Fascinating Gaelic Gravestone Inscription

[Nathan]

Here's the original inscription tidied up in more modern spelling:



Eadhon dean agus na caomhain idir

Cuimhne am Bas

Air a cuir suas le Domhaull MacGrigair saor ann a Maigh Eadh a mar chuimhneachan air Anna NicCaura a bhean a'dh'eug air a'cheud latha do June anns a’bhlidhna 1793 tri bliadhna deug agus da fhichead a’dh'aois agus Catrina NicGregair air a nighean a'dh'eug air an aon latha a deug do Novr anns a’bhliadhna 1783 ceithir bliadhna a’dh'aois.

Any takers?

Yay for modern spelling!

Eadhon dean agus na caomhain idir

Even do and do not ever spare

Cuimhne am Bàs - Remember the death.

If I'm reading this right, it is confusing.

How can the daughter be born in 1783 die in 1793 but only be 4 years old? Shouldn't she be 10? Maybe 1793 is a faded 1798?

[figheadair]

Yay for modern spelling!

Eadhon dean agus na caomhain idir

Even do and do not ever spare - there or there abouts

Cuimhne am Bàs - Remember the death. - in so many words

If I'm reading this right, it is confusing.

How can the daughter be born in 1783 die in 1793 but only be 4 years old? Shouldn't she be 10? Maybe 1793 is a faded 1798?

May be, or perhaps you're not reading it right . The dates are correct. Seall a'rithist.

[Nathan]

May be, or perhaps you're not reading it right . The dates are correct. Seall a'rithist.

Even do and never spare

In memory of the time of death

Placed here at no charge to allow Donald MacGregor, redeemed/freed/saved at Myaugh, to be able to commemorate/remember his wife Anna MacCaura who died on the 1st of June 1793, aged 53 years, and their daughter Catrina MacGregor, who died on the 11th day of November 1783, aged 4 years.

[figheadair]

Even do and never spare

In memory of the time of death

Placed here at no charge to allow Donald MacGregor, redeemed/freed/saved at Myaugh, to be able to commemorate/remember his wife Anna MacCaura who died on the 1st of June 1793, aged 53 years, and their daughter Catrina MacGregor, who died on the 11th day of November 1783, aged 4 years.

Nearly there Nathan. The literal translation of Air a cuir suas is correct but in this context it means Erected. Saor has many meanings and in this case it refers to Donald's occupation, a wright/carpenter. I wouldn't expect anyone would necessarily get Maigh Eadh, I certainly wouldn't have had I not known that it referred to a place i.e. a placename, Monzie which lies a couples of miles north of Crieff.

Here's the English and Latin inscriptin on the reverse:

E’EN DO & SPARE NOT

MEMENTO MORI

ERECTED BY
DONALD MCGREGOR
WRIGHT IN MON
ZIE IN MEMORY OF
ANN MCARA HIS
SPOUSE WHO DIED
1ST OF JUNE 1793 AGED
53 YR ALSO CATHARINE
MCGREGOR HIS DAUT
HTER WHO DIED THE
11TH NOVR 1783 AGED 4 YR

Now others can join in the discussion of this facinating and rare historic monument.

[Calgacus]

I did wonder if 'MAIDHGHEADH' was the same as 'Meagaidh', as in the mountain 'Creag Meagaidh', which means 'crag of the bog land'. I wasn't at all sure how that fitted in with the inscription however if Monzie (Maigh Eadh) means 'bog land' that would explain it!

A few things stand out. Firstly, the clan motto takes pride of place at the head of the inscription. It's the late 18th century and the clan system has been destroyed, but this person clearly identifies strongly with his clan.

Secondly, Monzie is not the world's biggest place, but there was enough of a community to support a (wheel?)wright/carpenter, and he made enough of a living to afford to commission a fairly impressive headstone for his departed loved ones.

Thirdly, his daughter was born when his wife was aged nearly 40. It's a fair guess that this was not their first child, and there were probably a fair few older siblings.

Fourthly, his wife died aged 53. By modern standards this is young, but in pre-industrial Scotland it was probably a fair innings.

Lastly, and most sadly, his daughter did not fare so well, living a mere four years on this earth. This brings home the high infant & child mortality of the time, before modern medicine.

