Walking around Victorian
cemeteries you are often surrounded by the somber, saddened faces of angels,
who watch over the final resting place of mortals.
Indeed, the word 'cemetery'
is derived from the Greek koimeterion
meaning 'dormitory', while 'angel' comes from the Greek for 'celestial being' ,
above and beyond earthly existence.
Acting as Man's guardian, a spiritual
intermediary between Heaven and Earth, it is no surprise that the symbol of the
angel is a common feature of many cemeteries, especially those of the Victorian
era. Unprecedented numbers of deaths from the early 19th century fired a
desperate need to find solace through the hope of Eternal life.
A concern for extensive
mourning, ostentatious funerals and lavish cemetery statuary and architecture
gave a certain meaning to death, and became a social norm at a time when death
was a part of everyday life, largely irrespective of class or wealth.
Weeping angels, with
their melancholic yet sober air, were deemed suitable for the adornment of many
Victorian tombs. As the heavenly messengers of God, angels would bear tidings
to those humans who needed to listen. In cemetery symbolism the figure of an
angel could convey many images to those eager to read.
However, the portrayal
of angels in statuary was not the only popular choice in the representation of
spiritual concerns. The newly-established cemeteries of the mid-19th century
abound with messages that could be easily understood by a public already
steeped in a tradition for the symbolic.
I think that I covered most of the
main aspects of death, mourning and cemetery function and symbolism in the post Highgate Cemetery - A tribute to-Life, Death and Nature. I wanted to reserve an
exploration of the meaning of headstone and statuary symbols for this post
based on my visit to two of Birmingham's cemeteries - those of Yardley and
Warstone.
It was the search for
beautiful, eerie statues of angels that drew me to these cemeteries. Warstone,
the older of the two, is situated in Birmingham's old Jewellery Quarter in
Hockley, where many of my relatives worked in its heyday. Yardley is a large
cemetery still operating today, unlike Warstone. It is divided into sections,
the Victorian part being the oldest, of course.
The higher number of the angels
in Yardley cemetery show how these figures had become a 'fashionable' staple in
cemeteries in the latter part of the 19th century; Warstone had comparatively
few.
Although the angels
named in the Bible are male - Gabriel, Michael and Raphael - and the others are
largely gender-neutral, we assume that they are masculine too. And yet the vast
majority of cemetery statuary angels are essentially beautiful, young females.
Gabriel, Michael and
Raphael are but three of seven Archangels, alongside Uriel, Raguel, Sariel and
Remiel, that make up one of the nine 'choirs' of angels. Indeed, angels from
the religious scripts of the different faiths follow a (varying) hierarchical
order of three 'spheres' divided into the above-mentioned Choirs. The Seraphim,
Cherubim and Ophanim are the choirs acting as heavenly counselors in the First
Sphere while the Dominiums, Virtues and Powers serve as Heavenly governors in
the Second Sphere. The Third Sphere is inhabited by the choirs of
Principalities, Archangels and Angels working as the soldiers and messengers.
The angels that seem 'familiar' to us today, just as they were in Victorian
times, come from the lowest group of the nine choirs of angels - those acting
as envoys to Mankind.
Most of the Victorian
angels that guard over the graves of the dead carry symbolic objects that bear
their own message. In this manner, angels are seen to clutch trumpets, ready to
blow on the Day of Judgment and herald the Resurrection.
Likewise, scripture
books are held open to indicate a relevant passage or to note down the names of
the deceased in the Book of Life, for admittance to Heaven. Those generally
deemed worthy of passage to Heaven were, of course, innocent children, whose
purity was indicated by the Arum (Calla) lilies held by the angel ready to
escort the child in question.
The expression borne by most angels appears to be
one of sad resignation.
Some, however, do seem to be rather haughty...
Figures calmly weep, although representations of
uncontrolled sobbing exist too, generally to show that the cruel loss was
unexpected and appear all the more poignant for this.
Generally however, angels
present a reassuring, albeit mournful, form. With or without wings, these angels do not hover, but
generally stand over the graves from a certain height, often standing on a pedestal, or
rock.
This image of sanctuary and eternal hope would be further emphasized by
the symbol of an anchor and chain to demonstrate the stability and security
offered by the anchor of Man's soul - faith in God.
Occasionally, angels seem to resemble fairies, with wings ready to flutter...
Today, many graves and
their adornments have deteriorated through the ravages of time, adverse weather
conditions and the abundant foliage growing in unkempt, overgrown cemeteries.
Others have been the target of vandalism, as headstones have been knocked over,
and parts of the statues broken off. It would appear that the more expressive
the grave originally was, the more it has attracted negative attention from
hooligans.
The tombstones of children in particular, seem to have fallen victim
to the worst of this destruction, and the result is pitiful. The cruel loss of
a beloved child over a hundred years ago seems even more tragic today through
these heartless acts of hooliganism.
Numerous angels have been left in a sorry
state, with limbs lost and heads lying on the ground or the whole tombstone
lain flat on the grave plot, no longer able to cast their protective gaze over
their wards.
Presumably this particular type of cemetery statue, with its
sentimentality often bordering on the maudlin is simply too tempting a target
for some people. And yet it shouldn't be forgotten that even the sickliest
display of sentimentality is based on real human emotion and suffering and
should be respected as such.
Naturally, not all graves
display angelic forms. Other symbols were standard fare in funerary tendencies
- going from the simplest forms of religious expression to the more complex.
Contrary to our belief today that old cemeteries are merely depressing,
run-down sites, if we looked beyond the sad state of neglected, vandalised plots
another dimension would reveal itself.
