Maiden's garland
A maiden's garland, also known as a virgin's crown, crants or crantsey, is a crown-shaped garland used as a funeral memento for, usually female, virgins.[1][2] They are generally made of paper flowers, rosettes and ribbons fixed to a wooden frame.[3][4] Many are also adorned with white paper gloves, and may be inscribed with verses of poetry and the name of the deceased.[3][5][6] The garlands are carried before, or on, the coffin during the funeral procession and afterwards displayed in the church.[6][7] W.R. Bullen, writing in The Tablet in 1926, reports that the "practice of carrying garlands at a maiden's funeral was common in England, Wales and Scotland before the Reformation and after it for two hundred years or more, but the custom has now almost entirely fallen into disuse."[8]
The oldest surviving garland was made in 1680 and is displayed at St Mary's Church, Beverley, Yorkshire.[1] The largest collection of garlands (43, ranging between 1740-1973) is held at the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Abbots Ann, Hampshire, and the most recent example was made in 1995 at Holy Trinity Church, Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire.[4][9] Examples have also been found in France: Edward J.G. Forse, writing in 1938, observed: "The paper rosettes and wreaths at Abbots Ann I found paralleled in August 1919 at Montsoreau, near Saumur, and in July 1932 at La Malène on the river Tarn."[10]
Etymology
The name crants, used most commonly in Derbyshire and the north, is believed to be derived from late Old Norse krans (Error: {{IPA}}: unrecognized language tag: /krans/) or Old High German kranz (/kʁants/), both meaning "wreath".[1][2] Samuel Johnson, in Notes to Shakespeare, Volume 3: The Tragedies (1765), wrote: "I have been informed by an anonymous correspondent, that crants is the German word for garlands, and I suppose it was retained by us from the Saxons. To carry garlands before the bier of a maiden, and to hang them over her grave, is still the practice in rural parishes."[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1080/0015587032000145388, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1080/0015587032000145388instead. - ^ a b Morris, Rosie (2011). "Maidens' Garlands: A Funeral Custom of Post-Reformation England". In King, Chris; Sayer, Duncan (eds.). The Archaeology of Post-Medieval Religion. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 271–282. ISBN 978-1-8438369-3-3.
- ^ a b Lockie, Rosemary (15 November 2009). "Maidens' Funeral Garlands, Holy Trinity Church, Ashford". GENUKI. Archived from the original on 6 May 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ a b Bunting, Julie (15 November 2009). "Take a Look At: Maidens' Garlands and Memorials". GENUKI. First published 25 June 2001, The Peak Advertiser (Bakewell) p.13. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ Andrews, Ann (20 July 2013). "Funeral Garlands in Matlock Church". The Andrews Pages. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Church history and the architecture of Holy Trinity Church, Ashford in the Water". Holy Trinity Parish Church. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ "The Crantses". St. Giles, Matlock. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ Bullen, W.R. (10 April 1926). "Virgins' Garlands". The Tablet. London. p. 7. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ King, Pamela J. "The Virgins' Crown". St. Mary's Church, Abbotts Ann. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ Forse, Edward J.G. (1938). "III: "THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD"
Rarities not absolutely unique!". Ceremonial Curiosities and Queer Sights in Foreign Churches. London: The Faith Press. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
{{cite book}}: line feed character in|chapter=at position 33 (help) - ^ Johnson, Samuel (1765). Notes to Shakespeare, Volume 3: The Tragedies.
External links
- "Maidens' Garlands". Website of Rosie Morris.