Sweethearts

Passing along Broad Street this evening I noticed what looks like love hearts shining above Balliol College. I am on my own this weekend, so perhaps a little more prone to sentimentalism than usual...

But hearts they are: a special commission called '1263' by artists Roger Perkins and Kay Sentance, to celebrate the college founding 750 years ago.

The story goes that when John de Balliol died, his beloved Dervorguilla had his heart removed, embalmed and placed in a casket of ivory bound with silver. She carried it for the rest of her life, and even had it buried with her just outside Dumfries, in what was subsequently known as ‘Sweetheart Abbey’.

Isn't that just beautifully romantic? (Or is it actually a little weird?)