Douglas Hatchments
A hatchment is a funeral demonstration of the lifetime
"achievement" of the arms (shield, helmet, crest, supporters) and
any other honours displayed on a black lozenge-shaped frame which
used to be suspended against the wall of a deceased person's house.
The word derives from the early French word "achevement".
It
was usually placed over the entrance at the level of the second
floor, and remained for from 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.
Only about fifty hatchments still exist in Scotland. This sparseness
is because, in 1643, The
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland passed an Act which
prohibited 'Honours of Arms or any such like monuments'.
A
surviving document of Strathbogie in Aberdeenshire 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
lay out for hatchments and funeral heraldry. They are often highly
decorated with the coats of antecedents and with tears, skulls (mort
heads), and mantles.
It is 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
escutcheons ranged along the margin.
A white background indicates the person is alive and a black
background that they are dead. So, if the husband is dead, his
side is black and if his spouse is still living, her side would have
white background.
See also:
• The funeral heraldry
of Scotland [pdf] for descriptions of some of the above.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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