GA-STNL-0398

Record Date: 
3 January 2025
Graveyard: 
St Nicholas' Collegiate Church and Graveyard
Exact wording of epitaph: 

HIER LEITH THE BODI OF IH-ON I R@T FIZTHEIG Z ELYN LINCHE HIS WIFE ?E/A[D] 1566 - - N?[UI?C]--- m

Grave location
County: 
Galway
Latitude: 
53.27272663
Longitude: 
-9.0537133799738
Additional details
References: 
Carrigan (1976), 12 passim. FitzGerald (1895-97), 466 gives the inscription as follows "HIER LEITH THE BODI OF IHON P?ORT FIZTHEIG NI ELYNLINCH HIS WIFE 1566". The "NI" for "Z" is obviously incorrect. In a copy of the above publication which once belohged to Lord Walter FitzGerald now in the possession of Dr. John Bradley some corrections are made by FitzGerald to his own reading and a small rubbing of the Hci is inserted into the Journal. In his (1895-97) publication he gives the "D" of "BODI" in Lombardic script. Fleetwood Berry (1912 A), 12 gives an incomplete reading of the inscription. He considered the tomb to be that of a Knight of Malta. Fleetwood Berry (1912 B), 65 gives a fuller reading of the inscription as follows "Here lieth the body of Ihon RotFiztheig and Elyn Linch his wife ... 1566 ...". He also mentions "some other device” on the stone. This is one of two hearts. See also above for this reference. Fleetwood Berry, (Ed. Higgins) (1989), 65. A correction of some of the minor errors in the last mentioned description and reading are given. (Cat. No. 398). Ireland's Maritime history has not received the attention it deserves, though Irish merchants, tradesmen and sailors have had a profound influence worldwide. This is an unusually early example of a slab with a vocational mark - the anchor probably indicates that one of the deceased was a mariner or trader. The Maltese crosses are also unusual. Was a Knight of Malta buried here or are the crossforms just decorative? The inscription is worn and difficult to decipher in places. The function of the small "P” with a cross bar on the upper left side of the stone is obscure. Is it a mason's mark or the merchant's mark of the deceased depicted without a shield? Drawing by Ines Neumann. S
People commemorated: 
Surname: 
FIZTHEIG and LINCHE
Notes: 

This is a complete and very elaborate R.S.. The Ins. is worn and broken in places and is very difficult to decipher in some areas. The lettering is in low false relief and the letter forms have some interesting Renaissance-style elaborations. The start of the Ins. is very worn. The HIER LEITH is difficult to be certain of and the LEITH may read LEIS. The words R@T FIZTHEIG Z ELYN LINCHE HIS WIFE are certain, as is the date 1566. The other segments of the Ins. are very difficult to be sure of. Fleetwood Berry (1912 B), 65 says of the first name that "In the centre of the O is the letter R and the name is evidently "R®RT" (perhaps an abbreviation of Robert)." The small letter could in fact be a B or an R but is now very worn. A small symbol which occurs near the lower right comer of the slab could be either a mason's mark or perhaps a merchant's mark associated with the owner. It appears to be conjoined P and I, with the I set across the base of the stem of the letter P. Such combinations forming monograms occur on doorways and other architectural fragments from elsewhere in Galway, (usually as merchants' marks). One occurs on an unprovenanced door dated 1600 now at University College Galway, and another dated example of 1577 occurs on the Athy Doorway (now on top of the Spanish Arch). The centre of the slab is decorated with three encircled Maltese Crosses. Between the uppermost and second of these is an inverted anchor. The middle cross bears two small hearts in the spaces between the cross-arms. The slab is highly worn and polished and the lower segment is damaged with some deep holes. A circular plug of concrete occurs in a hole in the stone after the date, and to the right of this another letter, a curved N or perhaps an S is set on its side. The Z of the second line is used as an