St. Dunstan holding the Devil by the nose, Barton, Cambridgeshire

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St Dunstan holding the Devil by the nose : Barton, Cambridgeshire (Ely) C.14

Photo:T.Marshall St.Dunstan holding the Devil by the nose, Barton, Cambs (102KB)

This much damaged painting at Barton is now the only one of Dunstan remaining in English church wallpainting (one recorded at Stifford in Essex has been obliterated or destroyed). The easiest detail to make out in the photograph above is probably the pair of long-handled tongs with which Dunstan caught the Devil by the nose. These are in the horizontal centre of the painting, with Dunstan himself, reduced to a few details of head, shoulders, chest and extended arm, standing at the left. The head of the trapped Devil, with his prominent nose and large projecting ears, shows fairly well at the right, and another figure at the extreme right may belong to a different painting.

Dunstan was of course a real person; after a varied and eventful career, including a period of banishment from the court of King Athelstan on suspicion of dabbling in pagan magic, he was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. He also had strong associations with metalworking, as well as painting and music - metalworkers tools surviving at Mayfield in Sussex are said to have belonged to him - but an illustrated MS¹ now in the Bodleian library, including what may be a self-portrait, probably has a stronger claim to authenticity.
There are useful comparisons to be made with St. Eloi, another metalworker who had a short and efficient way with devilish manifestations (paintings at Wensley and elsewhere on this site). Both saints are good examples of genuine historical figures around whom colourful legends clustered.

There are a number of other paintings at Barton. Many are rather unclear, but both St. Antony and the Pig and St. George & the Dragon are newly on the site.

¹ MS Auct., F.IV. 32, Bodleian Library, Oxford

Website for St Peters, Barton

St. Andrew Martyred, Stoke Dry, Rutland	St. Anne teaching the Virgin to read-Corby Glen, Lincolnshire	St. Antony and the Pig, Barton, Cambridgeshire	St. Barbara : Hessett, Suffolk	St. Bartholomew : Selling, Kent	St.Catherine of Alexandria, life of : Castor, Cambs	St Catherine of Alexandria, Cold Overton, Leicestershire *NEW*	St.Catherine of Alexandria : Hardley Street, Norfolk
St.Catherine of Alexandria : Old Weston, Northants	St.Catherine of Alexandria : Pickering, N. Yorks	St.Catherine of Alexandria, life of : Sporle, Norfolk	St. Catherine of Alexandria, Martyrdom of: Burton Latimer, Northants *NEW*	St. Catherine of Alexandria or another female saint : Ashley, Hampshire *NEW*	St. Clement : South Leigh, Oxon.	Scenes from the life of St. Cuthbert : Pittington, Co. Durham *NEW*	St. Dunstan holding the Devil by the nose : Barton, Cambs
St.Edmund : Boxford, Suffolk	St. Edmund : Lakenheath, Suffolk	St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Bishopsbourne, Kent	St.Edmund, Martyrdom of : Fritton, Norfolk	St. Edmund (or St. Walstan) : Gisleham, Norfolk	St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Pickering, N.Yorks	St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Stoke Dry, Rutland	St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Troston, Suffolk
St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Weare Giffard, Devon	St.Eloi, Broughton, Bucks	St. Eloi and the possessed horse, Slapton, Northants	St. Eloi, as bishop & blacksmith, Wensley, N.Yorks	St.Erasmus, Martyrdom of : Chippenham, Cambs	St. Etheldreda : Willingham, Cambs	St. Francis Preaching to the Birds : Little Kimble, Bucks	St.Francis Preaching to the Birds : Wissington, Suffolk
St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata, Slapton, Northants	St. George & Dragon : Banningham, Norfolk	St. George & Dragon : Broughton, Bucks	St. George & Dragon : Earl Stonham, Suffolk	St. George & Dragon : Fritton, Norfolk	St. George & Dragon : Hornton, Oxon	St. George dedicating himself to the Virgin : Astbury, Cheshire	St. George, with the princess : Little Kimble, Bucks
St. George & the Dragon : Kirtlington, Oxon *NEW*	St.Helena, Broughton, Bucks	St.James the Great : Hales, Norfolk	Life of St. James, Stoke Orchard, Gloucestershire	St. James the Great, meeting pilgrims : Wisborough Green, Sussex	St. James the Great, Yelden (or Yielden), Beds *NEW*	St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks	St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Heydon, Norfolk
St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Idsworth, Hampshire	St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Old Weston, Northants	St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Pickering, N. Yorks	Life of St. John the Baptist : Cerne Abbas, Dorset	St. John the Evangelist, Selling, Kent	St. John the Evangelist, Weston Longville, Norfolk	St. Margaret of Antioch : Old Weston, Northants	St. Margaret and the dragon : South Newington, Oxfordshire
St. Margaret of Antioch Martyred, Stoke Dry, Rutland	St. Margaret of Antioch, Life of : Charlwood, Surrey	Life of St. Margaret, Wendens Ambo, Essex	Martyrdom of St. Margaret, Duxford, Cambridgeshire	Martyrdom of St. Margaret, Ashby St Ledgers, Northamptonshire *NEW*	St. Martin dividing his cloak, Chalgrave, Beds	St. Martin dividing his cloak, Wareham, Dorset	St Michael, with kneeling donor, South Newington, Oxfordshire
St.Nicholas of Myra, life of : Little Horwood, Bucks
St. Nicholas of Myra, two miracles of : Wissington, Suffolk	St. Nicholas of Myra & the Boys in the Barrel, Padworth, Berkshire	St. Nicholas of Myra & the Boys in the barrel, Bishopsbourne, Kent *NEW*	St.Paul : Black Bourton, Oxon	St. Paul : Beckley, Oxon	St. Paul : Selling, Kent	St. Peter : Beckley, Oxon
St.Peter : Black Bourton, Oxon	St. Peter, Martyrdom of : Chacombe, Northants	St. Peter : Selling, Kent	SS. Peter & Paul, Old Idsworth, Hampshire *NEW*	St. Roch : Pinvin, Worcs	St. Sexburga? : Willingham, Cambs	S. Stephen, Martyrdom of, North Stoke, Oxon	St. Stephen, Stoning of: Black Bourton, Oxon
St. Stephen, Stoning of: Catfield, Norfolk	St.Swithun (?) enthroned : Old Weston, Northants	Scenes from the life of St. Swithun : Corhampton, Hampshire	St. Thomas Becket, blessing, Hauxton, Cambs.	Archbishop, possibly Thomas Becket, blessing, Shorthampton, Oxfordshire *NEW*	St. Thomas Becket, Murder of, Marston Magna, Somerset	St. Thomas Becket, Murder of, North Stoke, Oxfordshire	St.Thomas Becket, Murder of : South Burlingham, Norfolk
St. Thomas Becket, Murder of : South Newington, Oxfordshire	St. Walstan of Bawburgh? or St. Edmund : Gisleham, Norfolk	St. Zita : Horley, Oxon	St. Zita : Shorthampton, Oxon	Unidentified female saint : Heydon

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7/10/2002