![Tuxford-church-funerary-hatchment-sir-thomas-white-2nd-baronet-of-tuxford-and-wallingwells](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Tuxford-church-funerary-hatchment-sir-thomas-white-2nd-baronet-of-tuxford-and-wallingwells.jpg)
A funerary hatchment is a depiction within a black
lozenge
Lozenge or losange may refer to:
* Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus
*Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments
*Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...
-shaped frame, generally on a black (''
sable'') background, of a deceased's
heraldic achievement
In heraldry, an achievement, armorial achievement or heraldic achievement (historical: hatchment) is a full display or depiction of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled. An achievement comprises not only ...
, that is to say the
escutcheon showing the
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
, together with the
crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
and
supporters of his family or person. Regimental Colours and other military or naval emblems are sometimes placed behind the arms of military or naval officers.
Such funerary hatchments, generally therefore restricted in use to members of the nobility or armigerous gentry, used to be hung on the wall of a deceased person's house,
[ and were later transferred to the parish church, often within the family chapel therein which appertained to the ]manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
, the family occupying which, generally being lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
, generally held the advowson
Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, ...
of the church. In Germany, the approximate equivalent is a ''Totenschild'', literally "shield of the dead".
Etymology
The ancient term used in place of "achievement" was "hatchment", being a corruption (through such historic forms as ''atcheament, achement, hathement'', etc.) of the French ''achèvement'', from the verb ''achever'', a contraction of ''à chef venir'' ("to come to a head"), ultimately from Latin ''ad caput venire'', "to come to a head", thus to reach a conclusion, accomplish, achieve. The word "hatchment" in its historical usage is thus identical in meaning and origin to the English heraldic term "achievement". However, in modern times the word "hatchment" has come to be used almost exclusively to denote "funerary hatchment", whilst "achievement" is now used in place of "hatchment" in a non-funereal context. An example of the historic use of "hatchment" in a non-funerary context to denote what is now termed "achievement" is in the statute of the Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...
laid down by King Henry VIII (1509–1547) concerning the regulation of Garter stall plate
Garter stall plates are small enamelled brass plates located in St George's Chapel displaying the names and arms of the Knights of the Garter. Each knight is allotted a stall in St George's Chapel and the stall plate is affixed to his personal st ...
s:
It is agreed that every knyght within the yere of his stallation shall cause to be made a scauchon of his armes and ''hachementis'' in a plate of metall suche as shall please him and that it shall be surely sett upon the back of his stall.
The word appears in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play ''Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' (1599/1602): Laertes laments that his dead father Polonius has "No trophy, sword or hatchment o'er his bones" (Act IV, Scene 5). The word ''scutcheon'', an alternative word for a funerary hatchment, appears in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play '' Henry IV, Part 1'': Falstaff: "Honour is a mere scutcheon, and so ends my catechism." (Act V, Scene 1).
Usage
England
The funerary hatchment was usually placed over the entrance door of the deceased's residence at the level of the second floor, and remained ''in situ'' for six to twelve months, after which it was removed to the parish church.[ The practice developed in the early 17th century from the custom of carrying an heraldic shield before the coffin of the deceased, then leaving it for display in the church. Funerary hatchments also survive displayed in homes or local museums. In medieval times and later, helmets and shields were sometimes deposited in churches, and helmets (made for the purpose) survive for example in the churches of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire and ]King's Nympton
King's Nympton (Latinised to ''Nymet Regis'') is a village, parish and former manor in North Devon, England in the heart of the rolling countryside between Exmoor and Dartmoor, some 4½ miles () S.S.W. of South Molton and N. of Chulmleigh. The ...
in Devon.
At the universities of Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
it was usual to hang the funerary hatchment of a deceased head of house over the entrance to his lodge or residence.[
In the 21st century the display of funerary hatchments has largely been discontinued, except in the case of royalty and occasionally by the higher nobility, but many ancient funerary hatchments survive displayed in parish churches throughout ]England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Male and female usages
For a bachelor the hatchment bears his heraldic achievement (shield, crest, supporters and other appendages) on a black lozenge. For a spinster
''Spinster'' is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term originally den ...
, her arms are represented upon a lozenge, bordered with knotted ribbons, also on a black lozenge.[ In the case of a married man with a surviving wife, within his funerary hatchment is an escutcheon displaying his arms ]impaling
Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...
the paternal arms of his wife. If she should be an heraldic heiress
In English heraldry a heraldic heiress is a daughter of a deceased man who was entitled to a coat of arms (an armiger) and who carries forward the right to those arms for the benefit of her future male descendants. This carrying forward only applie ...
her paternal arms are placed upon an inescutcheon of pretence, and crest and other appendages are added.[ The dexter half of the background is black (the husband being dead), whilst the ]sinister
Sinister commonly refers to:
* Evil
* Ominous
Sinister may also refer to:
Left side
* Sinister, Latin for the direction " left"
* Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see ...
half of the background is white[ (his wife still being alive).
For a deceased woman whose husband is alive the same arrangement is used, but the sinister background is black (for the wife) and the dexter background is white (for the surviving husband). For a widower the same is used as for a married man, but the whole ground is black (both spouses being dead). For a widow the husband's arms are given with her own, but upon a lozenge in place of an escutcheon, with ribbons, without crest or appendages, with the whole of the ground black. When there have been two wives or two husbands the ground may be divided in a number of different ways. Sometimes the shield is divided into three parts ''per pale'' (vertical divisions), with the husband's arms in the middle section and the arms of each of his wives to each side of his. Sometimes the husband's arms remain in the dexter half and the two wives have their arms in the sinister half, divided ''per fess'' (horizontal divisions), each wife having one quarter of the whole shield, that is one half of the sinister half.
