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Whereas some people in the 17th and 18th centuries had little education, they were certainly well grounded in the scriptures and the catechism. Village schools had been set up from the times of the Reformation, so there were many people from humble homes who could read and knew the scriptures. The emblems of mortality and immortality were seldom used after the 18th century, but many other forms of symbolism were the stock-in-trade of 19th century monumental masons.
Immortality of the soul.
ACANTHUS
Heavenly garden; one of the oldest cemetery motifs, acanthus is associated with the rocky ground where the most ancient Greek cemeteries were placed.
AGNUS DEI
See Lamb.
AMORINI
See Putti.
ANCHOR
Hope, security, or ‘At Rest’. An early
Christian symbol. See: Hebrews 6, 19.
ANGEL
The messenger of God, often depicted pointing heavenward: also guardian of the living and the dead. If shown with a trumpet, indicative of the approach of God.
ANGEL OF DEATH
Rare, and shown as a putto (qv), with dart and/or hour-glass, and/or scales. It may have wings.
ANGEL OF THE RESURRECTION
Clad in loose robes, standing trumpet in hand, or flying through the air, feet bare, knees bent.
ANGEL’S HEAD
Usually winged, symbolises resurrection and the metamorphosis of the soul.
ARK
Symbolic of the Church, since in the Ark all living things find refuge.
AXE
Weapon of death.
The emblem of Buddha. The seven-knotted bamboo denotes the seven degrees of initiation and invocation in Buddhism. On Japanese memorials, symbolic of devotion and truthfulness.
BED
A deathbed, sometimes depicted as merely a pillow.
BEEHIVE
Symbolic of industry, for a community of those whose work is beneficial to all.
BELL
The Dead Bell was rung to give notice of funerals, and at the funeral itself. Depicted as a small hand bell, it was a favourite emblem in Northern England and Scotland.
BELL & BRAZIER
A bell founder.
BIBLICAL SCENES
A number
of Biblical scenes appear as low reliefs on tombstones, the more frequent being those of the
Resurrection, the Day of Judgement, the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Good
Samaritan, Christ and the Samarian Woman, Noli
Me
BOOK
The ‘Book of Life’,i.e.the Bible; a cross lying upon it symbolises Faith. See: Philippian 4, 3 and Revelation 3, 5.
BONES
In the 17th century the death's head was often accompanied by crossed bones. However, by the 18th century there were many more variations, including such items as jaw bones. The bones were sometimes shown as trophies or suspended on ribands.
BOW & ARROWS
Weapon of death.
BUTTERCUP
Cheerfulness.
BUTTERFLY
Resurrection; as the butterfly emerges from the pupae so too will our souls emerge from our bodies and soar upwards towards Heaven.
Mortality. See also CORPSE
CADUCEUS
Wand entwined with snake sand surmounted by a dove, carried by Mercury. A Familiar emblem on the tombs of those of the medical professions.
CANDLE
Either alight or extinguished, symbolises the imminence of death.
CHALICE
The most familiar symbol for a priest, usually shown with its paten.
CHARITY
Shown as a female figure succouring, or with, children.
CHERUB
A winged child of indeterminate sex.
CINQUEFOIL
Maternal affection; beloved daughter.
CIRCLE
Eternity, often incorporated into the Celtic cross or shown as a snake.
CLOCK DIAL
The passage of time.
COFFIN
The shape is realistic and is normally recognisable. In the 17th century the device was often placed in a row of emblems or occasionally appeared as a sole emblem.
COLUMN
The support of life.
COLUMN, BROKEN
The broken column traditionally signifies mortality, the support of life being broken.
CORNUCOPIA
Symbolises abundance.
CORPSE
The corpse usually appears in a winding-sheet or lying in, or rising from a coffin.
CROCUS
Youthful gladness.
CROSS
Has several meanings, such as the symbol of The Supreme Sacrifice and of the Christian religion
CROWN
Emblem of the Christian martyr, and of the ‘Crown of Life’, the reward for those who stayed faithful until death. See: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, James 1, 12 and Revelation 2, 10.
CROWN OF THORNS
Symbol of suffering, based on the crown plaited by the soldiers and imposed upon Jesus during his trial before Pontius Pilate.
CROZIER
see Pastoral Staff.
CYPRESS TREE
Mourning and death on account of its dark colour, and because once cut down it will not grow again.
Regard; death of youth; desire; art; grace.
DAISY
Innocence of childhood; Jesus the Infant Youth, Son of Righteousness.
DART
A weapon of death
DEAD LEAVES
Sadness; melancholy.
DEATH BED SCENE
Death bed scenes on headstones are usually simple, the deceased shown in a box-like bed sometimes with curtains
DOVE
The Holy Spirit, also for peace, innocence, purity and love.
Strength and endurance. Also the symbol of St John the Evangelist.
EFFIGY
The sleep of death.
Known
in ancient mythology as Chronos. With
his scythe, symbolic of gathering in those whose
hour to depart has come.
Portrayed standing, stalking or seated with elbow
on hour-glass. In some scenes he is shown together with the Skeleton,
the King of Terrors to two ready for action.
