Kells Parish Churchyard. Headstone for the McNaughton children. Digital image of AB 1328/2

Description Kells Parish Churchyard. Headstone for the McNaughton children. Digital image of AB 1328/2

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

Catalogue Number SC 803637

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of KB 1328/2

Scope and Content Gravestone commemorating the McNaughton children, Kells Churchyard, Dumfries and Galloway A canopy of leaves, shown as if draped over the stone, decorates the top of this memorial. Leaves and plants were also used to express ideas about regeneration as they seemingly die in autumn and then come to life again in the spring. Coats of arms, such as the example seen here, are often found on Scottish gravestones and probably reflect the family's social pretensions using the arms associated with the family name. Here, the arms show a hand wielding a sword on the left and three boars' heads separated by a chevron on the left, this being a device used by the Gordon family. However, it is the Adam and Eve scene which dominates this particular stone. Separated by the fruit-laden Tree of Knowledge, Adam (left) and Eve (right) each wear a leaf girdle or belt around their hips, while the serpent is coiled around the bough. Beneath their feet are the emblems of mortality (an hourglass) and death (bones and a skull), implying their impending fall from grace and loss of immortality as well as symbolising the death of those commemorated on this stone. Depictions of Adam and Eve appear to have been far more popular in Scotland than anywhere else in the United Kingdom. As with most gravestone emblems and designs, these were not limited to commemorative art. For example, Adam and Eve scenes are also seen in school books, religious works and even everyday objects, such as crockery and furniture. The scene carries a variety of meanings. One reading may be to see this as a stern reminder of original sin and the need to guard against temptation at all times, a message in keeping with the strict religious teachings of 18th-century Scotland. Another interpretation is that the scene was intended to offer solace to those wondering why their children had died by reminding us that death, hardship and pain were not in God's design for this world: such things came to pass through man's disobedience. This gravestone commemorates four children of Robert McNaughton, who appear to have all died as infants. The inscription reads: 'HERE LYS THE CORPS OF JOHN. CRISTAL. EUPHAN. ANN/MARY & VIVIAN McNAUGHTONS/CHILDREN OF ROBERT MCNAUGHTON/& ANN GORDON HIS SPOUSE'. The stone is noted as being erected in 1709. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/803637

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap