Grave in St Nicholas's Church

greenpilot

Hi Guys,

Can anyone shed light on a grave in St Nicholas's Church bearing three Maltese Crosses and an Anchor?. One of the Crosses contains two love hearts, one facing in and one facing out, and the name feitzheig and dating from the 1550's ....??

P

boneless

Which St Nicholas church? I know three in Dublin alone... the anchor is sometimes used to represent hope and faith. The heart sometimes is used to represent love and charity. The cross, again, is faith. Not sure if the Maltese version means something else. Maybe put a picture up?

boneless

Just been talking to a friend who has studied headstones... the anchor is actually the symbol used to represent St Nicholas, who is also regarded as the patron of seafarers... may be something here?

greenpilot

Hi,

Its in Galway, just beside the market, complete with apprentice pillar, fleur de luys on one pillar, masonic gravestones forming part of the floor, and various other graves. Its a shame that they have started charging money into the church, as it used to be an oasis of study for medieval churches, The grave I have described above is the most interesting

Dr Strange

Anchors ond gravestones sometimes symbolise hope and faith. They do appear on masonic graves as a symbol of "well-grounded hope" (see: http://www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html).

On some Scottish graves some anchors can be seen upside down meaning that the faith of the deceased is well-anchored in heaven as opposed to the marine symbolism of a sailor's grave.