MEIGLE, ESSIE, Glaimis, THORNTON, and COSSINS
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III. NOTICES DESCRIPTIV E LOCALITIETH F EO F CERTAISO N SCULPTURED STONE MONUMENTS IN FORFARSHIRE, &c,—MEIGLE, ESSIE, GLAiMIS, THORNTON, AND COSSINS. PART II. BY ANDREW JERVISE, ESQ., BBECHJN, Conn. MEM. S.A. SOOT. earliese Th t descriptio Sculpturee th f no d Stone Monument MEMLt a s E occurs in 1569. The thee yar n describe t Newtylea s a d a villag, e nearl mileo ytw s sout Meiglef ho . This erro obviousld rha y arisen fro mwana f locao t l know- writee pare th ledg f th o t; rand n eo , accordin periode store th th f yo o gt , they ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND. 243 were set up by the Thane of Glamis, " Quhen that countrey wes all ane greit forrest."1 Unfortunately, there is no means of knowing what amount of credit e ide f th thoso a o t e e monumentdu s i s having been erectee Thanth y db e of Glamis. History not only proves that persons were so designed of Glamis from a remote period, but also shows that Meigle was an independent barony, held, fro t leasm a tim- e f as tth d familWillia eo ol o n ywh Liona e m th y b , sumed the surname De Meigle,2 and possessed the same till the time of Robert III., when they were succeede Eare th Crawford.f lo y db saine whoTh o t 3 m kire f th Meiglko dedicates ewa unknowns di t i belonge t e diocesbu th ; o t de of Dunkeld; and Kirkhill (now Belmont), was a grange or residence of the bishops, som f whoo e m died there d weran , e e burieparisth t a hd church. e ancienTh t fraternit f Knightyo s Templar considerabld sha e interes thin ti s quarter, and the kirk and kirkyard, in which the sculptured monuments are situated, is within the boundary of the old Temple lands. From this fact, and because the monuments bear the figure of the cross, it has been sug- gested that they were raised in memory of certain knights who died at Meigle after th eir return from the Crusades. Whether the De Meigles—the ancient proprietors of the barony—were engaged in the holy wars, history bears no record; and their arms, " A chevron between three boars' heads erased,"4 throws no light on that subject. I cannot help thinking that, at an after period, some key will be discovered relatin e remotth o gt e ecclesiastica proprietard an l y histor f thiyo s locality, which may throw light upon the origin of these remarkable monuments, for in no other part of Scotland are those remains more numerous, or their figures more curious, than at Meigle. 8 Two of the stones in the churchyard are carved 1 Ext. Vari . Cronae . Seo. 2 Denmyln. eMS 3 Robertson's Index . 142p , . 4 Laing's Scottish Seals. 99 . ,p 6 Since this paper was in type, I have to add the following particulars regarding the dis- covery of four other Sculptured Stone Monument t Meiglesa whichf o , , unlike mos thosf o t e in the kirkyard, no record or tradition is known to exist. These were only brought to light e montth f Februarn o hi y last (1858) corn-kild , ol whil e th ef Templ no e beinHas wa ' g pulled down to make way for a new building. The kiln stood about a hundred yards north buriae oth f l groundcarvee th d dan , stones wer foundatione eth chiefln i t ygo ifcf o s. They an i stat l goof al eo e dar preservation largese numbere th Th f . o t , whic brokes o hi tw n ni nea foote th r , contains figure horsemenf so , dogs, birds othed ,an r animals, together wite hth so-called sceptre ornament fee5 inches 7 ti t I .s high, varyin breadtn gi h froe th feem 3 t a t bottom to nearly 2 feet at the top, and 8 inches thick. Another, bearing in chief a figure, somewhat resembling a double-bodied centaur, and a variety of other grotesque ornaments scattered stone e ove resth e f abous rth ,i to feet3 t high inche,5 sinche 0 thick2 d s ,an broad . bluisa f Ao t hthird ou sor t f stoneo t ,cu s aboui , fee3 t inche4 t s high inche5 , s thickd an , 18 inches broad. The carvings on this monument, with the exception of a small portion of 4 24 PROCEEDING SOCIETE TH F F SO YO on both side ond sf them o an e; , inserted int olarga e plint foor ho t stone, has tenons on the margin, for the purpose of joining it to some other object, Two other sculptured stone upoe sli nruda e piec f modereo n