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E CAMPBELTH F LERAGO L S CROS T KILBRIDEA S 3 14 . IV. THE CAMPBELL OP LERAGS CROSS AT KILBRIDE, NEAR OBAN, WITH A NOTE ON CROSS-HEADS OP LATE MEDIEVAL DATE IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. BY JAMES S. RICHARDSON, P.S.A. SCOT., CURATO MUSEUME TH P RO . Quit enumbea f free-standino r g crosse d detachean s d cross-headf so late mediaeval date bearing representation e Crucifixioth f o s n survivn ei mainlane th islandd dan Argyllf so . The Campbel f Lerago l s Crosimportann a s i s r t fo example y la t I . more than two centuries, in three fragments, on graves on the south side of the ruined church in the kirkyard of Kilbride.1 It has recently been assemble erected da conspicuouan n do s positio soute th n he no sidth f eo roadway that passes through Glen Mid Lorn to the northern shore of Loch Feochaii. The site chosen is 230 yards north-east of the kirkyard, and 200 yards north of a small mound called Bealach-an-t-sleuch-daidh,2 which local tradition affirms was where the cross formerly stood. The crosf greenish-coloureo s si d schist belongd disc-headee an , th o st d class. It bears the date 1516, and is sculptured on both sides in low relief within an outlining margin, but the carving is worn in places, owing to e fragmentth s lyinlona r g gfo e groun perioth beind n o ddan g trodden upon. Set in its modern base, the cross stands 10 feet 3 inches high a shafe Th t . taper2) d (figsan s 1 .fro inche5 m1 s wid 3y ^eb inches thick inche 1 base 1 th o e t t s a widinche3 y eb s neck e thicmeasuree th Th t k.a - ment acros arm e fee2 s th inches s 3 ti s , eacbeinm har g equa one-thiro lt d of the diameter of the disc, a proportion greater than in other examples of this type. 1 From a note made circa 1700 by Master Colin Campbell, Minister of Ardchattan, Argyll, from 1664 to 1726, in the possession of his descendant, Angus M. Gregorson, Esq., 17 Cornwall Street, Edinburgh— "Inscription of a Crosse sometyme standing on the highway eastward from Kilbryd in Lorn t •wabu ,s broke thren i e piece lyind s an graven ge Kiro th f Kilbryde o kn si . Archibaldus Campbell, etc." The cros s re-erectewa s d unde e supervisioth r e Ancienth f no t Monuments Department, H.M. Office of Works, and is now a scheduled monument. O.S. 6-inch map, Argyll, Sheet 110, N.E. 1 A Gaelic designation signifying the place of prostration. Mr Dugald M'lsaac of Oban, who first called my attention to the cross, has informed me that Bealach-an-t-sleuch-daidh is by the d roadol ,n a sidrunnin f eo a coasg se t fro Gallanacha e t mth , which crosse e presensth t road about 200 yards north of the entrance to the graveyard, and goes east by south away to the Lowlands. actuae Th 3 l length-o stone fee1 th 1 finches 6 ts ei . 144 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUAR , 1927Y10 . Following precedent monumene th , s beeha tn erected wit s fronit h t facing the west. On this side a representation of the Crucified Saviour Lerage FigTh . s1 . Cross, Kilbride, Argyll (front). Fig. 2. The Lerags Cross, Kil- bride," Argyll (back). THE CAMPBELL OF LERAGS CROSS AT KILBRIDE. 145 occupies the head and one-fifth of the shaft (fig. 3). In order to empha- sise it the sculptor has cut the stone deeper round the figure. Above, on the upper arm of the cross in interlaced Gothic ribbon capitals, is the sacred cypher "I.H.S., througd "an h this passe stee th sm of one of the foliaceous sprays that sur- round the figure. The inscription, carved in raised Gothic ribbon letters, next occupie spaca s e equal o hale e t heighcarveth th f f o dt facf o e the shaft. It is arranged in eleven lines, and reads| , A ARCC : | HI BALS U | D MPBEL [ DE : LAE I RRAIG | ME : FIE | Rl : FECI | T : ANO | DNI : M° | VCXVI . Below this are two panels ; the upper one contains a square pattern of interlaced ribbon work, and the lower a unicorn passant guardant, s taiit l terminatina n gi foliaceous spray initiale Th . s S.M.D.n i t cu , relief on a sunk panel at the bottom of the e origina t th par no f shaft o te l ar ,design , but have been added at a much later date. The e desigbacth kn o n(fig ) consist2 . s of two similar foliaceous scrolls running Fig . Hea.3 Leragf do s Cross, Kil- parallel up the shaft until they branch out bride, Argyll. at the top into the horizontal arms of the cross. Set within the upper arm is an heraldic shield bearing the arms of Archibald Campbell1 (fig. 4). awarem a I onle s , a thi th r yS s osinstanci fa whicn ei "e I.H.S.hth r "o unicore th e Westh nf t o appearHighlany an n o s d sculptured stonef o s pre-Beformation date d thi s probablan i ,s e onlth y y instancn a f o e heraldic shield on one of the free-standing crosses. Plait-work panels are common on monuments of this period and thin o se ston on e patter e s uniqueclassth ei th t alss i f e bu n,o os th a , 1 The Duke of Argyll in a letter to the Oban Times, 4th October 1924, states: "Years ago I identifie erectoe dth f thiro s cross s fatherHi . , Duncan Campbel f Lerago l s (Lereage), occurn si charterd ol y 1478m n si . They wer brancea anciene th f ho t MacConochie Campbells t whethebu , r of Stronchormaig in Glenfeochain or of the Inverawe branch of the same patronymic, I do not t knowye . Anyway, this very Archibal h Augusd6t appeare th t n 151 o s sArchibaldua 0 s Machonzi Leragie ed Inques n a n so t ordehele b Archibaldy db o r t Eard Argylf 2n , lo l (whn oi 1513 fell at Flodden). The others named in this old writ are lain Makchonzie in Stronchormaig, Gillespuid an g McCual McChonzi e Kneppachth n i e wero wh ,e undoubtedl s neayhi r kindred. {Argyll Charters.)" n Archibala Ther s wa e d Campbell designated firs f Lerago t 1630n i s e h ; f Joho n so Campbell a s wa , fourt f Lochnellho . VOL. LXI. 10 146 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 10, 1927. arrangement of the quite common foliaceous scrolls on the back of the monument. Regarding the figure of Our Lord, the attitude in which He is repre- sented, the body slightly sunk and ! the knees forced outwards, is remin- e traditionaiscenth f o t l linef o s French fourteenth-century ivory carvings inference Th . e y thama t be drawn from this is, that an im- ported ivory carving or other work of art was perhaps the origin of the sculptor's conception of the subject. The head of the Crucified is inclined to the right at a lesser angle than as shown on the ivory examples, wher t hangei s forward againse th t Fig. 4. Coat of Arms on Lerags Cross. right shoulder; but on the Lerags Cross this can be accounted for by the thin nature of the slab the sculptor had at his disposal, it being impos- sibl rendeo et heae th rgreaten di r relief than the rest of the body. There is a marked similarity be- twee Lerage e nth on se figurth d ean on a simple cross-head of slate from Taynuilt(figr5)7now in the National^ Museu f Antiquitiesmo outline Th . e of the bodies and the arrangement e loin-clothth of s corresponde th , only difference being that the hair formee th n i r falls fro Crowe mth n of Thorns in conventional locks ter- minatin n curlsi g , whereae th n i s other case hai th es straighi r n i t outline and disappears behind the shoulders. A figure, somewhat similae th o rt above s i depicte, n tho de margin Fig. 5. Cross from Taynuilt. oe e Herdpagef th th on f f o so -e manston Breviary1 (fig. Thi6) . s drawin s probablwa g y executen i d 1 This Breviar probabls ywa y mad Bnglann thirteente i th f o dd abouhen centurye th t n I . firse th followine t halth f o f g centur t appearyi havo st e come int possessioe oth famile th f f no yo St Clair of Herdmanston in Bast Lothian. It is now preserved in the National Library of Scotland. WEST HIGHLAND CROSS-HEADS. 147 e latteth e fourteentr th par f o t h century, afte e boocomd th r kha o et Scotland. e crosTh heads- s bearing Crucifixion scenes can be con- veniently arranged into three classes : e disc-heaClasTh . 1 s d —this is the commonest form, and can be subdivided into three ) Thostype(A se: bear- e Crucifiee figurth th f g o e in d Saviour with or without the rood. (B) Those wit figure hth e e roooth n d betwee t MarnS y and St John.