View of gravestone of P W I G, with motif from Quarle's Emblems. Digital image of AN 6554.

Description View of gravestone of P W I G, with motif from Quarle's Emblems. Digital image of AN 6554.

Date 1990

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

Catalogue Number SC 794798

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of AN 6554

Scope and Content Gravestone of 'P W' and 'I G' with design from Quarles' 'Emblems', Arbroath Abbey Churchyard, Angus This gravestone depicts a scenes from Francis Quarles's (1592-1644) 'Emblems, Moral and Divine', first published in 1635. An angel snuffs a candle on top of a globe, whilst the figure of a fool blows bellows at the sun. On each side of the main scene are emblems of death, including a skull and crossed bones, an hourglass and the sexton's (gravedigger's) tools, linked by a ribbon. Emblems which are tied together in this way are known as 'trophies'. Francis Quarles describes emblems in the introduction to his book as 'but a silent parable', and indeed the illustrations in his book are there to reinforce the meaning of Biblical quotations and moral poetry. The scene on this gravestone illustrates emblem II from book II: 'Thou blowst Heav'n's fire, the whilst thou go'st about/Rebellious fool, in vain, to blow it out...'. This gravestone has been broken, and the inscription is now lost, but it is carved with the initials 'P W' and 'I G'. This probably refers to a husband and wife (wives retained their maiden names after marriage in Scotland). The stone probably dates from the late 16th century. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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