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Symbolism on monuments

Carvings on tombs can be strange and puzzling. This guide explains the meanings of many of the symbols used on post-medieval gravestones.

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.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

ACACIA	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’ See: Hebrews 6, 19. If heldby a female figure, Hope. One of the seven Christian Virtues of Wisdom,Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity.
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
ANKH	Eternal life, peace and truth
ARCH	Victory in death, being joined with partner in heaven
ARK	Symbolic of the Church, since in the Ark all living things find refuge.
ARROW	The ‘dart of death’
AXE	Weapon of death.
AZALEA	Temperance

B

BAMBOO	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.
BAYLEAVES	Victory over death.
BED	A deathbed, sometimes depicted as merely a pillow.
BEEHIVE	Symbolic of industry, for a community of those whose work is beneficial to all. Also of domestic virtues, education, faith, abundance in the Promised Land.
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 Judgment, the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Good Samaritan, Christ and the Samarian Woman, Noli Me Tangere, the Agony on the Garden and the Flight into Egypt.
BIRD	Eternal Life; a ‘winged soul’.
BIRD IN FLIGHT	Rebirth.
BOOK	The ‘Book of Life’,i.e.the Bible; a cross lying upon it symbolises Faith. See:Philippians 4, 3 and Revelation 3,5.If heldby a female figure, Wisdom. One of the seven Christian Virtues of Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity.
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 ribbons.
BOW & ARROWS	Weapon of death.
BROKEN COLUMN	See Column, broken.
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.

C

CADAVER	Mortality. See 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.
CATERPILLAR	Metamorphosis to a new life.
CHAIN	If of three links, an association with the Odd Fellows.
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.
CHERUB SLEEPING	Innocence.
CHRISTMAS ROSE	Cheerfulness.
CINQUEFOIL	Maternal affection; beloved daughter.
CIRCLE	Eternity, often incorporated into the Celtic cross or shown as a snake.
CLEMATIS	Skillfulness.
CLOCK DIAL	The passage of time.
COCKEREL	Awakening to a new life, i.e. resurrection.
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. If heldby a female figure,Temperance. One of the seven Christian Virtues of Wisdom, Fortitude,Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity.
COLUMN, BROKEN	The broken column traditionally signifies mortality, the support of life being broken.
COMPASS &SET- SQUARE	Masonic symbols.
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 If held by a female figure, Faith. One of the seven Christian Virtues of Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity.
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.
CROWNED SKULL	Triumph of death.
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. Also a symbol of Hope.

D

DAFFODIL	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.
DOLPHIN	Resurrection,salvation, bearer of souls across the water.
DOOR	Entrance to Heaven;also, entrance to the heart.
DOVE	The Holy Spirit, also for peace, innocence, purity and love.
DRAGON	Eternity
DRAPERY	See Urn.

E

EAGLE	Strength and endurance. Also the symbol of St John the Evangelist.
EFFIGY	The sleep of death.
EYE	Humility; also emblematic of the deceased watching over the living.
EYE OF HORUS/RA	Life and death (Horus),Sun and Moon (Ra); protection against evil.

F

FATHER TIME	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.
FEMALE FIGURES with CHILDREN	Charity. One of the seven Christian Virtues of Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity.
FINGER	Pointing down: calling the Earth to witness. Pointing up: indicates that the deceased is now in heaven.
FIR CONES	Ancient symbol of fertility.
FISH	A symbol of Christ used by the early Christians re story of Feeding the 5,000.
FLAG	Patriotism or military supremacy.
FLEUR- DE- LYS	Our Lady; passion; ardour; mother.
FLOWER	Frailty or brevity of life.
FOO DOG	Almost entirely restricted to monuments to those of the Chinese community, being one of the four animals of power, energy and bravery.
FROG	Worldy pleasure, i.e. sin.

G

GARBE	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. Also victory over death.
GATES	The entry into Heaven.
GLORY OF GOD	Depicted by clouds, sun, sunrays, trumpets and more simply by a sunburst.
GRAPES	Sacrifice; immortality.

