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Jenny Geddes tile

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Alisha Marie Klapheke
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Jenny Geddes tile

Post by Alisha Marie Klapheke » Mon May 20th, 2013, 3:48 pm

Hello all! I'm having trouble finding info on when the little tile commemorating Jenny Geddes was put in St Giles cathedral in Edinburgh. Does anyone know?

annis
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Post by annis » Mon May 20th, 2013, 8:39 pm

I've found a newspaper article noting that the Jenny Geddes tablet "has just been placed", but the exact day isn't given - however, it must have been relatively close to that of the report, dated July, 1886.

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bi ... 10.2.57.32

Jenny Geddes' memorial tablet is situated in the Moray or south-west aisle of St Giles, with an inscription written by Lord President Inglis, which reads as follows:

CONSTANT ORAL TRADITION AFFIRMS THAT NEAR THIS SPOT A BRAVE SCOTCH WOMAN, JANET GEDDES, ON THE 23 JULY 1637, STRUCK THE FIRST BLOW IN THE GREAT STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE, WHICH AFTER A CONFLICT OF HALF-A-CENTURY ENDED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.

St Giles does have an email address, so you could go straight to the horse's mouth, so to speak :)
[email protected]
Last edited by annis on Sat May 25th, 2013, 10:30 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Alisha Marie Klapheke
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Post by Alisha Marie Klapheke » Sat May 25th, 2013, 1:19 pm

Ah! Thanks, Annis! During that time period the city revamped most of the cathedral so that year makes sense. Thanks for finding that article! What a cool source.

I think I will go straight to the horse's mouth for some of my research. I always get so much more when I do that. This was just kind of preliminary to see if it fit into what I was planning.

Thanks again! You rock!

annis
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Post by annis » Sat May 25th, 2013, 10:38 pm

You're welcome :) It's a fascinating story, and the St Giles riot has been cited as the flash point for the English Civil Wars of the 17th century. Some modern historians believe that Jenny was a romantic figurehead for the rebellion created by the Victorians, but as the tablet says, the story is a much older one.

Yes, in recent years the National Library of New Zealnd has had an ongoing project of digitising back copies of NZ newspapers dating in some cases right back to the early/mid nineteenth century and they have proved a wonderful resource for historians, genealogists and writers. Even stuff like the ads tell you such a lot about concerns and attitudes of the past!
Last edited by annis on Sun May 26th, 2013, 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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