Llangar Church – Phot by Eirian Evans – CC BY-SA 2.0 – from Wikimedia Commons
The Church of All Saints Old Parish, Llangar
Along the banks where the River Dee flows through Denbighshire, not far from Corwen, the Church of All Saints Old Parish sits in a pleasant position on the east bank near where the Dee and the River Alwen join together. The church was first mentioned in documents in 1291 and has a wealth of interesting ancient features with many ancient beams and box pews. The church is decorated with wall paintings dating from the 15th to 18th centuries of a deer, a figure of Death, to remind us of our mortality, the Apostles’ Creed and the Seven Deadly Sins and other depictions created at various points in time. There is also a rather interesting legend attached to the church which may have a message for people to think about, though this depends on one’s own point of view. First of all, we will briefly discuss the wall paintings of The Seven Deadly Sins and Death followed by a look at the legend. We will then conclude by offering a few ideas for the reader to think about and make up their own minds over.
Like all your posts, so fascinating. I would simply add to the excellent essay above that many medieval churches have wall paintings with various symbols of death, the last days, etc – they are called “dooms” and are supposed to bring doomsday to mind. Skeletons abound (the dead awakening for Judgment Day) as do images of the sea with fish and skeletons coming out of it (the sea giving up its dead).
Thanks and thanks for your fascinating insights, appreciated!
As I was reading the post, I thought about the white stag as a religious symbol and then I came to that part and I was like YES he included it! You always have such comprehensive posts about the myths. Another great one.
Thanks, appreciated!