Искусства и ремесла Средневековья

350 Arts and C1·afts in the Middle Ages

with the sensc of caricature expresses himself in the illustгated рарсгs and othei· puЬlic channels provided for thc overflow of Ьigl1 spirits; , but the cloistered author of the Middle Ages had only tЬс 1 scнlpt�red details апd the books belonging to the chшcl1 as vehiclcs fш his satire. The caгvings on the misereгe seats in choiгs of many cathedrals vvcre cxecuted Ьу tЬе monks, and abound in witty repгesentatioпs of such subjects as Rcynal'd the Fox, cats catching rats, ctc.; iпspi1·ed gcnerally Ьу the knovvledge of some of tЬе incoпsist­ encies in the lives of ccclesiastical personages. The qнiet monks often became cynical. The spirit of the times dete1·mines the standard of ,vit. At various pe1·iods in thc world's llistory, men havc been amused Ьу strangc and differiпg forшs of drollery; what seemed excгuciatingly fнnny to our gгandpareпts does not strike us as being at all enter­ taining. Each generatioп has its own idea of hшnош, and its 0" 1 n fun-makers, vaгying as mнch as fashion in dгess. In medi&val times, tЬе sensc of hшnour in art was тоге developed than at any peгiod cxcept our own day. Еvеп ,vhilc tl1e monk \Yas consecгating his time to the \York of bcaнtifying the sanct1ш1·y, his sense of hшnour ,шs with Ьiш, and must сгор онt. Tl1e gгotesque has al" 1 ays playcd ап important part in art; in the sнЬter­ тanean Romaп vaults of the cai·ly ccпtшies, one form of tl1is spiгit is exhiЬitec1. Внt the eleшent of wit is almost abseпt; it is tlisplayed iп oppгessively obvious