Tombs Fit For Kings. By Uncle Monty.

Tombs Fit For Kings

By Uncle Monty
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Tombs record the finality of life of those so entombed.
Yet, such tombs rarely tell us much about the life and

times of those so laid there. Except for a glimmer and a

glance of their given titles, birth names, date of deaths,

and date or year of births, such tombs are then

perfectly silent just like the dead.
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Centuries may come and go, but the tombs still stand

steadfast against the age of human time. Elaborate and

expensive tombs are usually reserved for the once

powerful or mighty. Although the most powerful and

mighty of them all was a humble man whose human

tomb has never existed. Who was that, you might

very well ask? And, what man?

The answer comes later.
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The shape, size, and design of the tomb always reflects

the local tradition, creed, custom, emotion, and history of

the people. The deeper the emotion, the more elaborate

becomes the tomb. The ordinary, the insignificant, the

unrecognised, the unesteemed, and the unbeloved are

rarely ever entombed. Tombs are usually for deities,

kings, queens, emperors, national heroes, great

warriors, and the extraordinary.

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Tombs are oftentimes housed inside cathedrals,

morsoleums, meccas, pyramids, crypts, shrines,

and Jewish burial houses. For the less important,

tombs are usually placed outside in open cemeteries,

common burial grounds, memorial parks, church
courtyards, and at private and public gardens. All

tombs house the remains of the dead unless grave

robbers and burial plunderers have done their mac-

abre and evil deeds against the living and the dead.

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Important tombs may also house rare jewels, gold,

precious tokens, symbols of office, and religious and

personal artefacts. And tombs are made of every con-

ceivable material known to humankind: brick, metal,

wood, glass, marble, slate, stone, dirt, mirror, concrete,

sand, clay, alabaster and what have you. The more im-

portant the tomb, the greater is the craftsmanship and

the finer is the filagee and quality surrounding it. Some-

times, the tomb itself becomes a place of national and

religious or political pilgrimage by the people.

Indeed, the tomb can sometimes become almost

more important and elevated than the person
or persons originally buried inside it.

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While on the other hand, tombs are oftentimes quickly

forgotten, especially by those who hold no attachment to
the person (s) or event (s) surrounding the construction
and dedication of the particular tomb. The older and

more minor the tomb, the more it is usually forgotten

or holds little or no place in the national consciousness
or the minds and hearts of the people. Tombs in-

variably outlive the present living, if such tombs are

preserved and tendered after. And some tombs are
more grand than the person was in life and of whom the

tomb is so named by those who have mounds of money

and unlimited means to afford such monumentalized and

showy display of their beloved dead ones. Notably too,

European tombs are more likely to be for those of the

Caucasian race more than for any other race in which

dead babies, martyred children, rich mid-lifers, and

elderly statemen or old celebrities are buried.

And, the modern taste of tombs are also

made in memory of beloved pets. Where grief and

sorrow are at the deepest, no expense is then spared

for the making of many a tomb be they of the past or

present. Of course, tombs have been erected from

time immortal to the modern age as seen in the

recent papal tomb of the world's beloved

John Paul II at The Holy See.
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And just by pure chance the other day I came across

some original and historic mid-18th century woodcuts

of tombs fit for kings. I found four of the woodcuts for
a mere 25 pence a piece at the closing day of The

House of Faith. The woodcuts had been dismaster-

ed from an antiquarian book that showed foxing on

sturdy cotton paper of the book plates that are sure-

ly well over 250 years old. I also found four early

19th century black and white engravings based on

William Hogarth’s sketches of London and again

for only 25 pence each. But it was the tombs or

royal monuments that caught my imagination the

most. And, hence my story here of "Tombs Fit For

Kings." I regret now I didn’t also buy the other

woodcuts of the tombs of the Queens of England

upto Anne, 1702-14. Here are the tombs fit

for kings in woodcut form:
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John, 1199 - 1216.
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Edward III, 1327 - 1377.
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Edward, The Black Prince.
1330 - 1376.
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Henry V, 1413 - 1422.
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Perhaps one day they’ll also disentomb the British
kings, queens, and royal personages for pure curio-
sity. And we’ll then find out things we don’t know
about them after all. Although, I personally see no
real reason to disturb such tombs or monuments
under almost any circumstances unless it is to
ensure the continuing preservation of their
place of historic honour.
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A 1779 dated engraving of Christ
from my small religious collection.
Herein lies, too, the answer to my
earlier question of His human
tomb does not exist.
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Above is one of a series of photographs I took
of His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
at the end of his very controversial lecture on
“English Law And Islam” that was held at the
Great Hall of the Royal Courts of Justice of
which over a 1,000 people were present. The
image here shows Dr. Williams (far right)
with the Ambassador of Morocco standing
in the middle next to His Grace. And the
Anglican cleric on the left is, I believe,
one of the archbishop’s personal aides
then speaking to him.
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Tombs away, Uncle Monty.
+St. Alphege, 2oo8.