View of standing tombstone, St Mary's Church burial ground, Banff, with winged soul at top above holding drape and inscribed 'time Flyeth, Death Persueth'.

Description View of standing tombstone, St Mary's Church burial ground, Banff, with winged soul at top above holding drape and inscribed 'time Flyeth, Death Persueth'.

Date 8/1965

Collection Records of the Scottish National Buildings Record, Edinburgh, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 801754

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of BN 169

Scope and Content Written on verso of the mounted print: 'Shire: Banffshire. Place: Banff. Building: St Mary's Church, Carmelite Street. Photographer: G.N. Date: August 1965'. Gravestone with winged soul, St Mary's Church and Burial-Ground, Church Street, Banff, Aberdeenshire This gravestone features a winged soul (symbol of the spirit ascending to Heaven after death) which supports a cloth banner from its wing tips. This is inscribed: 'time/Flyeth/Death/Pursueth'. The cloth may represent the 'mort cloth' which churches would hire out to cover the coffin during funerals. The shaped edge of the stone features a deeply-cut moulded border. Gravestones both commemorate the dead and challenge the living to confront their own mortality. In this example, the dead man's soul rises to Heaven to receive its reward for living a virtuous life. Whilst it ascends, it displays a banner as if warning those still alive to make the most of their remaining time, as 'death pursueth' at all times. This gravestone dates from the mid-18th century, and stands amongst many other such memorials in a crowded burial ground which dates from the medieval period. Most of the monuments date from between the 16th century to the 19th century. No details of the inscription are available. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

External Reference MW/BR/BAN/143

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/801754

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap