Gothic Gargoyles Griffin Gargoyle Statue Figurine Eagle Head Lion Torso

Gargoyle - the dictionary definition: a spout usually in the form of a grotesquely carved face or figure, projecting from a roof gutter. From the Old French 'gargouille' and the Late Latin 'gurgulio', both meaning throat. (from Chambers Concise dictionary) 'Gargoyles (in the strict sense) are carvings on the outside of buildings designed to direct water from the roof away from the base of the walls... ...Some gargoyles are undecorated but many are zoomorphic or anthropomorphic - often very imaginative and/or grotesque. This has led to the term 'gargoyle' being applied more widely to any grotesque carving in medieval buildings.' (from Bob Trubshaw, posting in BritArch archives, 23Feb1999) Over the last few years, gargoyles have become cartoon characters, a cult 'animal' in Neo-Gothic circles, particularly popular in internet fantasy literature where they appear more naughty than truly evil, and even as a way of defining ones Gothic self ('I'm a gargoyle'. 'Oh really, I'm a vampire, but we could still go out together'). None of these have much to do with plumbing, but the meaning of words do change over the years, and 'gargoyle' now seems to mean to many people to be any ugly or grotesque creature particularly if it lives on buildings or rocks.