Gargoyles are a carved or formed grotesque, but unlike a grotesque, a gargoyle is designed with a spout which is designed to convey water from a roof and away from the the building.
Legend of The Gargouille
This legend is suppose to be the origin of gargoyles, which is an old French legend (There are many variations to this legend), which popped up around 631-641 AD or is so believed. The legend goes that a dragon, was terrorizing boats and flooding the land. Saint Romain, whom was the archbishop of Rouen, lured the monster to shore using a convict and subduing it with a crucifix. It is said that the head nor neck of the creature would burn, so it was mounted upon the church to scare off evil spirits and used for protection.
Gargoyles and churches
Throughout history, the church has viewed gargoyles in two different ways:
One way is that the gargoyle was used to convey the concept of evil, which was used to send a stark message to the common people, whom most were unable to read.
The other way that gargoyles were used for was to scare evil spirits away from the church, and to reassure the people attending the church, that the evil spirits were kept out of the church walls.
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