In the 17th and 18th centuries, because of the fear of re-introducing Roman Catholic influences,
there was a notable absence of Christian imagery on effigies, its place being taken by pagan classical
motifs, in particularly urns. Indeed, it was said that nine-tenths of funeral monuments
erected by Protestants in England showed a 'heathernish rather than a Christian feeling'.
The use of the cross on memorials to the dead is a relatively recent innovation.
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Angels with trumpets | The Resurrection |
| Bat/bat wings | Death |
| Boy blowing bubbles | The shortness of mortal life |
| Broken column | A life cut short |
| Cherub | The emblem of immortality |
| Child in a cradle | If on the parent's tomb this may indicate the birth of an heir |
| Clock | The shortness of mortal life |
| Coffin | The shortness of mortal life |
| Dog | A dog at the feet denotes fidelity |
| Dove | 1: Faith in eternal life
2: The Holy Spirit |
| Dragon | A dragon at the feet denotes antagonism towards evil |
| Flowers | Emblems of the Resurrection |
| Frog | 1: The frog was the ancient badge of France and it might, therefore,
proclaim the knight's antecedents. |
| | 2: A possible reference to the Crusades, placed under the sword
emblematically to signify the part played by the knight in the Crusades.
|
| Fruit | Emblems of the Resurrection |
| Heart | A reference to the line in the Creed
which invites us to 'Lift up our hearts'. |
| Hour Glass | The shortness of mortal life
(when winged and crowned it marks the work of Nicholas Johnson) |
| Lamp | Eternal life |
| Lighted lamp | A reminder of the wise virgins. A sign of Christian preparation |
| Lion | A lion at the feet denotes courage |
| Phoenix | Resurrection |
| Picks | Shortness of life |
| Putti with trumpets | Resurrection |
| Putti with spades | Mortality |
| Pyramids | Eternity |
| Scythe | Shortness of mortal life |
| Skeleton | Death |
| Skull | 1: The symbol of death |
| | 2: When a child weeper is depicted holding a skull it symbolizes that
the child predeceased the parent memorialized. |
| Skull on the wings of time | Mortality as opposed to immortality |
| Spade | Shortness of life |
| Torches | Death |
| Urn | Mortality |
| Urn with Lamp | Eternal Life |
