SCANDO-GOTHIC ART IN WESSEX. 15 



gods laughed at him, except Tyr indeed, who lost his 

 hand.* 



Thereupon a sword was thrust into the Wolf's mouth in 

 such wise that while it pierced up to its hilt his under] aw, 

 its point reached his palate. 



And the sculpture on the font shows one of the gods 

 preparing to do so, whilst the hungry raven is eager to devour 

 the flesh of the doomed monster, whose knotted tail shows 

 that he is hopelessly bound. 



The Scando-Gothic Monk has Christianised Tyr into 

 Christ, Who, though He grievously suffered in His conflict 

 with the Powers of Evil, was finally victorious, aided by 

 His faithful followers, who are represented by the lower 

 and smaller human form. Christ, raising His sword over 

 the terrified head of a worse foe than a lion, is treading 

 upon an asp.j His valiant disciple stands upon a single 

 leaf, and its nervature and shape strengthen the assumption 

 that it belongs to the Laurus nobilis. The branches of the 

 Baytree have long been regarded as Victory's attribute. 

 They graced the brows of Heroes. In Sicily they were a 

 security against thunder and the thunder-bolt. Among the 

 Greeks they were used as a charm against poison and witch- 

 craft, and, as a token of the Resurrection, they are still 

 strewn over the floors of churches on the day before 

 Easter Sunday. And, not a little remarkable, in the 

 present interpretation, is the statement made by Pliny 

 that " the Laurel is the only one among all the trees a 

 single leaf of which has a distinct name of its own, laurea." % 



The three decorative interlacements may indicate a 

 Byzantine influence. Such designs had much vogue in 

 Italy during the VIII. Century, and were brought to the 

 north of Europe by Italian Monks. The intreccio that runs 



* See also Loka-senna, 38 ; Corpus Poeticum Boreale I., 100. 



fPs. xci., 13. 



{ Naturalis Historia, xv., 30. 



