Page "Sheela na gig" Paragraph 19

The theory that sheela na gigs warn against lust was put forward by Weir and Jerman.

It explains the figures as a religious warning against sins of the flesh.

Exhibitionist figures of all types — male, female, and bestial — are frequently found in the company of images of beasts devouring people and other " hellish " images.

These images, they argue, were used as a means of religious instruction to a largely illiterate populace.

As part of this interpretation, they explore a continental origin for the figures.

Andersen first suggested this origin, and Weir and Jerman continued and expanded this line of inquiry.

They argue that the motif migrated from the continent via the pilgrim routes to and from Santiago de Compostella.

( Freitag argues against this.

) Pilgrim sculptors took notes of what they had seen on the route and ended up carving their own interpretations of the motifs they had seen.

Eventually, the exhibitionist motif migrated to Ireland and Britain.

This theory seems to fit well with a lot of the religious figures but sits less easily on some of the secular ones.

Images which appear on castles would not seem to be serving a religious purpose.

The figure at Haddon Hall resides on a stables ( although this may have been moved from elsewhere ).

So while this theory does seem to have some credibility, it again does not cover all the figures.