The ABC’S OF GRAVESTONEs and SYMBOLISM

By: Tyla Rudd Period 6 The ABC’S OF GRAVESTONEs and SYMBOLISM

A is for Angels Sometimes confused with soul effigies, angels represent the ‘heavenly host’ and most times are guiding the soul upward to heaven.

B is for Bible • Bibles on graves symbolizes exactly what it shows, a certain page of scripture or the ‘word through which one gains revelation’.

C is for Coffins • Both coffins and urns represent the ‘death of the flesh’ and are usually accompanied by a body or a soul effigy.

D is for Doves or Birds • On a gravestone the dove or a bird symbolizes the devotion of the person whom the stone belongs.

E is for Effigy • ef⋅fi⋅gy • /ˈɛfɪdʒi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ef-i-jee] Show IPA –noun, plural -gies. • 1. a representation or image, esp. sculptured, as on a monument.

F is for Flowers • Flowers represent the life of man and the beauty of his life. Sometimes to show ‘life being cut down in death’, the flower is shown cut and upside-down.

G is for Gourds • Popular in the 17th and 18th century, gourds symbolize the coming and going of the person’s earthly life.

H is for the Hourglass • Hourglasses represent the passing of time and when the hourglass is tipped or runs out of sand on the gravestone, it means the person’s time has run out.

I is for the Imps of Death • Mainly used by the Lamsom family of stone carvers, they symbolized the triumph of death. Sometimes they had arrows or were seen lowering the coffin into the grave.

J is for Judgment Day • To early New Englanders, the Puritans, one of their main beliefs was that of Judgment Day. The day you died was essentially the day you were judged and sent to either heaven or hell. One of their beliefs was also that this judgment was preconceived; you had way to predict or change the decision.

L is for Latin Quotes • When the practice of gravestones was still early, it was very common to see Latin quotes on graves. For example on Dorothy Rawson’s.

M is for the Mouth of the Death’s Head This is a symbol of the soul rising triumphantly out of death.

N is for New gravestones • As with all art, the style of gravestones is ever-changing. Each stonecutter has his or her own style and no two stones are the same. However, some can be put under the modern category.

O is for the Ocean • Sailor’s gravestones sometimes had ships on them, like this one.

P is for Portraits • In almost all cases the portrait on the graves is that of the person buried beneath it.

R is for Red Granite • The majority of gravestones are made from granite. All types of granite including Albero, Marygold and Red granite. However there are a countless amount of types of granite.

S is for the Soul • On gravestones, the soul is symbolized sometimes by an urn.

T is for the Tree of Life • Popular during the 1700’s, the tree of life was poetically used as the symbol of earthy or heavenly spiritual life.

U is for Urn • An urn can represent either the soul or the ‘death of the flesh’, like the coffin.

V is for Vases • It is customary for people to put items on their loved one’s graves such as flowers and vases. However, sometimes the vase is built in.

W is for Wine, the Divine Fluid • The symbol of heavenly bliss, wine in tankards or chalices is usually found on stones of deacons of the church.

Y is for Yarmouth and Plymouth • Some of the earliest gravestones have been found in the Yarmouth and Plymouth areas of Massachusetts as well as Boston and Windsor, Connecticut.

Bibliography • Death and Dying In Puritan New England, Stephen P. Broker • www.capecodgravestones.com • Golden Owl Publishing, Writing History: Epitaphs • www.spiritedghosthunting.com • www.deejaysgravestones.net • Alphabetical List of Graveyard Symbols and their Meanings • Primary Source- • The Association for Gravestone Studies/Archives • (www.gravestonestudies.org)

THE END.

The ABC’S OF GRAVESTONEs and SYMBOLISM