Snow Stopped Play...

Ah, well.  There will be no sojourn to the Lake District.  It's the bleak midwinter out there, with freezing fog, temperatures well below freezing, the works.  If the police say "Don't travel unless it's absolutely necessary". then I guess they mean it.

Tomorrow is Day of the Dead.  In prehistoric terms, at least.  I wanted to celebrate by toasting the Ancestors in the shadow of the Langdale Pikes.  Instead, I'll do what I promised to do back in the spring and have a post dedicated to Stonehenge.  Which is dedicated as much to the Midwinter sunrise as it is to the Midsummer sunrise...

But for the time being, I'll turn my back on the pagan past and return to Iona one last time.

And today, I'll go back to my usual fare of grave slabs.  I know I wax lyrical about late 18th century and early 19th century grave slabs, but they're boring compared to these little beauties.  The carvings found on medieval grave slabs of the western coastal fringes in Scotland are absolutely exquisite.  Here's one, complete with 'Celtic' interlace decoration and a horseman near the top:-

And for those of you who are more interested in a more personal link with the past, here's some late medieval grave slabs featuring knights.  This particular style of carving gives a stylistic representation of an individual at virtually life-aize:-

Both figures feature the quilted long jacket known as the aketon, and the one on the left is pictured in a style very commonly found on these north-western Scottish grave stones - he's grasping the end of his belt and pulling it tight.  In many cases, the hand looks weird, as if it's been carved the wrong way round.

For fans of historical costume and re-enactors, carvings like these are a real treat, as the details are just so incredible.  It's even better when the grave slabs in question are so well-preserved, like these particular examples.

And tomorrow, it's back to prehistory!

Snow Stopped Play...

Ah, well.  There will be no sojourn to the Lake District.  It's the bleak midwinter out there, with freezing fog, temperatures well below freezing, the works.  If the police say "Don't travel unless it's absolutely necessary". then I guess they mean it.

Tomorrow is Day of the Dead.  In prehistoric terms, at least.  I wanted to celebrate by toasting the Ancestors in the shadow of the Langdale Pikes.  Instead, I'll do what I promised to do back in the spring and have a post dedicated to Stonehenge.  Which is dedicated as much to the Midwinter sunrise as it is to the Midsummer sunrise...

But for the time being, I'll turn my back on the pagan past and return to Iona one last time.

And today, I'll go back to my usual fare of grave slabs.  I know I wax lyrical about late 18th century and early 19th century grave slabs, but they're boring compared to these little beauties.  The carvings found on medieval grave slabs of the western coastal fringes in Scotland are absolutely exquisite.  Here's one, complete with 'Celtic' interlace decoration and a horseman near the top:-

And for those of you who are more interested in a more personal link with the past, here's some late medieval grave slabs featuring knights.  This particular style of carving gives a stylistic representation of an individual at virtually life-aize:-

Both figures feature the quilted long jacket known as the aketon, and the one on the left is pictured in a style very commonly found on these north-western Scottish grave stones - he's grasping the end of his belt and pulling it tight.  In many cases, the hand looks weird, as if it's been carved the wrong way round.

For fans of historical costume and re-enactors, carvings like these are a real treat, as the details are just so incredible.  It's even better when the grave slabs in question are so well-preserved, like these particular examples.

And tomorrow, it's back to prehistory!