Tomb - effigial

The National Monuments Service's description

At St Mary's parish church (KK019-026115-) in Kilkenny. A mid-late 14th-century double effigy of William and Margaret Goer, made from fossiliferous limestone. Its earliest mention in Carrigan (1905, vol.3, 98) has it in churchyard, on the S side of the church, but this is probably not its original location. Hunt describes the slab thus, ‘William Goer and his wife Margaret lie with their heads resting on cushions. The effigies show degeneracy of treatment and the breaking through again of that flat engraved or script like technique always lurking in the Irish background compare Ardfert, Co. Kerry and Kilfenora Co. Clare. The attention is concentrated on the upper part of the monument. The sculptors use of violent angular folds in the woman's dress and the protective spread over the feet of the man are interesting. Both wear mantles over long ungirdled gowns with lappets and liripipes at the elbows. The man wears a short shoulder-cape over his gown. The barbe about the woman's throat may be compared with that on the effigy at Rippingdale Lincs. She holds some unidentifiable object in her left hand against her barbe. The late survival of the Lombardic lettering should not be allowed to confuse the dating which must be later than the middle of the 14th century’ (Hunt 1974, vol.1, 161-2). The inscription in Latin with Lombardic lettering reads:
HIC : JACET : WILLS: GO
ER : ET : MAR
GARETA : UXOR : EIUS.
[the inscription has now largely disappeared due to weathering].
Moved to the W wall of the new N aisle of the Medieval Mile Museum in 2015.

Compiled by: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil

Date of upload: 21 November 2022

References

Carrigan, Rev. W. 1905 (Reprint 1981) The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, 4 vols. Kilkenny. Roberts Books and Wellbrook Press.

Hunt, J. 1974 Irish medieval figure sculpture 1200-1600, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish University Press.