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TOMB. 



TOMBS, VAULTS, &c. 



232 



only sufficient to show their number and situation ; yet that they were 

 hewn out of the rock, like the entablature and pediment, scarcely 

 admits of question. Of the magnificent sepulchre of Mausolus erected 

 by Greek architects at Haliearnassus, an account is given under 

 MAUSOLEUM. 



Vitruvius says nothing on the subject of sepulchres and tombs, 

 either Grecian or Roman ; yet sepulchral edifices are still very nume- 

 rous throughout Latium and Magna Grcecia, and many of them must 

 originally have been very conspicuous objects, and not a little remark- 

 able on account of the studied architectural decoration bestowed on 

 them externally : for besides subterraneous sepulchral chambers or 

 vaults (which were usually very carefully finished internally, and not 

 unfrequeutly ornamented with painting and stucco-work, and with 

 marble or mosaic pavements), there is another and quite distinct class, 

 consisting of structures raised above ground, insulated, and apparently 

 solid. These may be described as generally of nearly cubical form, 

 though some are of much loftier proportions. There are. besides, 

 varieties of this class, in which either a conical or cylindrical super- 

 structure ia raised upon the square portion, which then becomes a 

 basement; or else the superstructure is also square, but is distinguished 

 from the lower part by pilasters, panels with inscriptions, and other 

 architectural decorations : some of these have an upper sepulchral 

 chamber, others a subterraneous one also, or one below the level of the 

 ground. 



What is called the " Sepolcro di Nerone," near Ponte Molle, may be 

 taken as a specimen of the usual character of Roman tombs partaking 

 of the cubic form. Like the generality of them, this is somewhat 

 more than a perfect cube, the dimensions being 20 feet by 24 in 

 height, or, including its covering, 27 feet. At each angle is a large 

 acroterium presenting two quadrant-shaped surfaces, meeting at right 

 angles at the external edge of two adjoining sides a species of orna- 

 ment almost peculiar to ancient altars and tombs. Of larger tombs of 

 this class, there is one in the Via Portuensis, a double cube in height, 

 the measurements being respectively 44 and 80 feet. In the example 

 previously mentioned, the upper part is rather leas in height than the 

 basement, but here it is about a third more, and is also decorated with 

 four pilasters on each front, with a small pediment, not supporting, 

 but placed between the large acroteria at the angles. Of circular tombs 

 we have a well-known example in that of Manutius Plancus at Gaeta, 

 a low circular tower (nearly solid within), about 60 feet in diameter, 

 and 10 feet more in height ; therefore, owing to its size, it is rather a 

 mausoleum than a mere tomb. The same may be said of that of 

 Ciccilia Metella at Rome ; which structure, otherwise called II Capo di 

 Bove, from the ornaments in its Doric frieze, exceeds the one just 

 mentioned in size, it being 90 feet in diameter, and its entire height 

 about 130 feet. It does not, however, partake so much of the 

 character of a mere tower as the tomb at Gaeta, because it consists of 

 two nearly equal masses, namely, a square one with a cylindrical super- 

 structure, and is therefore an example of that compound-form class 

 which we have above pointed out. Among the tombs at Pompeii 

 there is one which is circular in the upper part of its exterior, and 

 internally has a dome of very peculiar shape, which docs not show itself 

 on the outside, but is cut out of the solid mass. Other sepulchral 

 structures at Pompeii are very numerous, forming what is called the 

 " Street of Tombs." Instead of cemeteries, or public burying-grounds, 

 it was the custom in ancient Italy to erect tombs on each side of the 

 principal roads leading from a city, as was the case with the Via Appia 

 and others in the immediate vicinity of Rome. 



The tombs of the middle ages are within buildings, churches, 

 chantries, cloisters, &c., and exhibit almost every variety of form and 

 enrichment, from the primitive stone coffin or Christian sarcophagus, 

 to those lavishly decorated catafalco monuments which are so many 

 piles of architecture and sculpture. Those of the first-mentioned kind 

 are, for the most part, very little raised above the fioor, and their 

 upper surface is en dot d'dnc, or forms a ridge-shaped lid. The next 

 class consists of Altar or Table Tvmbt, comparatively plain, although 

 with panelling or other architectural decoration on their sides. The next 

 . r is the i/ '[null., tirst introduced in the 13th century, with a 

 recumbent figure of the deceased upon it, extended, with the hands 

 slightly raised, and joined as if in the attitude of prayer. Examples 

 of this kind are very numerous, and highly interesting, both on 

 account of their execution as works of sculpture and the information 

 they afford in regard to the costume of the period. 



Altar and effigy tombs were usually placed between the piers of an 

 arch, or within a recess in a wall ; and in either case the whole tomb 

 was frequently covered by an arch forming a sort of canopy over it, of 

 which kind is that of Aymer de Valence in Westminster Abbey (1334). 

 In course of time this mode of architectural decoration came to be 

 greatly extended. Instead of a single arch, three or more small arches 

 were introduced, which, with the columns either supporting or placed 

 between them, inclosed the figure on the tomb, giving the whole the 

 appearance of a thrine or tcreen. Many of the French monuments of 

 the period of the Renaissance are in this style of design, large and 

 lofty insulated architectural masses, with a profusion of highly -enriched 

 pilasters and arches, and numerous allegorical figures, beside other 

 statutes and bas-reliefs, so that the drpoiito, or actual tomb, is the least 

 portion of the entire composition. 



