A pelican. Hard to believe, perhaps, but the Yorkshire wood carver who made this misericord would never have seen an actual specimen. [click image for larger view]   The pelican was popular in the medieval imagination. All Bestiaries would include a picture (just as inaccurate as this one!) and something about this amazing bird. This was because the pelican was said to rear its chicks with great care and affection. But as the chicks grew strong, it is said, they turned against their parents and fight. Of course the young pelicans were killed. The mother would then pierce her breast with her beak. The blood flowing over the dead chicks had the miraculous effect of bringing them back to life again. Some people suggest that this story originates in the way pelicans regurgitate food to feed to their young. This may be so, although several other sea birds do this as well. For medieval people the story was fascinating because the blood was seen as a symbol of Jesus's blood spilt on the cross. In the Easter story, when Jesus is betrayed, it is as if mankind has betrayed its creator. But God goes on loving humanity. Jesus comes back to life again and humans are forgiven and saved. In the story of the Griffin eating a human leg (see the Griffin link on this site) we saw a symbol of war between human and nature. Perhaps we can see the pelican as a symbol of peacemaking.