This Road On Sufferance

[poliphilo]

On a very steep, rough road beside a church I came accross a sign- very finely carved in stone- that read THIS ROAD ON SUFFERANCE

I guess this means, "We can't stop you using this road but if you break your axle don't expect us to do anything other than laugh and point."

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It raises so many questions.

Why did they chose to have it carved so handsomely?

Why is it just lying on the grass like this?

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Yes indeed - I'd love to know what its original context was. I wonder if anyone connected with the church knows?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think it's probably in more or less the right place- at the bottom of the road in question- but it must originally have been mounted on something.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Presumably, yes. Are there any graves nearby at all? That kind of context could argue for a more metaphorical reading - "[God let me walk] this road [through life] in sufferance[, but now my time is up]", sort of thing.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Oops - 'on sufferance', of course.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't think there are any graves. There are no gravestones and the hillside is just too steep.

I've just Googled the phrase to see if it occurs in any well-known context; it doesn't.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Aye, I did that earlier! Sounds like it really is literally about the road, then.