Graveslab, Strade, Co. Mayo
Co. Mayo |
Tombs & Memorials
Among the five medieval graveslabs now propped against the southern wall of the chancel at Strade Dominican friary in County Mayo, one stands out for reasons that have nothing to do with grandeur.
It is the smallest of the group, just under 1.2 metres long and less than 40 centimetres at its widest point, and the current thinking is that it may once have covered the coffin-tomb of a child. That possibility gives the object a quieter weight than its worn, tapering surface might otherwise suggest.
The slab is thought to date from the thirteenth century, a period when the Dominican order was establishing itself across Ireland following the foundation of houses such as Strade. A coffin-tomb, as the name suggests, was a stone chest containing the body of the deceased, closed with a fitted lid; this slab would have served as that lid. Despite the weathering of its surface, the carving remains legible in places. A long cross, worked in low relief, runs almost the full length of the stone. Near the base of the shaft, a short crossbar carries a small spiral at each of its terminals, a decorative motif that connects it to a broader medieval Irish tradition of ornamental stonework. More intriguing is an additional arm that branches upward at an angle from the right-hand side of the shaft, an unusual feature that reappears on two of the other slabs in the same group, suggesting either a shared workshop tradition or a deliberate iconographic choice whose meaning is now lost. The design of the upper portion of the cross has been worn beyond clear interpretation.
The friary itself provides the context for finding this slab. The five stones are displayed together along the chancel's south wall, which means this small, quietly puzzling piece sits in direct company with the others that share its angular motif, making the resemblances and differences between them visible at a glance.