The Lincoln Imp

I've mentioned before that one of my favorite things about art history is the little stories and legends that go along with the art. There are tons of quirky little stories that surround art from all eras that aren't necessarily important to the work itself, but (for me) help to remind that no matter how old a work of art or architecture might be, the artists and patrons were real people with personalities and, often, agendas.

One of these fun little stories is the story of the Lincoln Imp. In the Angel Choir of Lincoln Cathedral, there is a grinning little figure that sits nestled on top of a pillar where two arches meet. He's about a foot tall, but in relation to the scale of Lincoln Cathedral, that's nothing. Let me break it down for you:



Here is Lincoln Cathedral- it's pretty huge.



Here is a shot of the interior, notice the size of the pillars, that hold up the arches.



The space where the arches meet is often used as a place to put decorative foliage or trefoils. But look at the bottom of that foliage, between the top archivolts. Need close-up?



The Imp, in all his mischievous glory.


Now, why is this here? It seems so small in such a large place, and it's not exactly located where people can walk right up to it and admire it, but someone took the time to hand carve this little, seemingly inconsequential figure, out of stone. Legend has it that Satan sent two imps to England to cause mischief. On a windy day they were blown into Lincoln Cathedral, so they went about breaking tables and chairs and tripping the Bishop. Finally an angel came and told them to stop. One of the imps hid under a broken table, but the other hopped up on top of a pillar and started throwing rocks at the angel, so the angel turned him into stone, giving the other imp a chance to escape. Supposedly, that imp went to St. James Church, in the nearby town of Grimsby, where the angel caught up with him and turned him into stone, too. Unfortunately I can't find a picture of that imp.

Yes, I realize that this legend is not likely to be true, but the fact remains that someone had a hand in carving the imps. Perhaps the person who carved the Lincoln Imp invented the legend to add another "good triumphing over evil" anecdote to the interior sculpture of the cathedral. Or maybe he did it on a dare, or just to amuse himself.