Arthous (Landes)
Another sophisticated corbel-table, this time comparing two sets of couples:
the naked pair on the left are the unsaved sinners, with snakes
writhing around their bodies.
The clothed pair on the right, hoth holding crosses and covering genitals
and breast,
are St Augustine's two saved souls united for the purpose of making more souls
that will be saved.
Carved about the same time as the above is a much cruder pair in the Castilian
hamlet of Santa Marta del Cerro (Segóvia) -
the male with very large, cylindrical penis and the woman clutching her pregnant
belly:
she is about to give birth to a soul that is unlikely to be saved.
Arthous: Eve with the apple in her hand, while Adam puts his hand to his
throat in a gesture of despair.
Both hide their genitals as a result of the almost-universal Christian misinterpretation
of Original Sin
so imperfectly described in the book of Genesis.
