Lawnswoods Cemetery Symbols

doubtful_guest · Post by **doubtful_guest** » Mon 14 Apr, 2008 6:36 pm

jonleeds wrote: Here is another of the weird symbols opposite Lawnswood cemetery entrance. This one is of a pelican feeding its young?!? WTF?! The full set can be seen on FLickr. Pelicans are a Christian symbol. Quote from Wikipedia ...In medieval Europe, the pelican was thought to be particularly attentive to her young, to the point of providing her own blood when no other food was available. As a result, the pelican became a symbol of the Passion of Jesus and of the Eucharist. It also became a symbol in bestiaries for self-sacrifice, and was used in heraldry ("a pelican in her piety" or "a pelican vulning (wounding) herself"). Another version of this is that the pelican used to kill its young and then resurrect them with its blood, this being analogous to the sacrifice of Jesus. Thus the symbol of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is a pelican, and for most of its existence the headquarters of the service was located at Pelican House in Dublin, Ireland

fevlad · Post by **fevlad** » Mon 14 Apr, 2008 8:13 pm

didn't that place used to be a tram terminus?maybe when it was built suitable motifs were included.

liits · Post by **liits** » Mon 14 Apr, 2008 8:52 pm

Not taken at Lawnswood but carved in the same style and same stone, maybe LCC had a corporate sculptor? [Sorry, pic won't upload]

Calliad · Post by **Calliad** » Mon 21 Jul, 2008 5:55 am

Lawnswood Cemetery Symbols1. The empty cross is a symbol of Jesus' resurrection, the rays of light behind it representing divinity / the glory of God. Taken as a whole this carving shows that the death and resurrection of Christ brings the hope of salvation to the whole world.2. The poppies. Some careful thought has gone into this carving. Buds that have barely begun to open are falling to the ground, a pair of poppies face forward reminding the onlooker that both friend and foe were lost in battle and at the top a flower confidently faces upwards to the light / hope of heaven.3. Dove with olive branch, a symbol of peace. It has its origins in the bible story of Noah's Ark. A dove returned to the ark with an olive branch as the floods subsided, showing Noah that God's righteous anger had subsided, that peaceful times and dry land lay ahead, ie. safety, homecoming and the prospect of a new beginning (heaven). Olives / olive oil are also biblical symbols of the outpouring of God's blessings.4. Pelican. The entry in a post above says it all. 5. Rising / Setting Sun over water. I would say this is deliberately ambiguous, death being both an ending and a beginning. But in Christian symbolism it is the Sun / Son rising, 'The day-spring from on high'. One of the traditional titles given to Christ is Sun of Righteousness (as used in the carol Hark, the herald angels sing) and water is a symbol of baptism, ie. new life, forgiveness, death and resurrection.6. Palm branches. In medieval times a symbol / badge of pilgrimage to Jerusalem - just as those with the surname Palmer are descendants of a pilgrim / crusader who went to the Holy Land. The palm branch is one of the Christian symbols for Jerusalem because palms were spread in the road as a sign of honour / kingship when Christ entered Jerusalem on a donkey a few days before his crucifixion. The NEW Jerusalem is another biblical metaphor for his heavenly kingdom. 7. Lamb and flag. A symbol of the resurrection - Christ's triumph over death. The Jewish / Old Testament festival of Passover (Pasch)commemorates the Angel of death 'passing over' (ie. sparing) the first-born male children of the households of God's people when they were slaves in Egypt. They had marked their doorpost with blood from the sacrificed paschal lamb. Thus they were set free from slavery in Egypt and, lead by Moses, crossed the Red Sea on their (long) journey to the Promised Land, which they eventually entered (after Moses' had died) by crossing the river Jordan. At the beginning of New Testament times the river Jordan became the place where John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, hailed him as the Lamb of God, ie. the One who would offer his life as the Perfect Sacrifice, paying the price of sin and setting the believer free from the slavery of sin and death. Jesus' crucifixion happened around the time of the Jewish Passover, which is the reason for his being in Jerusalem at that time. The triumphant victory flag, or gonfalon, represents the resurrection. The Gospel accounts imply that Christ's resurrection occurred during the night, symbolised here by the stars. One star is larger, probably alluding to another of his traditional resurrection titles - the Morning Star.8. & 9. Angel with crown & The Crown of Glory. In Christian theology and biblical imagery the baptised are made inheritors of the Kingdom of God, ie. heaven.

Si · Post by Si » Mon 21 Jul, 2008 9:32 am

Thanks for the info, Calliad.Are you a vicar, by any chance?

Calliad · Post by **Calliad** » Mon 21 Jul, 2008 10:48 am

Damn! Is it that obvious?

Si · Post by Si » Mon 21 Jul, 2008 11:14 am

Language, Reverend, language!!!

jonleeds · Post by **jonleeds** » Thu 24 Jul, 2008 3:18 am

Hi Calliad!Many thanks for your very comprehensive explanation of these symbols, I'm very grateful that you took the time to describe each image so eloquently, you've helped me understand something that had baffled me for a while.Cheers!Johnny

Brandy · Post by **Brandy** » Thu 24 Jul, 2008 1:17 pm

Cheers Father jack hacket Wow S/L has got its own swearing vicar lol.ps/no offence Father,and thanks for clearing this up.

Si · Post by Si » Thu 24 Jul, 2008 1:23 pm

Oops! That's a couple more millennia in pergatory for you, Brandy!!!