The Victorians strove to believe in the
triumph of life over death, and fed this hope with their lavish funerals and
cemetery art. Their apparent obsession with death sprang, in part at least,
from obligation in a time of high mortality and from their attachment to life
and the loved ones who made up their lives.
In this manner, Victorian
cemeteries overflow with symbolic references to eternity, resurrection,
reunification, love, devotion and innocence. That is not to say that mentions
of the tragic or cruel twists of fate do not exist since we may come across
references to the nature of the individual's life and death, in almost curious,
quirky detail, but these are demonstrations of the idiosyncratic, not purely the
negative.
As to be expected, there
are many direct religious symbols - variations of the cross being the most
common. The basic Latin cross symbolizes suffering and triumph over death and
has been the emblem of Christian faith for centuries. Its crucifix form represents
the union of divinity - with the vertical line, and the world - with the
horizontal.
These are frequently set upon the three Calvary steps that
symbolize Faith, Hope and Love or Charity. Celtic crosses, initially of pagan
origin, refer to renewal, fertility and eternity through the image of the
'halo' form surrounding the intersection of the cross and the interlaced
knotwork that decorates the stonework.
Although the shape of the Latin cross
may appear more sober than that of the Celtic design, this is often compensated
by ornate inscriptions and decorative reliefs that serve to embellish and give
further meaning to the form.
Again, these usually have a direct Christian
reference, as in the choice of a Christogram. The sacred monograms IHS or IHC, abbreviations
of the name Jesus Christ in Greek, are often presented with the letter 'H'
inscribed to form a cross. The accronym INRI, represents the first four letters
of the title given to Jesus by Pontius Pilate; ' Jesus the Nazarene, King of
the Jews'.
Certain funerary symbols and architecture initially had little to do
with Christianity but were soon adopted by Victorians, through the vagaries of
fashion. The obelisk, an ancient Egyptian emblem of life and health, was incorporated
into the norms of cemetery art, as was the symbol of the serpent swallowing its
own tail to present life eternal. Symbolism could also be used to refer to a specific
trade, association or membership to a fraternity such as the Freemasons.
Other symbols of
Christianity also flourished, along with those associated with Faith in general.
The dove was a recurrent image of purity and peace, and was an obvious choice
for children's graves, as was the innocent lamb, symbol of Christ. The descending
dove was a direct reference to the Holy Spirit and often appears diving towards
the souls of those interred, or ascending to Heaven once its divine mission has
been accomplished.
Often present, though not here unfortunately, is the image of the all-seeing eye, set within a triangle,
symbolises the Holy Trinity and the omniscience and omnipresence of God, who
watches over us.
The themes of hope, salvation,
eternity, resurrection and love appear in many guises. Indeed, although these
references were widely used in the past, the meaning of some may appear rather
obscure to us today. Designs that we may consider to be purely aesthetic would,
in fact, bear vital messages for our ancestors. The quaint butterflies that
adorn stonework were selected to symbolise resurrection whilst the hearts we
may come across were not just some sentimental demonstration of love, but the
symbol of devotion and faith.
Likewise, decorative representations of the intricate
petals, sepals, stigmata and tendrils of the Passion flower were used to recall
Christ's suffering on the cross and not simply to look 'pretty'.
In the same
manner, palm leaves would symbolize rebirth and the triumph of life over death
through resurrection; crowns recalled the crown of everlasting life; sheaves of
corn or wheat would herald renewal and abundance; ivy would portray the
immortal; wreaths, the ever-green cycle of life; lilies reflected purity;
roses, eternity and poppies eternal sleep.
Leaving this world, the
deceased would say farewell to their loved ones, and would join those who had
gone before them. Clasped or shaking hands on family graves would symbolise
this duality. If the sleeves of the two different hands denoted the two
genders, it could be assumed that husband and wife were parting, or were finally
going to be reunited in death.
If there were no specific gender references, the
hand image could be read as an earthly farewell. A hand pointing up was an
obvious allusion to the ascension to Heaven, whilst a hand pointing down could
that of divinity, reaching down for a soul.
The Victorians were
determined to display the strength of their religious convictions and the
solace this provided them with, not to mention the social recognition their public
devotion could afford them. They needed to believe in the eternal and to demonstrate
this solid belief to themselves and the others. They had to do so in order to bolster
themselves against the cruelest experiences of death in life, when they were
subject to torturous moments of doubt and emotional anguish. Indeed, some
losses were simply too hard to bear and the Divine plan could only be 'justified'
with great difficulty.
The death of children, or a series of deaths in a family
was a common event, but the suffering of the bereaved was no less vivid. The
symbol of the hour-glass would act as a reminder of the transient nature of
life which could suddenly be extinguished with little, or no warning.
 |
| (From Highgate Cemetery) |
Inverted torches
and trees, along with broken columns and flowers would also demonstrate man's
fleeting time on earth, a life cut short through untimely death.
Drapery would
hang heavily from tombstones to represent sorrow and mourning, often in
combination with urns or columns to symbolise the death of an older person or
the demise of the pillar of the family.
More poignant still, then as now, are
the graves of infants with their empty chairs, overturned shoes, severed flower
buds, winged cherubs and, of course, melancholic angels.
The weather provided us
with suitably atmospheric conditions on the day we went to visit the cemeteries.
I managed to drag my son along, with the promise that it would be "just
like seeing the weeping angels from Doctor Who".
It was drizzling at one
stage, and in the Victorian section the tombstones and the paths threaded
between them were covered in the strangest, slipperiest slime that I have ever
encountered. Walking around was treacherous and was exactly like Doctor Who
ectoplasm!
I loved it, all the more so because I was reading Wilkie Collin's novel
(1859)TheWoman in White at the
time...
"If I could only
wake at her side when the angel's trumpet sounds and the graves give up their
dead at the resurrection".