In Italy there are many examples of what may be called fafade 



monuments, which are extensive architectural compositions, consisting 

 of two or more orders of columns, with pediments, niches, statues, 

 panels, and various other architectural decorations. Of such "macchine 

 colossali," as Cicognara terms them, the monument of the doge Valier 

 by Tirali, and that of the doge Pesaro by Longhena, may be quoted as 

 instances. In both of them the figures are merely accompaniments to 

 the architecture, and that which should be the principal is almost 

 the most insignificant among them. In the Catafalc tomb, even when 

 equally extravagant in point of accumulated embellishment, there is at 

 least a certain degree of character that stamps it at first sight for what 

 it is, whereas in those of the kind just referred to there is nothing to 

 indicate a sepulchral monument. This last remark applies very forcibly 

 to those two celebrated works of Michel Angelo, the tombs of Giuliauo 

 and Lorenzo de' Medici, each of which has, besides the figures of those 

 personages, two naked semi-recumbent figures, a male and female, 

 intended, or supposed to be intended, to express day and night (or 

 sleep), and morning and evening. More becoming in feeling and in taste 

 are many other Italian tombs of about the same period, which consist 

 of Uttle more than a simple dtposito, or sarcophagus, with either a 

 recumbent or semi-recumbent figure of the . deceased upon it ; such, 

 for instance, as those of Giov. Andr. Boccaccio in the cloister of Santa 

 Maria della Pace, and of Angelo Marzi in the church of the Annunziata 

 at Florence. Although they have abandoned the architectural cari- 

 riiluni formerly in vogue for such purposes, instead of returning to the 

 simple and natural expression of Christian monumental works, later 

 sculptors have frequently given us allegorical compositions and groups 

 of mythological figures, and the likeness of persons intended to be 

 recorded is shown only in a medallion. In this vicious taste are many 

 of the monuments in St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey, while others 

 are chiefly remarkable for the fantastic conceits into which the artists 

 have fallen, and which render them equally unbefitting the purpose 

 they are designed for and the place where they are erected. 



TOMBS, VAULTS, TOMBSTONES, TABLETS. In previous 

 articles [COFFIN ; INTERMENT] the various modes of disposing of the 

 dead have been discussed ; it is our intention here to show what rights 

 the subjects of this country have, 1st, to burial, and 2ndly, to a per- 

 manent commemoration of themselves by means of monuments. It 

 must be borne in mind that we treat here only of parish churches and 

 churchyards, or of the parish burying-grounds subsidiary to the 

 churchyard. The cemeteries which the necessities of an increasing 

 population have caused to be established in the neighbourhood of 

 many of our densely inhabited towns are private property, regulated at 

 the pleasure of the proprietors. 



By the 68th Canon of 1603 it is ordered that no minister shall 

 refuse or delay, under pain of suspension by the bishop for three 

 months, to bury any corpse that is brought to the church or church- 

 yard (convenient warning being given him thereof before), in such 

 form as is prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer, unless the 

 deceased were excommunicated majori e-ecommnnicalionc, and no man 

 able to testify of his repentance. The Rubric further excludes from 

 Christian burial those who have not been baptised or who have died 

 by their own hands ; and this latter class are defined to be such as have 

 voluntarily killed themselves, being of sound mind, of which fact a 

 coroner's jury are considered by ecclesiastical authorities to be the 

 fitting judges. Thus the ecclesiastical law not only gives to the 

 clergyman the right, but imposes on him the duty to bury, with only 

 three exceptions, all who shall be brought within the precincts of his 

 church. Nevertheless the ecclesiastical courts have admonished a 

 minister and churchwardens to abstain from burying strangers in the 

 churchyard, when the practice of doing so threatened to interfere with 

 the rights of the parishioners; for the common law gives to the 

 people the right of being buried within the churchyard of their own 

 parishes: "Ubi decimas persolvebat vivus, sepeliatur mortuus;" and 

 although the freehold of the churchyard, as of the church, is in the 

 parson, he holds it only for the benefit of his parishioners, and subject 

 to their right of interment in it. 



This right of sepulture, however, applies only to tho body : the 

 Canon and the Rubric alike talk as though studiously of the "corpsr " 

 alone, never mentioning the coffin. In former times the use of coffins 

 was confined to the richer classes, and these were often of stone or of 

 other durable materials [COFFIN] ; but the practice and no doubt the 

 intention was that in the great majority of cases the process of decay, 

 and, therefore, the occupation of the earth, should not bo needlessly 

 protracted. To use the words of Lord Stowell, " A common cemetery 

 [by which he means a churchyard or parish buryiug-ground] is not 

 ra uniiu tetalit, the property of one generation now departed, but is 

 likewise the common property of the living and of generations yet 

 unborn, and is subject only to temporary occupations." On this 

 doctrine are based the main points of the law concerning burials. 



The establishment of churchyards is attributed to Cuthbert, arch- 

 bishop of Canterbury, who in the year 750 introduced into this country 

 the custom, then existing at Rome, of devoting an enclosed space round 

 the sacred edifice to the interment of those who had been entitled to 

 attend or had been in the habit of attending worship within its. walls. 

 Theretofore, notwithstanding a canon which forbade it (De non sepc- 

 licndo in Ecdetiis), the clergy interred persons of peculiar sanctity or 

 importance within the walls of the church, especially in the side aisles 

 of the nave, so as to remind the faithful of their example and of the 



