Oh! We Like Poodles!
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Behold the Poodle of God!
We've talked about it enough, so here's a lovely example, spotted on our recent trip to Rome. This PoG is painted above a doorway in a courtyard from which one reaches the stairs to the entrance of Sant'Agnese fuori la Mura, the church of Saint Agnes outside the Walls, a delightful destination which I discussed some previously.
In fact, as Bill would point out, this is a fine image of a pulvinated lamb, since it is resting on a pillow, which is what "pulvinated" indicates. (To be honest it also looked to us as though its front leg had been amputated, but there's no iconographic reason for that, so it's probably just the perspective….) Naturally, we tended to refer to this as an "empillowed poodle". The lamb, of course, is a venerable symbol of Christ, but is also associated with Saint Agnes (as I said previously, because in Latin "lamb" is "agnus", which is close enough to "Agnes" for icon work; besides, images of Agnes look adorable with her carrying around a little lamb).
Also as I mentioned briefly before, this poodle business all began several years ago when we spotted, not far from where I am writing, a needlepoint image of a lamb with big floppy ears that looked undeniably poodle-like. We are an unexpectedly irreverent lot given the number of religious avocations represented among our circle of friends.
Now, there is a reason why I bring this all up again, and it has to do with an urban legend. I just read about this in a new article at Snopes ("Sheepish Discovery"), in which they debunk a claim made in a widely circulated e-mail that thousands of sheep were imported to Japan and sold as cut-rate poodles to the unsuspecting Japanese who, it is claimed, were unfamiliar enough with both sheep and poodles not to know the difference. Puhlease. To my mind the remarkable thing is the number of not-very-bright people who believe the e-mail claim that the Japanese are unable to tell the difference.
We claim that we can tell the difference and just choose to ignore it for effect at times, although if you keep a lookout you'll see for yourself that many representations of lambs in Christian iconography do look amazingly like poodles.
I just wanted to clear that up.
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A note about the title. Some astute readers will no doubt recognize this as an allusion to the phrase "Oh we, like sheep, have gone astray…", famously used in Handel's Messiah and frequently abused by musicians who will read it as "Oh! We like sheep!" (Handel's rhythm in setting the phrase doesn't discourage this version, either.) In this case, of course, the natural object of our affection is poodles.
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on Monday, 14 May 2007 at 11.45
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Actually, you know, I was looking at this particular image, and thinking that, of all the representations of sheep and lambs we saw on our trip, this one actually looks most like a lamb. Many others — especially those in the really ancient mosaics like the one in SS Cosma & Damiano, look more like greyhounds (an interesting coincidence, given your liking for greyhounds), or even horses!
I don't know if it's the homonymic quality of "agnus" and agnes" (which really only works in English), but there is a closer connection between lambs and the saint (and her church). On the Feast of St Agnes (January 21, when the owl, for all its feathers, is a-cold) two lambs are carried (yes, on cushions) in procession into the church where they are dedicated; their wool is then used to weave the pallia, the signs of office which the pope sends to all new bishops.
on Monday, 14 May 2007 at 19.33
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did you get my pictures of Maryland poodles of god? actually PART of a cushion, as opposed to being carried ON a cushion.
on Monday, 14 May 2007 at 22.28
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I did, thanks, and I plan to share at least some of them in just a day or two. It's a treat that I'm sure the other three regular readers can't wait to enjoy.
on Tuesday, 15 May 2007 at 07.50
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Bill writes of SS Cosma & Damiano. I realise that is a reference to more than one saint, but it still sounds (or looks) like a reference to a boat.
"We went to Genoa and boarded the SS Cosma & Damiano for the voyage through the Adriatic and on to the Greek islands. All the other passengers looked decidedly Edwardian — I was half expecting someone to get murdered and Hercule Poirot to show up to solve the mystery before we arrived in Corinth"