Dunning, St. Serf's Parish Church. General view of the gravestone of William Frazer, 1756. Winged soul, plough, 'Memento Mori' ribbon, crossed bones and skull.

Description Dunning, St. Serf's Parish Church. General view of the gravestone of William Frazer, 1756. Winged soul, plough, 'Memento Mori' ribbon, crossed bones and skull.

Date 1990

Collection Papers of Betty Willsher, historian, St Andrews, Scotland

Catalogue Number A 37031 PO

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 803370

Scope and Content Gravestone of William Frazer and Christian Simpson, St Serf's Church and Churchyard, Dunning, Perth & Kinross This gravestone features a winged soul (symbol of the spirit ascending to Heaven after death), carved with a flattened, sad face and incised wings. Below is carved a representation of a plough, indicating the deceased person was from a farming family. The inscribed scroll reads 'MEMENTO MORI' (remember you must die), a phrase further reinforced by the death emblems of crossed bones and a skull below. Farmers' gravestones often show the sock and coulter of the plough, threaded together like a buckle. These are the vital metal parts of the otherwise wooden plough. Other common emblems are ploughs, flails and sheaves of corn. Some examples also show scenes of farmers at work, usually ploughing fields with horses. This gravestone commemorates William Frazer, who died in 1748, and Christian Simpson, who died in 1756. It is inscribed: 'HERE LYES THE DUST OF WILLIAM/FRAZER WHO DIED FEBRY 10th 1748/AGED 65 YEARS AND CHRISTIAN/SIMPSON HIS SPOUSE WHO DIED/MAY 17, 1756 AGED 63 YEARS'. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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