During the 1920s to the early 1930s, Art Deco architecture, a modernist movement inspired by ancient traditions, mounted metal gargoyles atop the 1930 Chrysler Building in New York City.In the 19th century, Pittsburgh also adapted the gothic architecture revival, adding more than 20 iconic gargoyles and hundreds of grotesques to many of its churches, and government buildings.French architect Eugene Viollet-le Duc reconstructed the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral and added many gargoyles and “grotesques”, chimeras with no waterspout, and mounted them high above the cathedral. Their sculptures were popularized during the Gothic era across Europe.In the 12th century, animal gargoyles, sculpted as pigs and dogs, served not only as waterspouts but also as symbolic protections for Cathedrale Saint-Lazare d’Autun.

Gargoyles became more fancy during the latter parts of the Romanesque architectural period – a time of Christian pilgrimage.

Dragon gargoyles were also present in China’s Forbidden City and imperial tombs from the Ming Dynasty. Same design for waterspouts were also recovered from the ancient Greeks and Romans. The oldest waterspouts were lion heads, found in Egypt and believed to be from the Fifth Dynasty in 2400 B.C.Everything turned into ash except for the dragon’s head, so the townspeople mounted it to their church, serving as a watcher of evil and a protector against other dragons. With just the sign of the cross, the beast followed Romanus into the town where it was burned at the stake.It came from the French legend “La Gargouille”, whose main character involves a fearsome dragon that threatened the town of Rouen in France for hundreds of years, until Romanus, a local priest, agreed to vanquish the dragon in exchange for Christianity.It also came from the Greek word gargarizein, meaning “to wash the throat”.Derived from the Old French word gargouille which means “throat” or “gullet”, the term gargoyle refers to the sound produced when holding water in the mouth or throat while streaming air from the lungs (origin of gargle).See the fact file below for more information on the gargoyles or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Gargoyle worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. Acting as spiritual guardians of the city, a gargoyle’s real function is to divert rainwater away from buildings. Known for being hideous stone-like monsters, gargoyles are grotesque mythical creatures that sit on top of old cathedrals and churches. Download the Gargoyle Facts & Worksheets.

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