I thought when I was taking a photo of this at York Minster that I was taking a photo of a brass duck.
He does look a little like a duck from this angle.
I couldn’t figure out what the symbolism of the duck in a church was.
When I googled up brass duck in York Minster I got nothing.
When I finally got on the right track and realized it was an eagle I was able to learn something new.
This eagle lectern was presented to the Minster in 1686.
The eagle represents the most powerful enemy of the Devil's symbol, the serpent.
A good reason for a lecterns take on the shape of the eagle.
Another reason for eagle-shaped lecterns lies in its symbolizing the word of God being read from the lectern and soaring its way to the ears of the churchgoers.
Eagle lecterns are most often designed from brass.
Some eagle lecterns are carved out of wood.
I had a good laugh at myself for my lack of knowledge.
Maybe I have an excuse, I was raised in the Congregational Church where the lecterns were very plain.