ON the DISCOVERY of a SCULPTURED STONE ATST MADOES, with SOME NOTES on INTERLACED ORNAMENT. by J. ROMILLY ALLEN, P.S.A. SOOT. Th
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DISCOVERY OF A SCULPTURED STONE AT ST MADGES. 211 V. E DISCOVERONTH SCULPTUREA F YO D STONE ATST MADOES, WITH SOME NOTE INTERLACEN SO D ORNAMENT . ROMILLJ Y B . Y ALLEN, P.S.A. SOOT. followine Th g paper contain notica se discover th f e o sculpture a f yo d slab, built into the walls of the Session's House at St Madoes, in Perth- shire, together with a description of the cross in the churchyard, and concludes with an attempt to analyse and classify the different forms of Celtic interlaced ornament. St Madoes Session's House Slab. St Madoes Churc situates h i nort e th n h dTayo e ban milex th f si , ko s east of Perthabous i d tan , five minutes' walk from Glencarse railway station. In the early part of the year 1881, Mr Magnus Jackson of Perth informe d discovere ha thae e m dh t d what appearee edga th f e o b o dt sculptured stone, similar in character to the cross in the churchyard, built into the walls of the Session's House adjoining the church. T there- upon wrote to the late Sir John Eichardson of Pitfour Castle, mentioning e matterth requestind an , s permissioghi e alloweb o nt remov o dt e eth stone, which was immediately granted. Mr Jackson and I accordingly place wenth Augustn eo i t t , accompanie course th masona n i e y do b wh , e walsculptureo th tw f l o o shora t f ou d tt fragment timablge s o et wa s of stone, and build up the masonry again with less valuable archasological materials e sculptureTh . d fragments, when removed, wer t oncea e seen halveo crosa tw f e so s th slabe b ,o t whic beed ha h nmiddle splith p u te used commos an da n rubble. The shortest fragment is 2 feet 5 inches long, and the longest one 2 feet 10 inches long. When put together they form a sandstone slab 1 foot 9 inches wide, the thickness being 4 inches. What remains of the sculpture is shown on fig. 1. On the front is a cross of the usual Celtic form, with hollows where the arms meet, and a surrounding ring. On each side of the cross, 212 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 12, 1883. UJ O o UJ Q 60 S o- w- Z *~ O-- Of LJL M </> z DISCOVER SCULPTUKEA F YO D T MADGESSTONS 3 T 21 A E . at the top, are triquetras, and below, on the right, are traces of carved work, but so obliterated that nothing can be made of it. The back has been entirely defaced, except at the right hand upper corner, where the triquetra figure occurs again t witbu , hdoubla e band instea singla f do e oneothee th , n are patter so face e edgeTh th simpla .n s nsi o e plaif o t four strands. It was this portion which was visible when the fragments were built into the wall, and which, caught Mr Jackson's keen eye.1 Mutilated as the St Madoes slab unfortunately is, it is still of value from an archaeological point of view. The occurrence of the triquetra three time singla n so meano en stony b s s ecommoni . The knot which is known by the name of the triquetra corresponds in form to the equi- lateral triangle, having three pointed loops which enclose triangular spaces arranged symmetrically roun dcentraa l triangulay r spacema t I . be derived fro e interlacinmth f thrego e equal circles outee th , r portions being removed. Usea Christia s a d n symbol t i probabl, y signifiee th s Trinity. On Celtic crosses and slabs it is used both as a symbol and an ornament. In the latter capacity it is admirably suited for filling in triangular spaces, formed r examplefo , circla y b ,e inscribe squarea n di , as on the Maiden Stone in the Chapel of the Gairoch, or by a cross inscribed in a circle, as at Laugharne in Caermarthenshire. When the triquetra obviously doet forno s m portio a ornamenta e th f no l designt i , may be fairly assumed that it is intended as a symbol.2 1 Quite recentl I ynotice fragmenta d , with exactl same th y e plaited ornament upon it, built into the wall of the chancel of Otley Church, near Leeds, where are preserved other sculptured stones with interlaced work, all of great interest. mose Th t remarkable instanc crossee th thif f eo t o Meigl s Scotlana n se i on n eo ds i (Stuart2 , vol . pii . Ixxiii.), wher triquetre th e a occur association