What was the nickname of Scottish stonemason Robert Paterson?

Nicknamed 'Old Mortality', Robert Paterson (1715-1801) was a stonemason who travelled around Scotland carving inscriptions on the unmarked graves of 17th-century martyred Covenanters. The Covenanters were members of a religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Paterson's work is immortalised in Walter Scott's (1771-1832) novel 'Old Mortality' (1816), which forms the second book in the 'Tales of My Landlord' series that reflects aspects of Scottish regional life.

Paterson was a Cameronian, a radical Scottish Covenanter, who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron (1648-1680). Cameron's followers resisted attempts by Stuart monarchs to control the Church of Scotland. Paterson's house was plundered in 1745, and himself arrested by the Jacobites (supporters of the Stuart Monarchy).

Following his arrest, Paterson devoted his life to cutting and erecting stones for the Covenanters who had been killed and buried unceremoniously. He completed this work over a period of 40 years before dying in poverty at Caerlaverock, Dumfriesshire, in 1801. A memorial stone was erected in 1869 in Caerlaverock churchyard to celebrate his selfless work.

Walter Scott once met 'Old Mortality, which inspired his novel of the same name. The nickname was given to Paterson because he dealt with the affairs of the dead. 'Mortality' refers to the state of being mortal or destined to die.