Sciopod

The Sciopod appears among the carved figures on the tympanum of the abbey church's doorway, a creature from the bestiary of the unknown world. In the vision of the doorway that overwhelms Adso of Melk on his first day at the abbey, the Sciopod is one of the many monstrous beings depicted in the thirty round frames that form an arc above the twelve panels of the apostles. These frames portray the inhabitants of the unknown worlds, of whom only the Physiologus and the vague reports of travelers speak slightly. The Sciopod is described as a creature that runs swiftly on its single leg and, when it wants to take shelter from the sun, stretches out and holds up its great foot like an umbrella. This depiction places the Sciopod among the wonders of the created world that bear witness to the reach of the Gospel, as the doorway is a joyous promise of concord and unity achieved in the word of Christ, a splendid oecumen. Unlike the monstrous figures on the main church door that signify the evils of the earth and the torments of hell, the Sciopod and its fellow creatures on the chapter house tympanum do not cause uneasiness; they signify that the Word has reached all the known world and is extending to the unknown. The Sciopod thus serves as a symbol of the universal scope of Christian salvation, a testament to the belief that even the most bizarre and distant peoples are destined to receive the divine message.