Ledger Line (tombstone) on:
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A ledger line refers to the parallel lines incised or sculpted around the edge of the top surface of a mediaeval
/ref> Stock phrases or standard elements present in epitaphs within ledger lines on mediaeval church monuments in England include: *''Hic jacet..'' (here lies...) *''... cuius animae propitietur deus amen'' (generally abbreviated to ''cuius aie ppitiet ds ame'' with
A ledger line refers to the parallel lines incised or sculpted around the edge of the top surface of a mediaeval ledger stone
A ledger stone or ledgerstone is an inscribed stone slab usually laid into the floor of a church to commemorate or mark the place of the burial of an important deceased person. The term "ledger" derives from the Middle English words ''lygger'', '' ...
( tombstone), laid flat on the floor of a church or on top of a chest tomb
Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, and comm ...
(or "altar-tomb"), within which lines is inscribed an epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
or simple biographical memorial text, generally in gothic script and in Latin. The phrase "inscribed on a ledger line" is commonly found in the writings of English antiquaries
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
.See e.g. Rogers, William Henry Hamilton, ''The Antient Sepulchral Effigies and Monumental and Memorial Sculpture of Devon'', Exeter, 1877, p./ref> Stock phrases or standard elements present in epitaphs within ledger lines on mediaeval church monuments in England include: *''Hic jacet..'' (here lies...) *''... cuius animae propitietur deus amen'' (generally abbreviated to ''cuius aie ppitiet ds ame'' with
tilde
The tilde () or , is a grapheme with several uses. The name of the character came into English from Spanish, which in turn came from the Latin '' titulus'', meaning "title" or "superscription". Its primary use is as a diacritic (accent) in ...
s over the omitted letters) ("whose soul may God look upon with favour Amen")
*''Memoriae sacrum ...'' / ''MS'' ("Sacred to the memory (of) ...")
External links
{{commons category, Ledger lines (tombstones)References