masonry thef o me on ; is nearly square, tapers slightly towards the end, and had perhaps stood in the pyramida for f mo e othe Th r. stone, which lies below that just mentioned, loaded with carving "f s o horsmen , fuitmen doggisd an , , haliis serpentis,d an , " s mutilateit isn i , d state, about sixteen inches shorter than that with e "an goddes in ane cairt, and twa hors drawand hir;" but the original size of this fragment cannot be ascertained. According to the description of 1569, it formed monumentse th thf eo places e centri t on i noticf d , ,e o it thoughol f e eo th n i , between the first-mentioned stone and another part bearing " ane cors," and of which the fragments of a beautifully interlaced cross, preserved within the church, are perhaps the remains. The stone with the tenons, is evidently that de- scribewritee th y drb just quoted whic e beinwess e ,a s on th hte n ha g o sid th f eo core "san curiouslie gravit upo nf thii it;d s last-name"an d stone occupiee th s same position as it did in 1569, the site of the chief cross, as it may be termed, of which the pieces just noticed alone remain, may be ascertained with some one of the corners, which is broken off and lost, are almost as clear and distinct as the day sculptoe th r finishe workside e dth e On bear. beautifullsa y interlaced cross, about-two feet long, with strangely-shaped fowl othed san r animal sspacee inth s abov belod ean shafte wth s crosse othee oth f Th .r side bear mountesa margine e th th f o de e sar horseman on n o d an , elephan mirror-lookind an t g figures, which prevai muco ls thesn ho e monuments. This cross sculptures i boln di d somn reliefi d e an point, s resemble largee sth r obelis t Cossinska . fourte lasd Th f 6heshan o t e a differenrelic f o s si t type from anythin sore th tf ghitherto o e samfounth en clase di locality th funereaf sf o o t I seeme b . l o monumentt s s knowy b n the name of coffin-lids, and is shaped pretty much like a fisherman's boat reversed. The boldly sculptured figure of a serpent, with the snout projecting nearly an inch over the end of the stone, forms the keel, if it may be so termed, and the tail of the animal terminated in a square, shield charged varyways (as old heraldic writers would say) with objects pretty much resemblin heraldie gth c device called Basque flanchesr so figura , e which, accordino gt Guillum, "s givei virtur nlearningfo d an e especialld an , r servicey fo assemblage. n a n si " Both sides of the stone are carved (the third, or that side on which the stone rests, being d unadornedflaan t ) with three row f flancheso graduall) (? s y diminishing toward ende sth , and which littla t a ,e distance, conve e ide yth f vertebrae o a . This ston fee6 inches 3 eti s long, 20 inches high at the head or upper end, and tapers abruptly towards the foot, where it onls i y abou inche4 t s deep. Perhaps s thia , s ston sucs eha strikinha g resemblance th o et general appearanc conjecturede b y boata f absencma e eo t th ,i n i bette,f eo r evidence, that it had covered the grave or coffin of some of the more eminent of our early navigators, whose name and deeds have long since ceased to be remembered, and who had either been buried at, or .had some considerable interest in the neighbourhood of Meigle. I learn from Mr Stuart that drawing thesf so e monuments wil givee supplemenb a l n ni Sculpe "o Th t - tured Stone Scotland.f so " (Se e Spaldineth g Club volum e " Sculptureth f o e d Stonesf o Scotland," Plates Ixxii.-lxxvii.) ANTIQUARIE5 24 SCOTLANDF SO . exactness mose Th t . westerl e stonechurchyare th th f n yo si unnotices di y b d note e write th th f 1569 eo f o r , but, fro rudenese mth carvings it f so t oughti , , perhaps, to be considered the most ancient of the whole.1 During the autumn of 1855, in presence of Dr Wise and Mr Robert Chambers of Edinburgh, I investigated the neighbourhood of two of these monuments, viz., the stone with the tenons, and that bearing the figure of the transfixed serpent, t beini g thought unnecessar o meddlyt e wit otherse hth , fro e fac f theimth o t r having been place recenburiadn d i ol e t l sitlaird th timee vaul e f eth th o f n sto o of Drumkilbo t awartime no th s et ethaa first-namee wa th tI .