The Pelican-in-her-Piety, St Mary's Church
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The Pelican-in-her-Piety, St Mary's Church by Maigheach-gheal as part of the Geograph project.
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The Pelican-in-her-Piety, St Mary's Church
Image: © Maigheach-gheal Taken: 1 Jan 2012
In Christian art the pelican generally symbolises charity, but the phrase 'Pelican-in-her-Piety' has an interesting derivation. The word 'piety' here has the classical meaning of devotion to one's young. For many centuries it was thought that the pelican fed her off spring with her own blood, hence this representation. In fact, the bird transfers pre-masticated food to its young from a large bag under its beak.
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Image Location
Latitude
50.714372
Longitude
-2.636197