Random Worldbuilding – The Use Beyond Use

This is the tomb of Strongbow, aka Earl Richard de Clare, in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. Richard was an English nobleman who, through a complicated series of treaties, wars, and arranged marriages, was instrumental in making the Kingdom of Leinster subject to the English King Henry II. This fascinating history – and the many terrible and tragic events it begat – is not our primary focus here, but rather the tomb itself. If you take a closer look at the effigy atop the tomb, you can see a rather noticeable dent atop its head: This is not, as I first surmised, a cold-hearted allusion to Strongbow being killed by a strong blow to the head. It is not, in fact, an original feature of the effigy at all. Instead, for several hundred years, it became customary in Dublin for business contracts, debt payments, and other business to be formally witnessed at Strongbow’s tomb. At the conclusion of each deal, a coin would be scraped across the head of the effigy for good luck. The original…