The gate of the year

Figure above:

Stone statue representing a bear, dating to the XVI century, placed in the interior of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Andlau, Alsace, France. The statue refers to the legend of the foundation of the Abbey of Andlau by St. Richardis of Swabia, wife of Charles the Fat. According to the legend, the empress, repudiated by her husband, went alone into a forest, where an angel invited her to establish a monastery in a place which should be revealed to her by a she-bear. This occurred along the banks of a river, where the Saint saw a she-bear digging a hole in the soil. The statue is placed near a hole in the floor of the crypt, covered by a wooden lid, which conceals the place where the animal had delved into the soil. In popular tradition, this statue, which was, until 1800, at the outside of the Church, was regarded as having propitiatory powers for fertility, and it seems that the women wanting to have a baby sat astride the bear, to obtain the fulfilment of their vow.
The bear assumed, in this context, the role of healer, sought after mainly for walking problems: to help children in learning faster to walk, or for cripples. Lameness was a trait characteristic of figures which stand at the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and possess the ability to transmigrate from one domain to the other.
Resuming an ancient tradition, reported by Aristotle and Pliny, the men of the Middle Ages attributed to the she-bear the capacity to bring back her moribund newborn cubs to life, licking them a long time and thus giving them strength and vigour. The rebirth of the bear cubs became a symbol of Baptism, because it was believed that the mother, licking them, made them to be born again. This trait recalls the initiating function attributed to the bear, which found particular expression in the cult of Artemis at Brauron.

[Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andlau_SteRicharde_36.JPG]

Figure below:

Statue on the Fountain of Saint Richardis, at Andlau, built in 1871. The Saint is depicted with a she-bear beside her, the animal which is associated by the legend to the foundation of the Abbey. From this tradition derives the denomination of “Village aux ours” (“Village of the bears”) attributed to Andlau. It seems, indeed, that during the Middle Ages a bear was reared and cared in the courtyard of the Abbey.

[Image: http://lacabornedelourse.blogspot.it/2011/12/acomme-andlau.html]




Animals

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Figure above: Stone statue representing a bear, dating to the XVI century, placed in the interior of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Andlau, Alsace, France. The statue refers to the legend of the foundation of the Abbey of Andlau by St. Richardis of Swabia, wife of Charles the Fat. According to the legend, the empress, repudiated by her husband, went alone into a forest, where an angel invited her to establish a monastery in a place which should be revealed to her by a she-bear. This occurred along the banks of a river, where the Saint saw a she-bear digging a hole in the soil. The statue is placed near a hole in the floor of the crypt, covered by a wooden lid, which conceals the place where the animal had delved into the soil. In popular tradition, this statue, which was, until 1800, at the outside of the Church, was regarded as having propitiatory powers for fertility, and it seems that the women wanting to have a baby sat astride the bear, to obtain the fulfilment of their vow. The bear assumed, in this context, the role of healer, sought after mainly for walking problems: to help children in learning faster to walk, or for cripples. Lameness was a trait characteristic of figures which stand at the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and possess the ability to transmigrate from one domain to the other. Resuming an ancient tradition, reported by Aristotle and Pliny, the men of the Middle Ages attributed to the she-bear the capacity to bring back her moribund newborn cubs to life, licking them a long time and thus giving them strength and vigour. The rebirth of the bear cubs became a symbol of Baptism, because it was believed that the mother, licking them, made them to be born again. This trait recalls the initiating function attributed to the bear, which found particular expression in the cult of Artemis at Brauron. [Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andlau_SteRicharde_36.JPG] Figure below: Statue on the Fountain of Saint Richardis, at Andlau, built in 1871. The Saint is depicted with a she-bear beside her, the animal which is associated by the legend to the foundation of the Abbey. From this tradition derives the denomination of “Village aux ours” (“Village of the bears”) attributed to Andlau. It seems, indeed, that during the Middle Ages a bear was reared and cared in the courtyard of the Abbey. [Image: http://lacabornedelourse.blogspot.it/2011/12/acomme-andlau.html]