2010 8 Feb

Memorial Inscriptions – Let Shakespeare, Robin Hood & John Keats Inspire You

Headstones of famous people can be found in cemeteries around the world, and many of them contain epitaphs and inscriptions written either by or about the deceased. These epitaphs, far from being simply morbid, often make interesting reading.

Take, for example, the memorial stone for William Shakespeare, which reads: “Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here, Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones”.

The reasoning behind this inscription is that he lived in morbid fear of his body being dug up after he had been buried. Fortunately, his grave, which is in the English town of Stratford has remained, as he desired, untouched.

John Keats’s headstone, which is in Rome, is engraved with the design of a lyre with broken strings, which was added by Keats’s friends Joseph Severn and Charles Brown, and contains no mention of his name. He wanted it to read only: “Here lies one whose name was writ in water”.

Severn and Brown later added: “This grave contains all that was mortal of a young English poet who on his death bed in the bitterness of his heart at the malicious power of his enemies desired these words to be engraven on his tomb stone”.

The site of Robin Hood’s headstone is at a priory in Kirklees in England has been visited by thousands upon thousands of people over the years. The problem is it is the wrong place!

The original grave slab disappeared some time after 1665. A replica was made, but this was chipped to pieces by 18th-century canal workers who thought a little bit of Robin Hood’s gravestone would cure toothache.

With some research, you will no doubt find that there are at least a few headstones in cemeteries near you that belong to famous people from yesteryear. Though it might not make a great hobby as such, spending a day visiting some of these makes for an interesting and cheap day out.

Alternatively, you can just use Google images, where you will find plenty of images of famous headstones. Finding out what your deceased heroes decided to leave as their farewell message can really add something to way that you think about them.
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To celebrate the launch of their new website, Granite Memorials are running a competition to find the most interesting and witty inscription on a famous personality’s headstone. Send your photos, explaining where and when you took them and why you feel it should rank in the Headstones Hall of Fame, for more info please visit http://www.granite-memorials.co.uk