The Medieval Mind
Medieval man, enshrouded in a pall
of gloom, blamed Woman for Man’s vice.
Her burning lust provoked Man’s fall,
Eve’s vulva opening up another Paradise.
Henceforth, all life began in pain and shame.
Grotesque depictions then appeared,
Sheela-na-gigs, the medieval name
for twelfth-century carvings to be feared,
above doors and windows, entries
to European cathedrals and churches
as if they were horrific sentries
looking down from lofty perches,
with gaping vulvas of enormous size.
Some think of it as magical protection,
though it was hard to visualise.
The aim: to avoid Eve’s dread ‘infection’,
to ward off the contagion of Woman’s sin
(as reflected in Corbeau’s ‘Origin
of the World’ in the Musée d’Orsay)
to ensure no man would go astray.
Horror Sleaze Trash 