Curtis Webb, M. (2012). A new interpretation of the Sculpted Tympanum of All Saints, Pitsford. Northamptonshire Archaeology 37. Vol 37, pp. 135-143. https://doi.org/10.5284/1083419. Cite this via datacite

Title
Title
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Title:		 A new interpretation of the Sculpted Tympanum of All Saints, Pitsford
Issue
Issue
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Issue:		 Northamptonshire Archaeology 37
Series
Series
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Series:		 Northamptonshire Archaeology
Volume
Volume
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Volume:		 37
Page Start/End
Page Start/End
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Page Start/End:		 135 - 143
Downloads
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Downloads:
NAS_37_2012_135-144_Pitsford_Tympanum.pdf (2 MB) : Download
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ADS, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY 4.0 NC.
Licence Type:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence icon
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International Licence
DOI
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.5284/1083419
Publication Type
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Publication Type:		 Journal
Abstract
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Abstract:		 The carving on the tympanum of All Saints church, Pitsford is one of a group of rare 12th-century English sculptures depicting Christ’s Redemption of mankind. The scene is Christ’s Descent into Hades to destroy Death, here personified by Behemoth, the twin figure of Leviathan. The main literary source of these carvings is the Ransom Theory as expounded by Pope Gregory the Great in his lengthy commentary on the Book of Job, the Moralia in Job completed shortly before 597. At the end of the 12th century the Ransom Theory was abandoned in favour of Anselm’s exposition of the Doctrine of the Atonement. Consequently, carvings depicting the Ransom theory, such as the Pitsford tympanum, vanished for ever from the repertoire of ecclesiastical sculpture, and the scenes and characters depicted are now either a source of mystery or are reinterpreted to fit later doctrines. It is to be hoped that the unique historical importance of the whole surviving corpus of 12th-century English sculpture will become more widely recognised and that this heritage will be properly preserved for posterity.  
Author
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Author:		 Mary Curtis Webb
Year of Publication
Year of Publication
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Year of Publication:		 2012
Locations
Locations
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Locations:
Place: Pitsford
Grid Reference: 475400, 268200 (Easting, Northing)
Locations
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Subjects / Periods:
MEDIEVAL (Historic England Periods) church tympanum (Monus)
Source
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ADS Archive (ADS Archive)
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Created Date
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Created Date:		 03 Nov 2020