Orsanmichele in Florence, of which Donatello's St George, commissioned by the armourers and now in the Bargello, is one of the best known statues of the Early Renaissance. These saints include among their number a blacksmith, a professional soldier, a doctor, a tax collector and four shoemakers. Gryphons, gargoyles, beasts and cherubs Cathedrals are decorated with a wide variety of creatures and characters, many of which have no obvious link to Christianity. Often the creature was seen to represent some particular vice or virtue or was believed to have a certain characteristic which could serve as a warning or as an example to the Christian believer. "Sins of the Flesh" were often represented by human figures poking out their tongues, stroking their beards, displaying their genitals or gorging on food. Other motifs represent the Nature of Christ, or the nature of the Church. One such is that of the pelican. It was believed that a pelican was prepared to peck its own breast in order to feed its hungry young. Thus, the pelican became a symbol for the love of Christ for the Church. Creatures such as hares, geese, monkeys, foxes, lions, camels, gryphons, unicorns, bees, and storks abound in the decorative carvings of capitals, wall arcading, ceiling bosses and the wooden fittings of cathedrals. Some, like the Gargoyles of Notre Dame, are well known to many. Others, like the Blemyah and Green Man of Ripon Cathedral in England, lurk underneath the folding seats or misericords of the Quire. Typologies Mural A mural is a painting on the surface of a plastered wall, the term coming from the Latin muralis. It is cheap compared with mosaic and stained glass, and can be extremely durable under good conditions, but liable to be damaged by damp and stained by candle smoke. Narrative murals are generally located on the upper walls of churches, while the lower walls may be painted to look like marble or drapery. They also occur on arches, vaulted roofs and domes. Murals were a common form of wall decoration in ancient Rome. The earliest Christian mural paintings come from the catacombs of Rome. They include many representations of Christ as the Good Shepherd, generally as a standardised image of a young, beardless man with a sheep on his shoulders. Other popular subjects include the Madonna and Child, Jonah being thrown into the sea, the three young men in the