H

HAIR FLOWING	Penitence.
HAMMER	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.
HARE- BELL	Tenderness.
HARP	Instrument of the angels; divine/heavenly music.
HEART	Divine love and devotion. When flaming, the fire of Divine Love.
HEART, PIERCED	When pierced by as word, indicative of the Virgin Mary’s sorrow.
HELMET	Military service;also occasionally used on monuments to firemen and policemen.
HOLLY	Symbolic of the Crown of Thorns.
HORSE	Strength, courage or the swiftness of the passage of time.
HORSESHOE	Protection against evil.
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.
HOURGLASS, WINGED	Passage of life/time.
HYACINTH	Truth and hope.

I

IHS	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.

J

No entries.

L

LABYRINTH	In popular usage, symbolises eternity; used in esoterictradition 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.
LILY of the VALLEY	Rebirth.
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.
LOTUS	Purity,perfect beauty, spiritual revelation.

M

MALE FIGURES	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 mien. If winged, the symbol of St Matthew the Evangelist.
MALLET & CHISEL	Symbolic of a joiner.
MENORAH	Divine wisdom.
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.
MISTLETOE	Immortality.
MITRE	Symbol of episcopal status.
MOON	Rebirth.

N

NEPTUNE

With trident, anchor and accompanying puffing-cherub representing Wind, usually found on mariners’ tombstones.

O

OAK LEAVES	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.
OPEN GATES	Entrance to heaven.
ORB	Faith.
OWL	Wisdom.

P

PALM	Triumph of a martyr over death.
PANSY	Remembrance, meditation.
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 breast to nourish its young.
PEONY	Honour, love or affection.
PHEASANT	Beauty and good fortune.
PHOENIX	Christ’s resurrection. A mythical bird which at death bursts into flame but rises to immortal life from its own ashes.
PICK	The sexton’s tool, symbolising mortality.
PILLOW	Symbolising the deathbed.
PINEAPPLE	Symbolises fertility.
PINK	Genius.
POPPIES	Sleep; usually associated with WWI military death, i.e. poppies in Flanders Field.
POPPY HEADS	Sleep.
PLOUGH	Symbolic of a farmer.
PRAYING HANDS	See Hands
PSYCHE	Love.
PUTTI	A wingless pot-bellied naked infant, usually male, cherubic in origin.
PYRAMID	Eternal life,enlightenment and spiritual attainment.

Q

No entries.

R

RAKE & SPADE	A gardener.
RAINBOW	Fulfilment of the promise of resurrection.
RIFLE	Military service.
ROCKS	Solidarity, strength, the Church, or steadfastness of the Christian faith.
ROD or STAFF	Comfort to the bereaved.
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.
ROSEMARY	Remembrance.

