From a convo today: the 10thc monastic church of Akhtala in northern #Armenia w a series of #byzantine frescoes similar to those of #medieval #Georgia executed under the patronage of atabeg Ivane Mkhargrdzeli - incl worms + vomiting dogs...1/
#medievaltwitter
#twitterstorians

Note that Akhtala is one of the few fully painted churches of medieval #Armenia

The anthropomorphized worms are located by the entrance on the western wall, represented in a column of wormy faces - they look like a stack of emojis...2/
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#twitterstorians

The vomiting #dogs decorate an opening on the southern wall on two levels, one feat a crowned figure riding a dog that is vomiting up a human & a 2nd register with several dogs vomiting human body parts...

So why are such grotesqueries feat in a #medieval church in #Armenia ? 3/

WELL... one is a vision of hell and the other of resurrection!

The sleepless ο σκώληξ ο ακοίμητος represents one of the punishments of hell... for those who couldn't resist temptation & are now eternally eaten by a 'sleepless worm'..4/
https://thevcs.org/road-oblivion/sleepless-worm

As for the dogs... an image of resurrection!
The humans and body parts are tearing away from their tormentors, the animals by which they were martyred, so these are their souls escaping on Judgement Day.
Besides #Armenia I had only seen this once before...5/

#medievaltwitter

...in Bucovina #Romania feat in one of the 15thc/16thc painted monasteries where a variety animals, incl what looks like a bear, dog, lion vomit up human limbs...

Hope you enjoyed this festive #medievaltwitter thread & check out Bucovina END

https://www.themostlyharmlessjournal.com/blog/2019/4/27/travel-romania-bucovina-painted-churches