Double tomb of the 14th century in the village church of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire
It must be said that this is a very strange fourteenth-century tomb, in the village church of Ampleforth in North Yorkshire. And if it struck you that this double monument depicts a married couple, then why is the woman wearing a wimple?
Were these people buried in one grave, or simply in very close proximity, as so often happened with church burials?
The theory that this is a sort of Pietà does not hold, although Pietàs are known with both the Virgin and Christ in an upright position. This is plainly not such a case, for the man is bearded and carries a sword.
Why does the female figure wear such an expectant expression? Could it be his mother? Who else would nestle up so solicitously? In any case, it is rather dismal to feel someone's gaze on one's back for seven centuries, even if the two of you are pieces of one and the same stone.
A very, very strange tomb. Not so strange, of course, as the portrayal of the local lord together with his mistress in the guise of Saint Christopher, but still...