si n with four other symbol unknowf so n import — namely fishe so-callee th ,th , d elephant heae a th ,f do conventional animal simila Nome'e thath o rt leaf-shape n w o t sLa d silver plate th e; Z-shaped rod and serpent ; the mirror and comb. The fish may possibly symbolise — iTfltTOVS XpiCTTOS &7JOV tiov The fish symbol is used on a cross slab at Fuerty in Ireland (Petrie's Christian Inscr., vol. ii. pi. viii. ), and is to be found in the books of Kells and Armagh. The r VOL. xvi i. 214 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, KEBRUAKY 12, 1883. MadoesSt Churchyard Cross. The cross of St Madoes lay for many years neglected and unknown in the churchyard until Decemben i , r 1853e instanc th r Mui t a M , f f o re o Leith,1 it was erected on a substantial sandstone base, outside the west door of the church. According to Dr Stuart,2 nothing is known of the history of the cross, but he identifies St Madoes with St Madoch, who is suppose o havdt e come from y FrancTa landed e banke eth th an f n sdo o hard by, where he made converts to the Christian faith, by whom the original church was built and dedicated to the saint. The cross is a slab of red sandstone, 8 inches thick, 5 feet 6 inches high, and 2 feet 6 inches wide at the top, and 3 feet wide at the bottom. Imbedded in the sand- stone are several hard quartz pebbles, which were dressed down flat with the rest of the surface when the cross was carved. The tool marks still remain sharp and distinct on the tops of the pebbles, which now project somn i e cases quit eight n einca n a f hho abovstonee th rese f eth o ,t thus showin e exacgth t amoun f disintegratioo t n whic e ravagehth f timo s e have effected. If it were not for the fact of the recessed portions of the carving weathering together wit parte hth reliefn si , though probablt yno at the same rate, all traces of the ornament in these sculptured stones triquctr s employei a a symboe whee s th a d n lo l cros t Margaa s n Glamorganmi - shire (Wcstwood's Lapidarium Wallice, pi. xv.), where it is placed above figures of saint n eac t so e Llanfryuaccrossa e h th shafd th f sid o an f ;t o e h (Wcstwood, pi. xxxix.), where it occurs twice in association with the figure of a dove. On a cross at (Cumming'n Cale Ma f th o f s Runic Remains Islee oth f of Man, pi. xi.) triquetre th , a appears on the dress of the crucified Saviour. The triquetra occurs on the breasts of figure Evangelistthe fouthe of thre of rGospelof scopthe out e the yof in sof s Dimma , e librar writtee th sixt th n f Triniti ho y n i nw century no y d Collegean , , Dublin (Petrie's Ecclesiastical Architecture of Inland, p. 324). The triquetra is used on metal-work as an ornament on a bronze ornament found at Athlone, now in our Museu croziert e DamhnaS th f t Fillan o S o mf d s; o nan d Ochene (Petrie . 323)p , . For various examples see the following:—Stuart's Sculptured Stones of Scotland, vol . pisi . ii., Iviii., Ixxiii., xiii.; vol . plsii . i ix., xxxviii., Ixxxii., xcii.; Petrie's Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language, vol. i. pis. v., xxxiv., xxxvi., Ii., liii.; vol. ii. pi. xvii. ; Westwood's Lapidarium Wallice, pis. v., xv., xxxix., xlviii., Ivi,, Ixxii. ; Cumming's Runic Remains of the Isle of Man, pis. iv., xi., xii. 1 Muir's Notes on Remains of Ecclesiastical Architechire, p. 27. 2 ficulptured Stones nf Scotland, vol. i. p. 16. DISCOVKBY OF A SCULPTUEED STONE AT ST MADGES. 215 would very soon disappear. Even as it is, it is a great question whether these exquisite monuments shoul allowee db d graduall - periso yt ex y hb posure, when they might easily be placed under cover or coated with some silicate solution. The sooner casts are taken the better, as the sharpness e carvinoth f s rapidli g ystone goinge fronth desige th f e Th o n t .o n (fig. 2) consists of a cross of the usual Celtic form in relief, the central square being the highest above the rest of the surface, then the shaft and arras nexd e circulaan ,th t r ring which connect e circulaarmse sth Th . r hollow intersectione th t sa arme e considerablth ar sf o s y recessede Th . central square, from which the arms diverge, is ornamented with thirteen raised bosses forme y spiralsb d , simila e Celtio thosth t r f co e manu- scripts.