This 20-page booklet, published in 1999, is a good introductory guide to the early medieval sculpture at Govan Old Parish Church. Written by eminent archaeologist Anna Ritchie, it has drawings and photographs of the principal stones with concise descriptions of their carvings. The illustrations are of the highest standard and include definitive images produced for Historic Scotland by photographer Tom Gray and artist Ian G Scott.
The front cover shows Dumbarton Castle Rock with its distinctive twin-peaked summit. Like Govan, Dumbarton was a major centre of power in the kingdom of the Clyde Britons, functioning as a royal ‘capital’ for hundreds of years before being sacked by Vikings in 870. Govan rose to prominence in the ensuing period, attaining special status as a place of worship and burial for the elite families of the kingdom.
I recommend this booklet as an excellent introduction to the Govan stones and their historical context. It’s available direct from the Pinkfoot Press in Brechin (email below).
Bibliographical details:
Title: Govan and its carved stones
Author: Anna Ritchie
Date of publication: 1999
ISBN: 1874012229
Publisher: Pinkfoot Press inbox@pinkfootpress.co.uk
The Russian word for ‘harbour’ is ‘gavan’, (and their generic word for a railway station is ‘Vaksal’ (Vauxhall) – are the two words Govan and ‘gavan’ connected?
The similarity is interesting – and the matter of the origin of the name ‘Govan’ is by no means settled. One school of thought sees a Gaelic derivation from goban, ‘smith’, with a meaning like ‘Place of the Smith’. Another proposes an original Brittonic name Go-ban (later Gwovan) meaning ‘little hill’ and referring to the now-vanished Doomster Hill which was known in the 18th century as ‘The Hillock’. The earliest mention of the place seems to be in an Anglo-Saxon text of c.1000 where Ouania is a Latinised form of Ouvan, possibly a Pictish variant of Gwovan.
The detailed arguments can be found in this article by Thomas Owen Clancy.
Am I right in thinking Anna Ritichie’s is the *only* study of Govan’s sculpture?
It’s probably the most accessible overview of the collection as a whole but the definitive work is the collection of papers (also edited by Anna Ritchie) published in 1994 as Govan and its early medieval sculpture. Scholarly studies of specific groups of stones, such as hogbacks and crosses, can be found in the Govan Lectures, published as individual titles. These are excellent value (like the Ritchie booklet) at only a few pounds each.
I’ll be posting brief reviews of the Lecture series here, over the ensuing months. A few of them are listed on this page at the Friends of Govan Old website. The two on the hogbacks look at the wider context of Anglo-Scandinavian sculpture – I’m thinking here of your own work on A-S grave monuments.
Ah – it was the 1994 collection I was thinking of. I have been out of the loop lately, doing other things like motherhood, and am playing frantic catch-up! Looking very much forward to your reviews, and other posts.
Thanks for your interest, Victoria. I had a feeling you already knew about the edited volume.