Manticore  

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-The '''Church of St. Mary and St. David''' is a [[Church of England parish church]] at [[Kilpeck]] in the [[England|English]] county of [[Herefordshire]], about 5 miles from the border with [[Wales]]. It is famous for its [[Norman architecture|Norman]] [[corbel]]s, of which eighty-five survive, one fewer than are illustrated by [[George Robert Lewis]] in 1842 (originally there were 91). The meaning of most is obscure, but some probably come from a [[bestiary]], and they include a [[Sheela na Gig]][http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kilpeck_Sheelagh_na_Gig.jpg].+The '''manticore''' ([[Middle Persian|Early Middle Persian]] ''Martyaxwar'') is a [[legendary creature]] similar to the Egyptian [[sphinx]]. It has the body of a red [[lion]], a human head with three rows of sharp teeth (like a [[shark]]), and a [[trumpet]]-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged, or both. The tail is that of either a [[European dragon|dragon]] or a [[scorpion]], and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims. It devours its prey whole. It leaves no clothes, bones, or possessions of the prey behind.
-==Architecture and carvings==+==In popular culture==
-The carvings in the local red sandstone are remarkable for the number and fine preservation, particularly round the south door, the west window, and a row of [[corbel]]s which run right around the exterior of the church under the eaves. The carvings are all original and in their original positions. They have been attributed to a [[Herefordshire School]] of [[stonemasons]], probably local but who may have been instructed by master masons recruited in [[France]] by Oliver de Merlimond. He was steward to the Lord of [[Wigmore, Herefordshire|Wigmore]], Hugh Mortimer, who went on a pilgrimage to [[Santiago de Compostela]] in [[Spain]] and, on his return, built a church with similar [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] carvings (now largely lost) at [[Shobdon]], 30 miles north of Kilpeck. Hugh de Kilpeck, a relative of Earl Mortimer, employed the same builders at Kilpeck, and their work is also known at [[Leominster]], [[Rowlestone]] and elsewhere.+
-The south door has double columns. The outer columns have carvings of a series of snakes, heads swallowing tails. In common with most of the other carvings, the meaning of these is unclear, but they may represent rebirth via the snake's seasonal [[Snake#Skin|sloughing of its skin]]. The inner right column shows birds in foliage; at the top of the right columns is a [[Green Man|green man]]. The inner left column has two [[warrior]]s who, unusually, are in loose trousers. The outer sections of the arch above the doorway show creatures which can be interpreted as a [[manticore]] and a [[basilisk]], and various other [[mythology|myth]]ical and actual birds and beasts. The semicircular [[tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]] depicts a [[tree of life]].+*In the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'', [[Geryon]] is depicted as a manticore-like demon that dwells at the deep barrier between the circles of violence and fraud.
 +*Canadian writer [[Robertson Davies]] wrote a novel titled ''[[The Manticore]]'', published in 1972. It is the second volume of his "[[The Deptford Trilogy|Deptford Trilogy]]. <ref>{{cite book|last=Surawicz B, Jacobson B|title=Doctors in Fiction: Lessons from Literature|publisher=Radcliffe Publishing|year=2009|page=125|isbn=1846193281}}</ref>
 +*Following the success of their second album, ''[[Tarkus]]'' &ndash; which featured a manticore in the artwork and lyrics &ndash; [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]] founded [[Manticore Records]] in 1973. An ELP retrospective [[box set]] released in 1993 was titled ''[[The Return of the Manticore]]'', and included artwork similar to the manticore from ''Tarkus'' and the Manticore Records label.
 +* In the third series of [[Merlin (TV series)]], a manticore made an appearance and produced a deadly poison meant to kill King Uther. The creature of interest was approximately as big as a [[cat]].
 +* In Season 1 Episode 2 of [[My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]], Fluttershy befriends a manticore by removing a thorn from his paw.
 +* [[Boogiepop and Others]] features a man-eating character known as Manticore.
-For many years the south door was hidden by a wooden porch, but this was removed in 1868 to allow visitors to see the carvings as originally intended. Although this has left the doorway exposed to the elements, the sandstone is exceptionally robust, and its condition is carefully monitored. In 1968 a narrow protruding strip of lead was let into the [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]] above the arch to protect the carvings from water running down the wall above. 
- 
-Eighty-five corbels survive, one fewer than are illustrated by Lewis in 1842 (originally there were 91). The meaning of most is obscure, but some probably come from a [[bestiary]], and they include a [[Sheela na Gig]][http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kilpeck_Sheelagh_na_Gig.jpg]. 
-==See also== 
-*[[George Robert Lewis]]. "[[Illustrations of Kilpeck church, Herefordshire]]." 1979. Pamphlet derived from a book of 1842. 
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The manticore (Early Middle Persian Martyaxwar) is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth (like a shark), and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged, or both. The tail is that of either a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims. It devours its prey whole. It leaves no clothes, bones, or possessions of the prey behind.

In popular culture




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