Weathercock, St Peter's Church
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Description
"It was a papal edict in the 9th century that was responsible for the proliferation of weathercocks on churches. This edict required every Church in Christendom to be mounted by a cockerel. This symbol was to recall Peter's betrayal of Christ (LUKE 22:34) "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me". Although only the symbol of the cockerel was required by the edict, the motif, it seems, was quickly wedded with the weathervane. By the 13th century the word for weathercock (gallum) and weathervane (ventrologium) had become interchangeable. Interestingly, early weathercocks did not include cardinal letters, as Christian churches always lay east to west." Photo by Maigheach-gheal, 2010. -
Owner
Maigheach-gheal -
Source
Geograph (Geograph) -
License
What does this mean? Creative Commons License -
Further information
Link: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1818465
Resource type: Image
Added by: Simon Cotterill
Last modified: 3 years ago
Viewed: 312 times
Picture Taken: 2010-03-25 -
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