Matters of grave concern - part 7
Thousands of the epitaphs of years ago right across the world thump home the inevitability that man is born to die. All kinds of analogies are used in this respect. Take for example this inscription from a Dorset Churchyard.
'Man's life is like a water
That is thinly walled about
Death breaks the glass
So runs the water out'
An epitaph in Crowland Abbey compares life to breakfast, dinner and supper.
'Man's life is like a winter's day
Some break their fast and so depart away
Others stay for dinner and then depart full fed
The longest age but sups and goes to bed'
Perhaps, when you are on holiday in Cornwall visiting the Floral dance town of Helston you may care to seek out this inscription that makes the most of just four words.
'Shall we all die
We shall die all
All die shall we
Die all we shall'
An extremely widely found epitaph reads:
'As you are now so once was I
As I am now so shall you be
Therefore eprepare to follow me'
On one such epitaph a mischievous choir boy had put some graffiti under the inscription which read:
'To follow you I'd be content
Did I but know which way you went'
Another common inscription goes:
'Death takes the good, too goodon earth to stay
And leaves the bad, too bad to take away'
Very often epitaphs go into character descriptions and reflect on what people have been like in their lives. Such an example is this one:
'Beneath this silent stone is laid
A noisy, antiquated maid
Who from her cradle talked till death
And never before was out of breath'
King Charles II asked the Earl of Rochester to compose an epitaph for him with this result:
'Here lies our Sovereign Lord, the King
Whose word no man relies on
Who never said a folish thing
Nor ever did a wise one'
In the main these epitaphs to which I am referring come from an age when the nobility ruled the day and the poor man knew his place. Nevertheless I have no doubt that the servile often made some joke about their Lords and Masters and there is a hint of this in this next memorial which comes from Kingsbridge Church in Devon. There we can read, near the chancel entrance.
'Underneath lieth the body of Robert Commonly called Bone Philip
Who died July 27th,1793, aged 63 years.
At whose request the following lines are inserted.
Here I lie at the chancel door
Here I lie because I'm poor
The further in the more you'll pay
Here I lie as warm as they'
Funerals are getting more and more expensive and these days people look to cheaper alternatives. Cardboard coffins can now be used. But even years ago I wonder if this epitaph from Dorchester Abbey may suggest that a send off was a dear do even at that time.
'Here lieth one who for medicine would not give
A little gold and so his life was lost
I fancy that he would wish again to live]
Did he but know how much his funeral cost'
These old memorials reflect a whole alphabet of professions and occupations, frequently going into considerable detail and giving valuable insight into the skills of the deceased. There are epitaphs for anglers, architects, actors, blacksmiths, carpenters,cobblers, clockmakers, criketers, doctors, dentists, farmers and so on right through to sailors, shoemakers, tailors, undertakers, vintners and waggoners, all this to name but a few of the occupations. For this week I will end with such an example coming from the garveyard of Ripon Cathedral in Yorkshire.
'Here lies poor, but honest Bryan Tunstall
He was a mosr expert angler
Until death, envious of his merit
Threw out his line, hooked him
And landed him here
The 21st day of April 1790.
Next weekin Part 8 - Organ Blower's Epitaph'
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Weather for Epworth
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North west
