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Mercat
Cross
The
Mercat Cross ( Market Cross ), see in in many of the East Neuk
fishing villages where I was raised, was the symbol of a burgh's
right to trade and was located centrally in the town's market
place. Documentary evidence suggests that this monument type existed
by at least the 12th century in Scotland, although it is thought
that these early examples were wooden. Many of the standing examples
date from the 16th and 17th century, but there are also several
more elaborate Victorian examples. Some burghs are recorded as
having more than one market cross according to the produce sold
around their base (eg - the 'Fish Cross' and 'Flesh Cross' in
Aberdeen). Documentary evidence, particularly in town council
records, also refers to all manner of announcements, celebrations
and grizzly punishments carried out at the market cross, prompting
Mercat Crosses to be described as 'the dreaded theatre of public
punishment and shame'! Today they are a symbol of the burgh's
heritage, often seen, little contemplated.
The
essential element of the market cross is not a cross at all, but
a shaft crowned with an appropriate heraldic or religious emblem.
Heraldic beasts (eg the unicorn), armorial bearings and sundials
are popular subjects of sculpture for the capital and finial of
market crosses. Few actual cross-shapes appear as finials, and
where they occur they tend to be stylised. Typically, the earlier,
more simple constructions consist of a polygonal shaft with capital
and finial, rising from a solid, stepped base. Some of the later
examples are more elaborate, according to the available funding
within the burgh for their construction. There are five standing
examples of the round tower-based type. These consist also of
a shaft crowned with capital and finial, surmounting an understructure
which can be in the form of either an open, vaulted understructure,
or a tower with internal stairs providing access to an elevated,
parapeted platform. Later, Victorian examples are often based
upon a square-shaped pedestal, sometimes tiered, and usually with
quite elaborate carving. All of these types tend to be of sandstone.
Geographically,
market crosses are situated in many town centres in mainland Scotland,
with a distribution that tapers to the north and west, according
to the existence historically of burghs. There are around 126
standing examples in Scotland. While market crosses are found
in other parts of Britain, the architecture of the Scottish examples
tends to differ from these in form, style and iconography.
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