This guy was hiding under the rostrum where the Bishop preaches to the congregation. He is holding a compass and square that shows he is a stone mason. Not too flattering to himself. I just loved all the statues in the churches. Our guides were really good at telling us the personal stories of the common people. Nobody liked the bishops much. That was, to me, a powerful part of our trip. These Catholic Bishops built their gardens and fortresses and luxurious palaces while the common people starved. The churches were always built with "donated" labor. Truly the dark ages were very dark. "I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole" comes from the plague times. Dying people were locked in their houses to keep the infection from spreading. Every home had a hole and grate at the top of the entry door. Their neighbors would hook food and water to the end of a 10 foot pole and push it through the grate to the dying people inside. This way they would not suffer from lack of food and water - the best their friends and family could do. Every town has a plague monument. The plague was always portrayed as an ugly old woman. (Latin word for plague was feminine) 1 in 3 died. Sobering. Oh gosh - what a dismal post. Mom