The headstone gives a fascinating glimpse into life in Perthshire at the edge of the Highland Line at the end of the 18th century. It is in some ways idyllic, Monzie is a beautiful fertile place, and it appears that Donald McGregor and his family did OK for themselves. On the other hand, life could be arbitrary and brutal at times, hence the warning 'MEMENTO MORI'- REMEMBER DEATH! Urging us to consider the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all worldly goods and pursuits.

On the other hand you could reflect upon another old Scottish saying- 'Ye're a lang time deid!'

[Norbo]

very interesting . I love to read stuff like this .

[figheadair]

I did wonder if 'MAIDHGHEADH' was the same as 'Meagaidh', as in the mountain 'Creag Meagaidh', which means 'crag of the bog land'. I wasn't at all sure how that fitted in with the inscription however if Monzie (Maigh Eadh) means 'bog land' that would explain it!

Monzie is translated elsewhere as being from Moighidh but in the inscription it is spelt Maidhgheadh, perhaps a local variation or an attempt to spell the Gaelic pronunciation, and is presumably from the root ‘magh’, a field or level plane and ‘Eadh’, the meaning of which I can’t fit with 'magh'. Watson, in his Celtic Place-names of Scotland got Magh-iodh and Magh-eadh from Gaelic speakers. He also collected Magh Bhàrd for Monzievaird. If one follows Watson's alternative spelling of iodh then we have 'corn' or more generally 'food' so perhaps the original meaning was something like the field or plane of corn.

[Calgacus]

Monzie is translated elsewhere as being from Moighidh but in the inscription it is spelt Maidhgheadh, perhaps a local variation or an attempt to spell the Gaelic pronunciation, and is presumably from the root ‘magh’, a field or level plane and ‘Eadh’, the meaning of which I can’t fit with 'magh'. Watson, in his Celtic Place-names of Scotland got Magh-iodh and Magh-eadh from Gaelic speakers. He also collected Magh Bhàrd for Monzievaird. If one follows Watson's alternative spelling of iodh then we have 'corn' or more generally 'food' so perhaps the original meaning was something like the field or plane of corn.

That makes much more sense, as the land around Monzie is better described as 'field of corn' than 'bog land'.

[creagdhubh]

I did wonder if 'MAIDHGHEADH' was the same as 'Meagaidh', as in the mountain 'Creag Meagaidh', which means 'crag of the bog land'. I wasn't at all sure how that fitted in with the inscription however if Monzie (Maigh Eadh) means 'bog land' that would explain it!

A few things stand out. Firstly, the clan motto takes pride of place at the head of the inscription. It's the late 18th century and the clan system has been destroyed, but this person clearly identifies strongly with his clan.

Secondly, Monzie is not the world's biggest place, but there was enough of a community to support a (wheel?)wright/carpenter, and he made enough of a living to afford to commission a fairly impressive headstone for his departed loved ones.

Thirdly, his daughter was born when his wife was aged nearly 40. It's a fair guess that this was not their first child, and there were probably a fair few older siblings.

Fourthly, his wife died aged 53. By modern standards this is young, but in pre-industrial Scotland it was probably a fair innings.

Lastly, and most sadly, his daughter did not fare so well, living a mere four years on this earth. This brings home the high infant & child mortality of the time, before modern medicine.

The headstone gives a fascinating glimpse into life in Perthshire at the edge of the Highland Line at the end of the 18th century. It is in some ways idyllic, Monzie is a beautiful fertile place, and it appears that Donald McGregor and his family did OK for themselves. On the other hand, life could be arbitrary and brutal at times, hence the warning 'MEMENTO MORI'- REMEMBER DEATH! Urging us to consider the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all worldly goods and pursuits.

On the other hand you could reflect upon another old Scottish saying- 'Ye're a lang time deid!'

Well stated, Calgacus.

[Nathan]

Interestingly, the Gaelic name for Myaugh in C. Wexford is also Maigh Eadh, which threw me off the carpenter meaning and made me think the man found religion in Ireland. Just a coincidence that Monzie was rendered this way, I suppose.

The clan system had been destroyed, but only a few decades earlier. I can tell you that clan mottos are on old and new gravestones in Nova Scotia so the pride didn't die nearly as quickly as the system.