FEMALE FIGURES
Other than sculptural representations of Our Lady, see Psyche.
FIR CONES
Ancient symbol of fertility
FISH
A symbol of Christ used by the early Christians re story of Feeding the 5,000.
FLEUR-DE-LYS
Our Lady; passion; ardour; mother.
The heraldic term for the sheaf of corn. Common feature on headstones to farmers. Also associated with the bread of the Last Supper
GARLAND
A wreath of flowers, for remembrance.
GATES
The entry into Heaven.
GLORY OF GOD
Depicted by clouds, sun, sunrays, trumpets and more simply by a sunburst.
GRAPES
Sacrifice; immortality.
If shown with pincers, indicative of a smith.
HAND/S
As an admonitory finger a pointer to Heaven, with a heart as an emblem of Charity, when clasped as a symbol of brotherly love, farewell or reunity. On Jewish tombs, two outstretched hands with the thumbs touching symbolises a descendant of Aaron, the High Priest (nearly all named Cohen).
HAND BELL
See BELL
HEART
Divine love and devotion. When flaming, the fire of Divine Love
HOLLY
Symbolic of the Crown of Thorns.
HORSE
Strength, courage or the swiftness of the passage of time.
HOURGLASS
The ‘sands of time’; passage of time, mortality and death; also a symbol of Father Time. Portrayed either in a vertical or horizontal position. Sometimes a flaming hour-glass was carved to represent eternity.
First three letters (Iota, Heta, Sigma) of the Greek spelling of Jesus. Also In Hoc Salus (‘In this cross, Salvation’) and In Hoc Signo (‘In this Sign [ye shall conquer]’).
IRIS
Light and hope.
IVY
The evergreen, symbolising immortality, everlasting life or friendship.
In popular use age, symbolises eternity; used in esoteric tradition to represent the inward path.
LAMB
The Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. Signifies innocence, often used on infants’and children's graves. See: John 1, 29 and Revelation 5, 6-14.
LAMP
Immortality, knowledge of God. See: 2 Samuel 22, 29 and Psalm 119, 105.
LANCE
Weapon of death
LAUREL
Fame or Victory, often of a literary or artistic figure.
LILY
Symbol of Our Lady, of the Easter resurrection and of chastity, innocence and purity.
LION
Courage, strength and the Resurrection (tradition being that the lion’s whelp is born dead and remains so for three days until its father breathes on it). Also the symbol of St Mark.
The commonest male representations – apart from that of Our Lord - are of Eros, carrying or resting of a reversed torch, Thanatos, shown as a young man leaning against a tree trunk and lowering his lighted torch towards a small altar, and Hypnos, the son of Night, often standing next to Thanatos with more gracious mein. If winged, the symbol of St Matthew the Evangelist.
MALLET & CHISEL
Symbolic of a joiner.
MILITARY EMBLEM
A soldier.
MIRROR
Symbolises
truth and knowledge, may also possibly refer to 1 Cor. 13:12,
‘For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but
then face to face etc.
MITRE
Symbol of episcopal status.
With trident, anchor and accompanying puffing-cherub representing Wind, usually found on mariners’tombstones
Hospitality; strength, honour; eternity; endurance; liberty.
OAK TREE
Temporal human strength, and the male head of the family.
OBELISK
Eternal life, from the Egyptian sun-worshipping symbol.
OLIVE BRANCH
Peace, harmony and healing. If in a dove’s beak, a symbol of refuge.
Triumph of a martyr over death.
PASSION FLOWER
Christ’s passion, sacrifice and redemption. The five petals and sepals representing the ten Apostles (Peter and Judas are omitted), the five anthers the Wounds of Christ, the tendrils the scourges, hammers, the three stigmas the nails and the filaments within the flower the Crown of Thorns.
PASTORAL STAFF
The standard symbol for a bishop.
PEACOCK
Early symbol of resurrection; when the peacock sheds
its feathers, he grows a more brilliant one
than that which he lost.
PELICAN
Piety and atonement. The pelican was believed to
draw blood from its
PHOENIX
Christ’s resurrection. A mythical bird which at
death bursts into flame but
PICK
The sexton's tool, symbolising mortality.
PILLOW
Symbolising the deathbed.
PINEAPPLE
Symbolises fertility.
POPPY HEADS
Sleep
PLOUGH
Symbolic of a farmer.
PSYCHE
Love.
PUTTI
A wingless pot-bellied naked infant, usually male, cherubic in origin.
A gardener.
ROCKS
Solidarity, strength, the Church, or steadfastness of the Christian faith.
ROPE
Symbolic of betrayal or arrest, after the rope used to bind Jesus following His arrest.
ROSE
Sinless, innocence, a paragon, one without peer, usually associated with Our Lady (the Rosa Mystica of the Garden of the Saints) or Paradise.
ROSEBUDS
Strong bond between two people, usually children or mother and child.
Weighing the soul on the day of Judgement
SCISSORS & GLOVE
Emblematic of a glover.
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