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Scottish Art - Paintings of Scotland:
The Maiden Stone

by D. Bruce Bennett

Lonely Maiden Stone

Set at the edge of tiny Chapel of Garioch village, at a field's edge, with woods just beyond, The Maiden Stone is - and probably always will be - an enigma. An accomplished Pictish carver labored over the east face of the upright slab in the late 8th or early 9th century. That date and the subject matter of the west-facing side - a large, ring-headed cross - tell us it was carved just before the Picts became fully Christian.

(Click for larger view of The Maiden Stone.)

This ten-foot slab's east face, as you see, shows a centaur-like beast, notched-rectangle and Z-rod (chariot), another beast, and a mirror and double-sided comb. Though there are many theories about lonely standing stones, like The Maiden Stone, many feel they're most likely to have been personal memorials to a chieftains or powerful persons and perhaps used by surviving descendants as a method of "claiming" the surrounding land.

Legends conflict as to the origin of this pink-red granite stone's unusual name. One has it that a young woman agreed to a stranger's bet that he could build a road to the top of a nearby, 1733-feet ridge before she could bake a large batch of bannocks. If he won, she would be his bride. (What if she won? What was her reward? Ah, well. Not a very bright girl, it would appear.)

Being the devil in disguise, he did as he said, made good his bet, and won. She fled, praying to be turned to stone rather than to become the devil's bride. She got her wish, turning into The Maiden Stone just as the devil caught her. Another myth claims a young woman was killed here in a scuffle after her elopement, which sounds a whole lot more plausible, but what do we know -– 1200 years later?

Well, we do know this: if you're into standing stones and are short on wall space, this wee piece of original artwork might be just perfect. While Bruce painted the Pictish carvings on the east face quite clearly, he painted the evergreens of the nearby woods and the pasture’s grasses with a loose hand. He wanted to give The Maiden Stone its due, regardless of how or why it got here.

You can give this Scottish Art its due by displaying it in a room awash with green, after you've chosen a mat and frame for your décor. (You may even be able to use a standard pre-cut mat and standard-sized frame.)

Lonely Maiden Stone Picture of Scotland
Medium: acrylic on 300#, cold-pressed watercolor paper (For larger art work of The Maiden Stone, see Misty Maiden Stone.)
Image Dimensions: 7.5" w. x 9.5" h.
Mat: none
Glass: none
Frame: none

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