n Mediaeval Mischief: Wit and Humour in the Art of the Middle Ages by Janetta Rebold Benton (Sutton, £20).

WITTY, clever or humorous imagery has a long history in art - and the Middle Ages were no exception.

In her new book, Rebold Benton demonstrates that, although mediaeval art is primarily religious, it is not always solemn nor was it only aimed at the public, as members of the clergy often needed spiritual guidance.

More than 125 images in this study reveal that mediaeval churches were less serious places than is widely believed today - even if today's viewer may not always get the joke.

Strange and even irreverent activities take place where they are least expected on and in churches and cathedrals throughout Western Europe.

There are the figures who watch the congregation come and go, such as those on the west faade of Exeter Cathedral; the angel who whispers advice to the bishop trying to play the organ at Wells Cathedral; and a roof boss in Lincoln Cathedral showing a man sticking out his tongue.

A line of animals can be seen sliding down a buttress at Westminster Abbey, while dragons try to eat part of the north porch at Wells Cathedral.

Humour was an effective tool for the Church to use in getting its message across, particularly for the illiterate. Many images convey the idea of retribution - a stained glass window at Shibden Hall in Halifax, Yorkshire, shows Satan carrying a dead sole fish (representing a human soul) to a frying pan, and a misericord in Ludlow's parish church of St Laurence describes the fate of a barmaid renowned for her short measures!

This is history ... and fun, too.

John Phillpott