Kilchousland Churchyard. Headstone, Margrat Culbeson, 1716.

Description Kilchousland Churchyard. Headstone, Margrat Culbeson, 1716.

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

Catalogue Number SC 801695

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 23436/18

Scope and Content Gravestone of Margrat Culbeson, Old Parish Church and Burial-Ground, Kilchousland, Argyll & Bute This stone is carved with a shield and two winged 'supporters', who appear to tend a small tree. The figures have bodies which terminate in spiralling tails. The objects on the shield seem to be an upturned cup, a loaf of bread, and a dagger. The meaning of the carvings on this stone is puzzling. One interpretation may be that the emblems on the shield are the upturned wine cup (left) and bread (right) of the Sacrament, with a dagger between them representing Christ's sacrifice. Out of this grows the Tree of Life, which sustains the souls in their winding sheets (shrouds) on each side. This gravestone commemorates Margrat Culbeson, who died in 1716. It stands in the burial-ground of Kilchousland Church, originally dedicated to St Columba, and now in ruins. It was built in the 12th century and extended eastwards during the 16th century. Part of a medieval stone cross was found in the burial-ground (now in Campbeltown Museum), and several fine post-Reformation gravestones also survive. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/801695

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap