Eassie
| Eassie | |
| Angus | |
|---|---|
 Eassie Primary School | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NO353474 |
| Location: | 56°34’60"N, 3°4’60"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Forfar |
| Postcode: | DD8 |
| Dialling code: | 01307 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Angus |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Angus |
Eassie is a small village located along the A94 road in Angus.
The parish church in Eassie is dedicated to St Fergus, a monk whose ministry was at nearby Glamis.[1]
The parish kirk was probably built in the 16th century on the site of an earlier building that was dedicated in 1246. The windows and doors were altered in the 18th century.[2] The Eassie Stone stood in the churchyard from its discovery until the 1960s when a purpose built building with viewing windows was built for it within the structure of the now ruined church.[3]
Eassie is famous for the presence of the Eassie Stone, a carved Pictish stone.[4]
Other notable prehistorical or historical features in this region include Dunnottar Castle, Fasque House, Glamis Castle, Monboddo House, Muchalls Castle, Raedykes, the Stone of Morphie and Stracathro.
The Eassie Stone
The Eassie Stone is a Class II Pictish stone of the 8th-9th centuries AD found and residing in Eassie. It is an ornately carved cross slab. The stone was found by Rev Cordiner around 1786,[5] in the bed of the Eassie Burn, which runs by the church. From there it was moved to the churchyard,[6] where it stood for over a century.
Since the 1960s, the stone has resided in a purpose-built perspex building within the roofless shell of the old Eassie parish church (NO35264745) on the north side of the A94.
Description
The stone is a cross-slab 6 feet 8 inches high and 3 feet 4 inches wide, tapering to 2 feet 9 inches at the top, and is 9 incyhes thick.[3] 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.[7][8]
The cross face bears a cross with circular rings in its angles, surrounding a circular central boss decorated with a keywork design.[9] The arms and shaft are decorated with a variety of complex interlaced knotwork designs. The upper quadrants held a pair of angels, but have suffered some damage, the right-hand figure being almost completely lost. A similar four-winged angel can be found on the nearby Glamis 2 stone.[10] The lower left-hand quadrant holds a cloaked warrior armed with a small square buckler and spear, and the lower right-hand quadrant holds a stag and hunting hounds.[5]
The rear face of the slab bears a mixture of figural representations and Pictish symbols. At the top of the face is a beast over a double disc and Z-rod; both Pictish symbols found elsewhere. Below this is a trio of cloaked figures, and to the right is a figure standing in front of a potted tree, which historian Lloyd Laing has interpreted as having human heads suspended from its branches.[11] Below this lie heavily weathered horseshoe and Pictish beast symbols. The bottom of the face holds representations of cattle that have suffered some weathering.[12]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Eassie Stone) |
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Eassie) |
References
- ↑ Elizabeth Rees, Celtic Sites and their Saints (2003) Continuum Publishing ISBN 0-86012-318-9
- ↑ Macdonald, A.D.S.; Laing, Lloyd R. (1969–70), "Early Ecclesiastical Sites in Scotland: a Field Survey, Part II", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 102: 129–145, http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_102/102_129_145.pdf, retrieved December 1, 2010
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Site details for Eassie Old Church", Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Canmore Database, http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/32092/details/eassie/, retrieved 30 November 2010
- ↑ C.Michael Hogan, Eassie Stone, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham, Oct. 7, 2007
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fraser, Iain (2008), The Pictish Symbol Stones of Scotland, Edinburgh: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland, pp. 52–53
- ↑ Warden, A.J. (1880). Angus of Forfarshire, the land and people, descriptive and historical.. 1. Dundee: Charles Alexander & Co.. p. 25. http://ia310828.us.archive.org/2/items/angusorforfarshi01ward/angusorforfarshi01ward.pdf. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ↑ Allen, J. Romilly; Anderson, J. (1903), Early Christian Monuments of Scotland, 1, Balgavies, Angus: Pinkfoot Press (1993 facsimile), pp. 218–219
- ↑ Allen, J. Romilly (1890), "Preliminary list of sculptured stones older than A.D. 1100, with symbols and Celtic ornament, in Scotland", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 24: 510–525, http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_024/24_510_525.pdf, retrieved November 29, 2010
- ↑ Allen, J. Romilly (1885), "Notes on celtic ornament - the key and spiral patterns", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 19: 253–308, http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_019/19_253_308.pdf, retrieved December 2, 2010
- ↑ These four winged angels are a peculiarity of Pictish stones and are not found elsewhere in Insular Celtic sculpture.
Allen, J. Romilly (1897), "On some points of resemblance between the art of the early sculptured stones of Scotland and of Ireland", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 31: 309–332, http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_031/31_309_332.pdf, retrieved December 2, 2010 - ↑ Laing, Lloyd; Laing, Jenny (1993), The Picts and the Scots, Dover, NH: Alan Sutton, p. 133
- ↑ Ritchie, Anna (1997), Meigle Museum Pictish Carved Stones: The Official Souvenir Guide, Historic Scotland, ISBN 1-900168-27-8, OCLC 51913539