I'm an avid reader of gravestones. If I see an ancient one that is still legible, I'll read it. It seems only decent to do so; it is for that reason that the words were put there in the first place.
However, it's not only the inscription that is of interest, it's also the adjoining Coats of Arms, Crests, etc.
Yesterday I found this rather nice Coat of Arms on an impressive tomb. It involves Three Dogs (I think), Three Lions rampant, and a naked person underneath.
The inscription was illegible, so I can't trace the Arms, but I may do some further research. It's the naked man that is baffling. Why anyone would want such a figure beneath their Arms is a total mystery.
Suggestions on a postcard please to.....
48 comments:
Err, I might.
I was thinking of everyone else other than you Andrew!
It's a very complicated subject. I do know that they have to be unique. I suppose dogs and lions were already taken and a dead man recumbent is slightly more tasteful than a sheep or goat.
Jewish?
There's an example on all four sides of the Tomb, and the naked man appears on all four, so it's obviously an important part of the Arms. Why will have to remain a mystery.
Why Jewish? More likely a Protestant member of The Hell Fire Club.
The naked man has me baffled too. I remember wandering through cemeteries and feeling sad at all the children who died so young so long ago.
Rather macabre although apt for a grave I suppose? Is it actually part of the coat of arms or separate ? We have a graveyard just up the road from our house …. I must look to see if any of the gravestones have a small naked figure like that . XXXX
Lions and folklore.
How intriguing. I hope you manage to discover more and let us know if you do.
Did he die in poverty, weighed down and bankrupted by the cost of feeding his dogs and lions?
It's how we come into the world naked, and so why should we not leave the same way.
We are all familiar with the term "lion rampant" as on the right of this coat of arms but perhaps the three figures to the left are also lions and not dogs as you suggest. The three on the left could be "lions sejant" - standing on all fours. They might also be primitively carved griffins. I had no luck researching the presence of a naked human beneath the crest - perhaps it was the occupant of the grave.
squashing your enemy in battle. On the left are they dogs or griffins?
How do you know it's a man, and nude?
My imagination let's me see all sorts of things in your photo, not least a mouse (to the left). The legs and feet (on the right) maybe propping up all those lions and hounds. Edgar Allan Poe material. However, my first (visual) impression, before I read your text, I thought it the symbol for eternity (an 8 lying on its side) - eroded by time.
U
Thanks for the laugh, Tasker.
U
They often tell interesting stories. Also in the graveyard are an African Prince, and a lady who dressed as a man so that she could join the army, to be with her soldier husband.
I can't imagine it's actually a part of the Arms; more a whim of the deceased!
I certainly will; watch this space!
Following your logic, I could see HM The Queen being in trouble for keeping a pet Lion and Unicorn.
That's a nice way of looking at it.
Tut, tut Ursula. The figure eight on it's side is called a lemniscate and means infinity. I know a few things.
I suggested 'dogs' simply because I couldn't think what else they'd be. Looking at them more closely, it looks as if they have flames beneath them. Or am I imagining it?
I really don't know. They could be either.
I suspect that certain bits have been 'eroded by time', which is why we can no longer tell if it's male or female.
I knew it, Adrian, I knew it. Someone would pick me up on it. In fact, I was hoping someone would. Who wants to move in the wrong circles?
Like you, I too know a thing or two. However, for some reason, I prefer "eternity" to "infinity", always have, even it results in my maths teacher stoning me from his well deserved grave.
Buzz Lightyear greetings, to infinity and beyond,
U
I am recovering from retina surgery, but I first thought that the three dogs looked like Scottish terriers,but I doubt if there even were Scottish terriers when this tombstone was made.
I think that the person beneath the coat of arms is separate from the coat of arms because he/she is not enclosed within the shield.
I wish there was a way to find the story that this tombstone tells. My theory is that the person beneath the coat of arms wished for the comfort and protection of family past and present as he/she had transitioned from life to death.
I'm wondering if that man is crossing his arms front or back? It may mean that he thinks the weight of all that family responsibility referenced in the coat of arms is a giant pain in the 'you know what' bearing down upon him!
Cheers!
He could have his arms tied behind his back; prior to being hanged! Who knows!
Graveyards are always interesting. And peaceful.
I do love a good debate on lexical semantics - well done you two
It might be worth looking at whose tomb it was.
One tip for reading inscriptions that are weathered , is photograph them when the sun is at an angle across the stone, if possible.
Very strange I agree. My son and I chose a really beautiful rock in a field and the farmer gave us permission to take it. That was the gravestone of my first husband and my son's father.
It's a corpse.
Most unusual. Are there any dates or inscriptions on the gravestone? I've never seen a gravestone showing only figures.
I believe the figure on the left of the coat of arms is a lion's head erased.
And hmmm...the recumbent figure appears to be holding a sword in his right hand. The blade of the sword could be the line that runs through the center of the coat of arms. Interesting.
All the interesting graves (tombs) have been left, and the more standard gravestones have been replanted around the perimeter. It all looks very nice.
There is a Latin inscription above the Arms, but it's so worn that only one or two letters are still legible. Shame; that would have been the best clue.
I have asked for exactly the same thing, with just a small brass plaque to say who I was!
The man above (who's Arms they represent) is now dead. It makes sense, but I still find it a bit strange.
No names or dates at all, I had another look yesterday for more clues; nothing.
I'm not too sure of the sword idea, I think it's just coincidence. The three dog-like creatures could well be more lions, but more real, rather than heraldic.
Yes, the figure is separate, in fact it's even carved separately on a smaller piece of stone and inserted before the arms. There's also a small crest above which is also separately carved and positioned.
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The naked figure,it's the husband of the deceased. She bumped him off before she died. She was fed up with him spending so much time on those dogs and lions.
I also think the figure is not naked but instead is wearing armor...and holding a sword. The sword's cross-guard can be seen just below the coat of arms shield. Perhaps closer inspection of the gravestone the next time you see it would support my theory. -A.K.
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