The Glamis Manse Stone, also known as Glamis 2, is a Class II

Pictish stone 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 ...

at the village of

Glamis Glamis is a small village in Angus, Scotland, located south of Kirriemuir and southwest of Forfar. It is the location of Glamis Castle, the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. History The vicinity of Glamis has prehistoric tr ...

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

. 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 The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

and on the other with a variety of

Pict The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ear ...

ish symbols. It is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Location

The cross slab is situated at the northeast edge of Glamis village in the grounds of the Manse, close to St Fergus church ().

Description

The stone is a cross-slab high, wide and thick. The slab is pedimented and carved on the cross face in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, and the rear face bears

incised Incision may refer to: * Cutting, the separation of an object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force * A type of open wound caused by a clean, sharp-edged object such as a knife, razor, or glass splinter ...

symbols. It falls into

John Romilly Allen John Romilly Allen FSA FSAScot (9 June 1847 – 5 July 1907) was a British archaeologist. Life Allen was the son of George Baugh Allen. He was educated at King's College School, Rugby and King's College London. In 1867 he was articled to Georg ...

and Joseph Anderson's classification system as a class II stone. The cross face bears a Celtic cross carved in relief with

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinatio ...

armpits. It has an incised ring and the shaft and roundel are decorated with

knotwork A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...

interlace designs, with the arms and portion above the roundel holding zoomorphic interlaces. The cross is surrounded by incised symbols and figural representations. In the lower left-hand quadrant is depiction of two bearded, long-haired men apparently fighting with axes. Above them is what appears to be a cauldron with human legs dangling out of it. The lower right-hand quadrant holds what appears to be either a deer or a hound's head, similar to symbols found on the Monifieth 2 stone, above a triple disc symbol. The top right quadrant holds a

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

holding a pair of axes. The top left quadrant holds what has been interpreted as a lion. The rear of the slab holds three incised symbols: a serpent above a fish, with a mirror at the bottom. Historian Lloyd Laing has noted some peculiarities of the layout of the cross face. Firstly, the arms are not perfectly perpendicular to the shaft, being rotated slightly (2.5° anticlockwise). Secondly, the axis of the interlace of the cross roundel is skewed from the axis of the shaft by some 13°.

Relationship with other stones

The Glamis manse stone belongs to the Aberlemno School of Pictish sculpture as extended by Laing from Ross Trench Jellicoe's original proposed list. In addition to the Glamis manse stone, stones in the Aberlemno School include Aberlemno 2 (the Kirkyard Stone), Aberlemno 3, Menmuir 1, Kirriemuir 1, Monifieth 2,

Eassie Eassie is a village located along the A94 road in Angus, Scotland. The church in Eassie is dedicated to Saint Fergus, a monk who worked at nearby Glamis. Eassie is noted for the presence of the Eassie Stone, a carved Pictish stone. Other notable ...

, Rossie Priory, and Glamis 1 (Hunter's Hill).

Notes

References

* {{coord, 56.6096, N, 3.0022, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Pictish stones Pictish stones in Angus, Scotland 9th century in Scotland 9th-century sculptures Monumental crosses in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Angus

Location

Description

Relationship with other stones

See also

Notes

References