In the Middle Ages, babies were exorcised in the church porch. This took place before baptism, to banish the devil from the new-born so it could be brought safely into the church. But a myth about babies, devils, baptism and north doors persists…

#thread #folklorethursday

North doors in churches are often referred to as the ‘devil’s door’.

Popular folklore tells us that the north door was left open during baptism so that, once it left the baby, the devil could make a speedy exit from the church.

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But the exorcism in the porch beforehand was supposed to have cleansed the baby of the devil?

Something doesn't add up.

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So, if north doors weren’t made for witches and demons, what were they made for? Dr Nicholas Groves suggests the answer lies in the liturgy and from a time when pre-Mass processions around the church were conducted – in particular ...

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... “on Palm Sunday, when the entire parish joined in, re-enacting the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. It left the church by the north door, proceeded in a clockwise direction round the east end of the church, and re-entered by the south door.”

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Nowadays, you’ll see a lot of north doors that are blocked up. Some say this stops the devil from getting into the church…
More likely, they were blocked up in the C16 when processions were banned, and the door was no longer needed. (Unless it was the principal entrance.)

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So, sadly – or thankfully - north doors have nothing to do with devils at all!

Whichever way you look at it, we hope you’ve enjoyed the selection of some of our lovely, devil-free, north doors in this thread

(Photo looking out N door of Wood Walton by @badger_beard )

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