Detail of gravestone of George Fairweather, 1797. Digital image of AN/5837/1.

Description Detail of gravestone of George Fairweather, 1797. Digital image of AN/5837/1.

Date c. 1990

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

Catalogue Number SC 794843

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of AN 5837/1

Scope and Content Gravestone of Jenny Fairweather, Brechin Cathedral Churchyard, Brechin, Angus This memorial features a heraldic crest and ribbon inscribed 'MEMENTO MORI' (Remember you must die) on its main face, and this curiously stylised image of a winged soul in the curved tympanum. The head is modelled in deep relief, with a small block on top, perhaps intended to represent hair. Stone pegs, perhaps the ears of the soul, extend from the sides of the head to the wings, which are carved with feathers laid like scales and stripes. The winged soul is a common motif on Scottish gravestones, and represents the spirit of the deceased ascending to wait until the Day of Judgement when the body was believed to rise to join it in Heaven. Winged skulls may represent the personification of Death on swift wings, whilst winged hourglasses represent how man's earthly time literally 'flies'. This gravestone commemorates Jenny Fairweather, who died in 1797. It is inscribed: 'Erected by George Fairweather Farmer in Smithyhill/in memory of his daughter Jenny, who died 19th/January 1797 aged 28 years'. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/794843

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap