Ledger line (tombstone)

A ledger line refers to the parallel lines incised or sculpted around the edge of the top surface of a mediaeval ledger stone (tombstone), laid flat on the floor of a church or on top of a chest tomb (or "altar-tomb"), within which lines is inscribed an epitaph or simple biographical memorial text, generally in gothic script and in Latin.

The phrase "inscribed on a ledger line" is commonly found in the writings of English antiquaries.

[1] Stock phrases or standard elements present in epitaphs within ledger lines on mediaeval church monuments in England include:

Tombstone of Bishop Hallum (d.1416), Constance Cathedral, showing gothic memorial text on a ledger line