s bust with flat cap on his head and a mass of hair sticking out horizontally. He wears an embroidered tunic. |
N20 |
The Expulsion from Paradise. Adam and Eve, who are retiring before an angel, with a drawn sword, are putting on fig leaves. Supporters - Dove, facing inward. |
N21 |
The Temptation in Eden. The serpent having the body of a dragon and the head of a beast with long ears, is wound round a tree. Adam and Eve stand on either side holding fruit. Supporters - A pair of eagles back to back. |
S01 |
Crowned man seated, with birds on either side, probably representing Alexander’s flight. 19th century. Supporters - Eagle with rear part of a lion. |
S02 |
Old man stirring a pot over a fire and seated in a semi-circular armchair with three legs. There is a chimney, which indicates that he is well to do. The man has taken off his boots and is warming his feet. He wears two fingered gloves. December. Left Supporter - Dog or cat warming itself. Right Supporter - Two hanging flitches of bacon. |
S03 |
Man wearing a cap and playing an instrument like a pipe. Supporters - Circular cluster of five roses. |
S04 |
Crowned lion. Supporters - Man’s face, smiling. |
S05 |
Angel playing a viol beneath a canopy. Supporters - Curly-headed mask in embroidered collar. |
S06 |
Man wearing a cap with a hood drawn over his ears, and a cloak and sword, and bearing in each hand a large branch of foliage. May. Supporters - Crested fowl with prominent eyes, facing inward. |
S07 |
Butcher killing an ox. He wears sharp pointed shoes. November. Supporters - Double rose. |
S08 |
The Circumcision of Isaac. Supporters - Fowl, having bald, bearded man’s head. |
S09 |
Boar. Supporters - Large lion-mask. |
S10 |
The Presentation of Samuel. Supporters - Circular leaf design. |
S11 |
Woman wearing a hood and cape with loose sleeves, sitting on a bench and writing in a book at a desk. A large bird is on the floor with a bottle in its beak from which the woman is taking something in her left hand. A smaller bird is being seized by a serpent whose head protrudes from the woman’s sleeve. This carving resembles early manuscript drawings of Diacletia. Left Supporter - a boy picking fruit. Right Supporter - A hunter carrying a rabbit on a pole. |
S12 |
Man sowing seed, a bag strapped to his shoulders. On the ground on each side of him is a basket. The toes of his shoes are pointed March. Supporters - Woodcock. |
S13 |
Jousting scene. One knight has unhorsed another who has broken his spear, whose foot with a sharp pointed spur is out of his stirrup, and whose horse is now on its haunches. Both knights are fully armed. One squire [left] who appears horrified is falling backwards, and another [right] is blowing a serpentine horn. |
S14 |
Playing a lute or lyre. Supporters - Curly-headed mask in embroidered collar. |
S15 |
Huntsman sounding horn wound around him. Supporters - Double headed eagle. |
S16 |
Knight, with helmet, shield and drawn sword, fighting two griffins. The shield bears a bear sejeant which may refer to Urso d’Abitot or the earls of Warwick. Supporters - Curly-headed mask. |
S17 |
Three men reaping corn with sickles. August. Supporters - Triple sheaves. |
S18 |
Three men harvesting, wearing the usual flat cap and having bushy wings of hair. July. Left Supporter - A sphinx playing a dulcimer. Right Supporter - A sphinx playing a viol. |
S19 |
Three men mowing with scythes. June. Left Supporter - An ape riding a hound wearing a collar. Right Supporter - A wolf in a clerical cloak preaching or saying grace over the head of a sheep on an altar table. |
S20 |
Abraham, with sword and altar lamp, followed by Isaac, robed and carrying crossed bundles of wood or faggots on his shoulders to the place of sacrifice. Supporters - Lion with bearded man’s head and cap with long plume. |
S21 |
Two wyverns in mortal combat. 19th century. Supporters - Wyverns couchant. |