St Orland's Stone (otherwise known as the Cossans stone or the Cossins stone) is a Class II Pictish Cross-Slab at Cossans, near Kirriemuir and Forfar, Angus, Scotland
St Orland's Stone (otherwise known as the Cossans stone or the Cossins stone) is a Class II Pictish Cross-Slab at Cossans, near Kirriemuir and Forfar, Angus, Scotland
The cross-slab stands in situ, approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south-west of the A926 road at its midpoint between Kirriemuir and Forfar (grid reference NO40085002 ) in the former parish of Glamis. [1]
The stone is a worked slab of Old Red Sandstone, 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) tall 0.7 metres (2 ft 4 in) wide and 0.25 metres (9.8 in) wide. [2] The slab is carved on both faces in relief and, as it bears Pictish symbols, it falls into John Romilly Allen and Joseph Anderson's classification system as a class II stone. [3] [4]
The cross face bears a ringed Celtic cross decorated with interlaced knotwork and spiral designs. It is surrounded in the lower two quadrants by interlaced fantastic beasts. The border appears to have once borne knotwork designs, but is weathered and difficult to interpret.
The rear face is bears crescent and v-rod and double disc and z-rod Pictish symbols. Below this is what appears to be a hunting scene, with four horsemen accompanied by two hounds, below this is a boat loaded with passengers and a depiction of a fantastic beast facing or attacking a bull. A quadrangular section between the Pictish symbols and figural carving is missing, and appears to have been cut out or a previously inlaid section has been removed. [5] The carving is bordered by interlaced knotwork.
At some point, the stone has been broken and has been repaired using iron staples, formerly on the faces of the stone, now on the edges, to reinforce it.
Celtic knots are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the Celtic style of Insular art. These knots are most known for their adaptation for use in the ornamentation of Christian monuments and manuscripts, such as the 8th-century St. Teilo Gospels, the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Most are endless knots, and many are varieties of basket weave knots.
A high cross or standing cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. These probably developed from earlier traditions using wood, perhaps with metalwork attachments, and earlier pagan Celtic memorial stones; the Pictish stones of Scotland may also have influenced the form. The earliest surviving examples seem to come from the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, which had been converted to Christianity by Irish missionaries; it remains unclear whether the form first developed in Ireland or Britain.
A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are the most visible remaining evidence of the Picts and are thought to date from the 6th to 9th century, a period during which the Picts became Christianized. The earlier stones have no parallels from the rest of the British Isles, but the later forms are variations within a wider Insular tradition of monumental stones such as high crosses. About 350 objects classified as Pictish stones have survived, the earlier examples of which holding by far the greatest number of surviving examples of the mysterious symbols, which have long intrigued scholars.
Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and stylistic similarities with speakers of Celtic languages.
The Nigg Stone is an incomplete Class II Pictish cross-slab, perhaps dating to the end of the 8th century.
Govan Old Parish Church is the name of the original parish church serving Govan in Glasgow from the 6th century until 2007. In that year, the Church of Scotland united the two Govan congregations with Linthouse and established the parish church at Govan Cross, making Govan Old redundant. Govan Old Church is no longer used for regular Sunday services, but the building remains a place of worship with a daily morning service and is open to visitors in the afternoons. The church dedicated to Saint Constantine of Strathclyde occupies a Scottish Gothic Revival building of national significance within a churchyard designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The church houses an internationally significant collection of early medieval sculpture known as Govan Stones. All the carved stones come from the churchyard and include interlace-decorated crosses, hogbacks, and burial monuments dating to the 9th - 11th centuries AD. Govan Old and the Govan Stones are open daily between April 1 and October 31 from 1pm-4pm. Admission to the museum is by donation.
The Eassie Stone is a Class II Pictish stone of about the mid 8th century AD in the village of Eassie, Angus, Scotland. The stone was found in Eassie burn in the late 18th century and now resides in a purpose-built perspex building in the ruined Eassie church.
The Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum is a permanent exhibition of 27 carved Pictish stones in the centre of the village of Meigle in eastern Scotland. It lies on the A94 road running from Coupar Angus to Forfar. The museum occupies the former parish school, built 1844. The collection of stones implies that an important church was located nearby, or perhaps a monastery. There is an early historical record of the work of Thana, son of Dudabrach, who was at Meigle in the middle of the 9th century during the reign of King Pherath. Thana was likely to have been a monk serving as a scribe in a local monastery that could have been founded in the 8th century. The stones contained in the museum were all found near Meigle, mostly in the neighbouring churchyard or used in the construction of the old church. The present church building dates to about 1870, the previous building having been destroyed in a fire on 28 March 1869. The stones were rescued by William Galloway immediately after the fire. The stones are Christian monuments to the dead of the Pictish warrior aristocracy, who are depicted on the stones bearing their weapons or hunting.
The Maiden Stone, also known as the Drumdurno Stone after the nearby farm, is a Pictish standing stone near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire in Scotland, probably dating to the 9th century AD.
The Glamis Manse Stone, also known as Glamis 2, is a Class II Pictish stone at the village of Glamis, Angus, Scotland. Dating from the 9th century, it is located outside the Manse, close to the parish church. It is inscribed on one side with a Celtic cross and on the other with a variety of Pictish symbols. It is a scheduled monument.
The Camus Cross, otherwise known as the Camuston or Camustane Cross, is an Early Medieval Scottish standing stone on the Panmure Estate near Carnoustie in Angus, Scotland. First recorded in the 15th century in a legal document describing the boundaries between Camuston and the barony of Downie, and described in the 17th century by Robert Maule, it is a freestanding cross, rare in Eastern Scotland.
The Monifieth Sculptured Stones are a series of five class II and III standing Pictish stones from the early Medieval period found in or around St Regulus' church in Monifieth, Angus, Scotland. Uncovered during the demolition of a pre-Reformation church and its kirkyard wall in the 19th and 20th centuries, the stones are now housed in the collection of the Museum of Scotland.
The Aberlemno Sculptured Stones are a series of five Class I and II Early Medieval standing stones found in and around the village of Aberlemno, Angus, Scotland.
The Woodwrae Stone is a Class II Pictish Stone that was found in 1819 when the foundations of the old castle at Woodwrae, Angus, Scotland were cleared. It had been reused as a floor slab in the kitchen of the castle. Following its removal from the castle, it was donated to the collection of Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford House. It is now on display at the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The Hunter's Hill Stone, otherwise known as the Glamis 1 Stone, is a Class II Pictish standing stone at Hunter's Hill to the south east of Glamis village, Angus, Scotland.
The Kirriemuir Sculptured Stones are a series of Class II and III Pictish stones found in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. Their existence points to Kirriemuir being an important ecclesiastical centre in the late first millennium AD.
The Fordoun Stone is a class II Pictish cross slab in Fordoun parish church, Auchenblae, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The Balluderon Stone, otherwise known as Martin's Stone is a class II Pictish cross slab in situ at Balluderon, Angus, Scotland.
Fowlis Wester is a small village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is around 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of Crieff and 19 kilometres (12 mi) west of Perth. The parish of Fowlis Wester includes the Abercairny estate to the south-west.
The Dyce stones are a collection of Pictish and Early Medieval sculptured stones that are housed in a shelter in the ruined St Fergus's Chapel, Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland. There are two larger stones, known as Dyce I and Dyce II, that bear idiomatically Pictish symbols, as well as several smaller sculptured stones.