]
Scotland
In Scottish funerary hatchments it was not unusual to place the arms of the father and mother of the deceased in the two lateral angles of the lozenge, and sometimes there are 4, 8 or 16 genealogical
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
escutcheons ranged along the margin.[
]
Belgium and Netherlands
In the Netherlands hatchments (in Dutch, ''rouwbord'', literally meaning "mourning shield") with the word "OBIIT" (Latin:"deceased") and the date of death were hung over the door of the deceased's house and later on the wall of the church where he was buried. In the 17th century the hatchments were sober black lozenge-shaped frames with the coat of arms. In the 18th century both the frames and the heraldry got more and more elaborate. Symbols of death like batwings, skulls, hour-glasses and crying angels with torches were added and the names of the 8, 16 or even 32 armigerous forebearers (sometimes an invention, there were a lot of "nouveaux riches") and their genealogical escutcheons were displayed. The British tradition of differentiating between the hatchments of bachelors, widowers and others is unknown in the Low Countries. The arms of a widow are sometimes surrounded by a cordelière (knotted cord) and the arms of women are often, but not always, shaped like a lozenge. There were no Kings of Arms to rule and regulate these traditions.
In 1795 the Dutch republic, recently conquered by revolutionary France, issued a decree that banned all heraldic shields. Thousands of hatchments were chopped to pieces and burned. In the 19th century the hatchments were almost forgotten and only a few noble families kept the tradition alive.
In Flanders, the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church have kept the tradition of putting up hatchments alive to this day. Noble families have continued to put up hatchments in churches.
Unlike the British hatchments the Dutch and Belgian examples are often inscribed with dates of birth and death, often the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
words "obit", "nascent" and "svea" are used to give the dates of death and birth and the age of the deceased. The name and titles are sometimes added along with the arms of various ancestors.
Sometimes the coats of arms of man and woman are shown on a hatchment.
File:Hatchment husband.jpg, Hatchment of a man leaving a surviving wife
File:Hatchment wife.jpg, Hatchment of a woman leaving a surviving husband
File:Hatchment husband 2 wives.jpg, Hatchment of a man who dies after his first wife (her arms top right), and before his second wife (her arms bottom right)
Scotland
Only about fifty hatchments still exist in Scotland, unlike the many to be found in England and the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, where there may well be more Scots hatchments surviving than in Scotland. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
in the mid 17th century. In 1643 the General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
passed an Act in 1643 which prohibited 'Honours of Arms or any such like monuments' to be displayed in any church. A surviving document of Strathbogie in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
records that: "Att Grange, 19th December, 1649... the presbytry finding some pinselis in memorie of the dead hinging in the kirk, presentlie caused them to be pulled doun in face of presbytry, and the minister rebuiked for suffering to hing ther so long."
Scots hatchments do not follow in the sparse pattern that modern writers prescribe for hatchments and funeral heraldry, being sometimes quite highly decorated with the coats of antecedents and with tears, skulls (mort heads) and mantles.
Hatchments, and funeral heraldry in general, are discussed in a 1986 article by Charles J Burnett, Dingwall Pursuivant
Dingwall Pursuivant of Arms is a current Scottish pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon.
Dingwall Pursuivant was formerly a private officer of arms in the service of the Lord of the Isles, but along with Kintyre Pursuivant, Ross Hera ...
.
Canada
There are eight hatchments in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, Canada, which are located in St. Paul's Church (Halifax)
St. Paul's Church is an evangelical Anglican church in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, within the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is located at the south end of the Grand Parade, an open sq ...
. They include:
File:CharlesMorrisStPaulsChurchHalifaxNovaScotia.jpg, Charles Morris (surveyor general)
Charles Morris (8 June 1711 – buried 4 November 1781) army officer, served on the Nova Scotia Council, Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court (1776–1778) and, the surveyor general for over 32 years, he created some of the fi ...
File:FrancisMcLeanStPaulsChurchHalifaxNovaScotia.jpg, Francis McLean (British army officer)
File:Charles Lawrence hatchment, St. Paul's Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg, Charles Lawrence (British Army officer)
South Africa
Twenty-nine 18th- and early 19th-century Dutch-style rouwborden ('mourning boards') are known to survive in the province of the Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
, which was a Dutch colony from 1652 to 1806. Twenty-five are in the Groote Kerk in Cape Town, one is in the Western Cape Archives, and the other three are in museums.
During the period of Dutch rule, the display of rouwborden was evidently restricted to senior officials and military officers, and a few high-ranking foreign dignitaries who died at the Cape. When the main part of the church building was demolished in 1836, because it had become structurally unsound, the rouwborden were stored in the tower. They were left there after the rebuilt church was completed in 1841, and reportedly deteriorated with the passage of time. Some forty years later, the newly-established Colonial Archives rescued twenty-five of them, and they were displayed in the Archives until the church reclaimed them in 1910. They were then hung in the vestry, and it was not until the 1960s that they were hung in the church itself.
Sources
*
References
External links
Francis Downing, 'Conserving and Restoring Church Hatchments', ''Historic Churches'', 2008
Hatchments in the UK county of Essex (column Htc)
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