The Dacre Beasts
The Dacre Beasts are
relative newcomers to my personal cultural horizon (read: I’ve only recently
encountered them). They are believed to have been crafted between 1509 and
1547, during the reign of Henry VIII, probably for Thomas, Lord
Dacre (1467-1525) or his son William,
3rd Baron Dacre (1493-1563). Interestingly, all four figures are believed
to have been carved from a single oak tree. These, apparently, unique survivors
of English heraldic woodwork were installed in the great hall at Naworth Castle
in Cumbria, where they remained until purchased by the V&A in 2000 (in lieu
of inheritance tax). The castle was ravaged by fire in 1844 and although the
beasts survived unscathed, they were repainted soon after, possibly following the
original colour scheme. The banners were added around 1849.
The beasts (each nearly
6ft tall) are intended to represent heraldic supporters of the Dacres and other
families related to them through marriage. The beasts may be identified as
follows:
The red bull was the heraldic
supporter of Thomas, Lord Dacre
The crowned salmon represents
Elizabeth de Greystoke
(eloped with Dacre in 1488)
The black gryphon signifies
Thomas’ ancestor Ralph or Ranulph
de Dacres, who built Naworth in 1335
The white ram (even if
it does look like a freshly-skinned calf) may be identified with Ranulph's
wife, Margaret
de Multon
These are simply
beautiful pieces, made all the more striking by their rarity. However, my
lasting impression of these carvings is that the craftsperson responsible for
their creation was a little too fascinated with penises and testicles. I
suppose it’s a consequence of attempting to retain some degree of naturalism while
standing a quadraped on its hind legs that there will, invariably, be genitalia
on display. Although Thomas Dacre’s red bull may be in with a chance of a prize
in the ‘largest knackers (asymmetrical) in medieval carving’ category, the
black gryphon’s very 3D member and testes is not only slightly unnecessary, but
in a whole league of its own.
Notes
On the off-chance that archaeological blogs such as this are occasionally perused by those with an interest in statistics, I’ll note that is believed that Francis Galton came up with the concept of correlation at Naworth Castle. Of course, Galton is less heralded for his interest in eugenics. He is noted for actually inventing the term ‘eugenics’ itself as well as coining the phrase ‘nature versus nurture’.
Having obviously spent too long thinking about his red bull, I suddenly can't get the phrase ‘Lord Dacre gives you wiiiiings’ out of my head. You're welcome.
On the off-chance that archaeological blogs such as this are occasionally perused by those with an interest in statistics, I’ll note that is believed that Francis Galton came up with the concept of correlation at Naworth Castle. Of course, Galton is less heralded for his interest in eugenics. He is noted for actually inventing the term ‘eugenics’ itself as well as coining the phrase ‘nature versus nurture’.
Having obviously spent too long thinking about his red bull, I suddenly can't get the phrase ‘Lord Dacre gives you wiiiiings’ out of my head. You're welcome.
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