Word of the day: Cephalophore

I learned a new word at the Medieval Monsters exhibit, cephalophore, which is a saint depicted carrying their head, usually on account of martyrdom by beheading.

The most famous of them is St. Denis but this exhibit had a statue of St. Firmin. He was beheaded while on a voyage preaching in France and was cannonized due to his grave giving off a sweet scent which was responsible for miracles such as healing the sick and causing trees to bow reverently towards his remains. Apparently this is a smell specific to saints, the odor of sanctity.

There was a fantastic tapestry from the 1400s showing wild men spilling out of the forests to attack a Moorish castle. Wild men are depicted with hair covering their bodies, sort of a medieval version of Bigfoot except they traveled in packs.

A couple of the other non-book pieces from the Medieval Monsters exhibit.