View of Margaret Jardine's gravestone, 1702.

Description View of Margaret Jardine's gravestone, 1702.

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

Catalogue Number KB 1328/1

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 803635

Scope and Content Gravestone commemorating John McOn, Kells Churchyard, Dumfries and Galloway At the top of this memorial is a round-cheeked soul, representing John McOn's ascent to Heaven. In the centre of the stone is a '4' emblem, a traditional symbol used by merchants and traders across Scotland. The leafy decoration surrounding it springs from the cheeks of what appears to be a mask or human face, better known as the 'Green Man', a mythic figure whose origins are now lost. At the foot of the stone are the emblems of death and mortality, comprising a skull in the bottom left corner, an hourglass and pairs of cross bones. Their melancholy message was probably intended for the viewer, urging them to consider their own mortality. Representations of the Green Man take a variety of forms, from benevolent human faces sporting leafy beards to grim portraits of a monstrous creature, sprouting horn-like branches and greenery from his brows. It is believed that the Green Man is the embodiment of nature's regeneration, the return of life after a long death-like winter. Although he may be a pre-Christian myth, the idea of regeneration fits into the Christian belief of the Resurrection, and alludes to the soul's ascent to Heaven, where life continues after death. This gravestone commemorates John McOn, a merchant or shopkeeper who died in 1699. The inscription reads: 'HERE LYS THE CORPS OF/JOHN McON MERCHANT/& BURGESS IN NEWGALL/OWAY WHO DEPARTED/THIS LIFE 1699'. 'Merchant' was a title often used by shopkeepers to describe their trade. John McOn's Burgess status in New Galloway, a royal burgh, gave him particular rights on owning property and buying and selling goods. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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