The Big Adventure of Life in Scotland
Gravestone Markings and Others

Shortly after I arrived in Scotland, Billy, Margaret (my sister-in-law) and I took drive up the coast to St. Andrews. On the way we stopped at St. Monans and walked through the church yard. We noticed a skull and cross bones on a slab marker, and decided that it must be the grave of a pirate. There were some with draped urns and other "stuff", which triggered thoughts from my Colorado cemetery trip. I remembered that draped urns had a meaning in America... which started me wondering if there was an underlying meaning to them here.

My curiosity took me to the library in Leslie and I asked the librarian if there were any books about grave markings. She told me there wasn't, but there was a man in Leslie who was quite knowledgeable about gravestones and much more. She called him up and he graciously came to the library with book in hand to loan me. My first friend in Scotland!!! John Muirhead and he's 85 years old! What John is is a walking encyclopedia about Scottish history and the founding of Leslie and Fife. Once the weather warmed up, John took me on a walking history tour of Leslie and pointed out many things that could easily be overlooked, or not appreciated for their historical value.

Two items in particular are the "built-in" mudscrapers on the older houses and marriage lintel.

I know I'm deviating a bit...but we'll get back to the graveyard.. don't rush life!!!

The mudscrapers are a hollowed out space recessed into the wall of the house next to the door way. They spade (playing card) shaped, less than 12" wide and about 12" tall. A metal plate about ??? cm thick spans the width of the space that's situated midway in the space. So when one is entering the house, one scrapes the mud off the top of their shoe on the bottom edge of the plate and the bottom of their shoe on the other.

The marriage lintels are rather romantic if you ask me. They are situated above the doorway of a house (ok ok hoose!) They are about six inches tall and span the width of the door way. On the left hand side is one set of initials, in the middle the year, and on the right another set of initials. This indicates when a couple were married and the year they set up house. The man's initials on the left, the woman's on the right. Interesting note, the woman's initials are her first name (naturally) and her maiden name. The oldest one to be seen in Leslie is from 1678.

So in a nutshell when walking around anywhere in the UK... look up and look down and around. You never know what you'll find!

Ok back to the graveyards.

The book John loaned me is Understanding Scottish Graveyards by Betty Willsher - most likely out of print.

So I will give a summary of items you can look for if you venture into a churchyard in Scotland. Granted some of the best examples are in the Southern part of Scotland... which makes sense... historically the most populated region of the country.

Other than epitaphs, the purpose of grave markings are to serve as reminders to the living. Below are some common markers.

Emblems of Mortality

Skeleton, Skull, Bones, - any variety - a reminder to the living that death comes to us all. Winged skulls are rare.

Hourglass - sands of time - we have a limited time on earth and the sand is running out in ours.

Hooded-Robed figure - Father time usually with his hourglass and scythe nearby.

Scythe, dart, bow and arrow, lance, axe - the weapons of death.

Sexton's Tools - crossed spade and turf cutter (triangular blade).

Bell/hand bell - the Deid bell - rang to give notice of funerals.

Trees with lopped branches - life cut short.

Adam and Eve - These will usually be on the left and right side of the stone respectively. There are a few variations on their depiction - depending on the stone mason. Represents the Fall from Grace.

Snakes - the snake from the Garden of Eden - death and sin.

Emblems of Immortality

Heads and or full bodies with Wings - the soul ascending from death waiting for Judgement Day.

Angels with Trumpets - Angels of the Resurrection.

Resurrection Scenes

Clouds or Sunbursts - the radiance of God.

Torches - eternal life.

Heart - divine love.

Heart carved between initials - true love of a married couple.

Crown - crown of righteousness.

Palm fronds, bay leaves, laurel - victory over death.

Poppies - sleep.

Lillies - purity.

Other flowers are ornamental

Fir cones - ancient symbol of fertility - now ornamental.

Scales - weighing of the soul on Judgement Day.

Anchor - hope - also the emblem of mariners or fishermen.

Dove - Holy Spirit.

Hands emerging from clouds - hand of God.

Hands shaking - sign of farewell or reunion.

Others - Adam and Eve - Abraham and Isaac - Sower and Reaper (popular in farming areas).

You may come across a marker that has different initials on the left hand side and only one on the right. The right hand initial is for the surname of the family, the ones on the left are for the individual family members.

And finally - emblems of trade.. a few examples

Mason - trowel, square, level.

Malt Men - grain shovel, tongs, slated shovel (mash oar), fire hook ( two pronged fork sort of).

Bakers - bakers peel - the long flat thingy for removing items from the oven.

Weavers - loom, shuttlecock, a web (sample of weaved cloth).

Urns

Urns - in the book and from what John has told me urns are for decorate purposes. Draped urns.. I'm not so sure about these as a decoration solely. Margaret and I returned to St. Monan's and started looking at draped urns...only one draped urn didn't follow the pattern I thought was true.. that a draped urn signifies a life cut short or an untimely death. In the graves with draped urns someone had died accidentally or died as an infant or young child (sadly many of these). So as far as I'm concerned the purpose of the draped urn is up for debate.

I hope this helps bring a little more fun to any churchyard explorations you might choose to do in Scotland. Since reading the book, I've made a "game" of how many different things I can find. Happy Hunting! :o)