Such as thou art, sometime was I.
Such as I am, such shalt thou be.
I thought little on th'our of Death
So long as I enjoyed breath.
But now a wretched captive am I,
Deep in the ground, lo here I lie.
My beauty great, is all quite gone,
My flesh is wasted to the bone.
That's a cracker of an effigy! We had a wonderful one in Lingfield. The church was part Saxon (rebuilt in 1431) and had a painted alabster effigy of Reginald de Cobham atop a very ornate tomb. The one above looks like bronze!
ReplyDeleteIt's Edward, the Black Prince, upstairs in Canterbury Cathedral, Cro. I seem to remember that it's made of a hard, marble-like stone. I think it's just the lighting making it look bronzey. That inscription is (apparently) on it somewhere. It's the same message as first appeared on roadside memorials of ancient Romans, and possibly before.
ReplyDeleteIn which case it's probably alabaster as well. I believe it was a common stone for such things. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteI've just checked - you're right, Cro - it is bronze.
ReplyDelete