S

SCALES	Weighing the soul on the day of Judgment. If held by a blindfolded female figure, Justice, being one of the seven Christian Virtues of Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity.
SCALLOP SHELL	Birth, baptism,everlasting life.
SCARAB	Transcendence.
SCEPTRE	Fortitude.
SCISSORS & GLOVE	Emblematic of a glover.
SCYTHE	The passage of time and death. If held by afemale figure, Fortitude, being one of the seven Christian Virtues of Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity.
SET- SQUARE& COMPASS	Masonic insignia.
SHAMROCK	The Trinity. Also emblematic of Irish descent.
SHEATH of WHEAT	Abundant life or final harvest.
SHEARS	Symbolic of a lady, or of the wife or daughter of a wool stapler or clothier, or of a sheep farmer.
SHELL	Pilgrimage. The badge of those who travelled to Santiago da Compostella.
SHEPHERD’S CROOK	Charity.
SHIP	The Christian Church, carrying the faithful through the world.
SICKLE	See Scythe.
SKELETON	Death. Frequently shown carrying a scythe, since death is the cutting of this life, or with an hourglass, the symbol of the passing of time, or with adart/spear. Sometimes depicted as lying down or on a bed or in a hammock like object. When portrayed standing (with the weapons of death, the dart, spear, scythe or lance) it is the personification of death, the King of Terrors. Anatomical details are carved according to the mason’s skill and knowledge.
SKULL	Death of mortality. On 17th century monuments, usually portrayed either in partial profile or facing front or above or on crossed bones. The 18th century masons carved the skull in many ways:with or without lower jaw, full face, three quarter or half profile, noses triangular, U-shaped, heart-shaped; eye sockets deep or shallow, large or small.
SKULL, CROWNED	Triumph over Death.
SKULL, WINGED	Death or mortality; more commonly found on 17th century headstones. Also symbolises flight of the soul from mortal man.
SNAIL	Laziness.
SNAKE	With its tail in its mouth, symbolises eternity. With apples or with a tress symbolic of the Fall of Man.
SPADE & PICK	The sexton’s tools,symbolising mortality.
SPADE & TURF CUTTER	The sexton’s tools; the latter has a triangular blade. Very often the two tools are crossed.
SPIDER’S WEB	Human frailty.
SQUARE &AXE	A stonemason.
STAFF or ROD	Comfort to the bereaved.
STAR	Divine guidance.
STAR OF DAVID	Fraternity; also a Masonic insignia.
SUN – RISING	Renewed life, i.e. resurrection.
SUN – SETTING	Death.
SUN – SHINING	Everlasting life.
SUNDIAL	The passage of time.
SWORD	Justice, constancy or fortitude. Part of the Armour of God’. See: Ephesians 6, 10-18.
SWORD – BROKEN	Life (usually a military one) cut short.
SWORD – INVERTED	Relinquishment of power, i.e. victory.
SWORD – SHEATHED	Temperance.

T

TETRAGAMMATON	Four Hebrew letters – Y, H, W. E – spelling the true name of God.
THISTLE	Earthly sorrow. Also indicative of Scottish descent.
TORCH	Taken from a Greek emblem. Symbolised immortality; if upturned, symbolises life extinguished.
TOWER	Strength.
TREE	Regeneration and immortality.
TREE WITH LOPPED BRANCHES	Life cut short.
TRIANGLE	Holy Trinity. Sometimes also used as a Masonic device.
TRIQUETA	Three interlocking circles or triangles: the Holy Trinity, eternity.
TRUMPET	Announcement of the soul’s entry into Heaven; resurrection.
TULIP	Honour.

U

URN	Draped and empty, symbolises death, derived from classical cinerary urns; if flaming, indicates new life.

V

VENUS	See Psyche
VIRTUES	The Seven Christian Virtues (shown as female figures with their attributes) comprising the Four Cardinal Virtues of Wisdom (Book), Fortitude (Scythe), Temperance(Column) and Justice (Blindfolded with Scales); and the Three Theological Virtues of Faith (Cross), Hope (Anchor) and Charity (with children or child).

W

WATER	Symbolises life; a hand pouring water from a flagon may occur on Jewish tombs of the Levites whose duty in the synagogue is to pour water upon the hands of the priests.
WEEPERS	Usually shown in full relief on the top slopes of the headstone, and in the form of putti.
WHEAT	The Bread of Life; fruitfulness harvested; bounty.
WHEEL	The ‘Circle of Life’.
WILLOW	Grief and mourning. Folklore held that the willow dispelled evil, purified,and facilitated contact with the spiritual world.
WINGED FACE	A cherub.
WINGED MAN	See: Male Figures.
WINGED OX	Symbol of St Luke the Evangelist.
WINGED SOUL	Member of the elect, the soul being received straight into heaven.
WINGS	Divine mission, thus angels and cherubim are depicted with wings.
WREATH	Eternal life, victory.

X

No entries.

Y

YEW	Mourning, on account of its dark colour and association with churchyards.

Z

No entries.