Well wouldn't you know it. No sooner had we been discussing the mysteries of the chalk figures on British hillsides, than the group of vigilantes called 'Fathers for Justice' have sprayed part of the recently scoured, white horse of Uffington with purple paint. It is possibly the oldest white horse in the country, and is executed in the style of cave-painting from a similar era, like the Westbury one was before that fool decided to 'improve' it.I suppose that if they treated the Cerne Abbas giant like that, it would detract from their cause, but I can't help thinking that a bit of carefully applied purple paint would add a touch of realism to the figure.
P.S. Note the snake-like tongue protruding from the mouth of the horse - remind you of anything? Snakes?
Very Miro-esque isn't it. I wonder if the 'artist' did an initial 'sketch' of some sort, or just went out with a sharpened antler? Wilmington is quite Raphael-like in comparison (i.e. Ordinary).
ReplyDeleteI wonder how it has been changed over the years, bit by bit. I believe it could have started out life as a snake, in line with the North American things. For 'snake' read 'worm', and for 'worm' read 'dragon'.
ReplyDeleteThe killing of the dragon by 'St George' was a symbolic act of one set of prevailing thoughts and customs being taken over by another, and was probably around long before Christianity. It is quite possible that the tribe who cut the dragon or snake into the hillside were subdued by an invading force that altered the image to suit their own purposes. Horses were very popular, and also must have represented power and wealth, which is what we are still dominated by today.
I hate these people with'CAUSES!!!'. What do they think they're on!! Ps - I read all through your blog posts, Tom like I said I would. A lot of them made me laugh, some of them made me cry but not one of them made me yawn.
ReplyDeleteOh, what a lovely thing to say Molly. Sometimes I think I am talking to myself, with Cro listening in on the other side of a thin wall, but you (and a Chinese porn-merchant) have made me think that it might be worth carrying on talking to myself, although my nurse thinks otherwise. She has no objection to my fiddling with myself, for some reason. I think it makes her feel safe. I remain a dedicated follower of Molly Golver. XXX
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