East Tuddenham, All Saints, Norfolk: An Enigmatic Carving

                                 

There is always something special about arriving at a church you expect to be locked, only to find it open for visitors. Even better when you haven't visited before. So it was earlier today when my friend, Paul, decided on a whim, to stop off at All Saints, East Tuddenham, Norfolk. We both agreed that it proved to be our 'church of the day': lovely, welcoming, atmospheric and full of interest. 

For me, it was this enigmatic bench-end that proved to be the most intriguing encounter of the day. From side-on, two heads, back-to-back, with both seeming to be gagged. 

Looking, face-on, westwards, there are two bearded faces - faces full of character, the one on top wearing a weary look of infinite sadness. However, it is the view from the other side that really intrigued us:

Mortlock and Roberts (in 'The Guide to Norfolk Churches') describe it as, 'an upside-down naked figure [...] hands clasped around thighs' before going on to speculate that the, 'caricature heads [are] so positive you feel they must be wicked portraits'. 

The printed church guide shares the following speculation:

'Tradition has it that the carver has silenced his parents, introduced the pre-Christian green man who represented the spirits of the earth (which he may have believed in) and showed his bottom as a defiant gesture!'

Well, 'tradition' can pretty much encompass whatever 'reading' you wish to give it... let me have a stab at this:

'Tradition has it that the carver of this bench-end was a seer and foresaw the global Covid pandemic that was to afflict early twenty first century society. See, for instance, how the faces are masked and surely, the upside-down figure is an allegorical reference to the attitude of the 'super-spreaders' who partied whilst the common people stuck to the rules.'

Although this 'reading' of the material culture does speak to our times, I think you get my point. For my part, I confess that I simply don't understand what is meant by this. Maybe someone has a plausible explanation, but, personally, I do not think this was anything to do with silencing parents or defiantly mooning them. It may, for instance, be inspired by marginalia in a bestiary, but that still doesn't tell us its meaning. However, it is fine not to know about the intentions behind artefacts like this. There is so much about the present that we will never know that it should come as no surprise to find there is much about the past that remains mysterious. It is also, that I have a strong sense that, as I wander and observe, I am fallible - I am a fallible flaneur. It is fine not to know. 

The Fallible Flaneur <*(((((><(