Sømandens våde grav, s. 103-167 - Handels- og Søfartsmuseet

telling how they were mistreated by the people living near the beach, who sometimes
chopped off their fingers to take their rings, stole their boots, scarves,
money etc, and threw them down on to the beach instead of giving them a Christian
burial. Local people were also afraid that the dead might be Catholics, or
heathens such as Turks or Russians. Thus it was quite common for sailors to get
tattooed with a crucifix in order to show that they were Christians. There are a
large number of »dead men's hills« along the west coast of Jutland, where it was
considered dangerous to roam at night in case the dead returned and claimed
their stolen limbs and valuables back. They were said to jump up on the backs
ofthe guilty ones and frighten them into handing over the stolen objects. Their
greatest wish, however, was to be buried in the consecrated ground ofthe churchyard,
where they could lie in peace to rest until the Day of Judgement.
Upon doser examination, however, it turns out that these legends for the
most part are belied by the legislation ofthe time. Most beach washers were in
actual faet buried in the churchyard. Up through the ages the laws have
stipulated that the dead must have a decent burial. From Catholic Denmark and
other countries we hear how some people, out of love for their fellow man,
formed brotherhoods to patrol the beaches and bring the dead to rest in a
Christian manner.
The very best thing for a sailor was of course to come home after his perilous
voyages, put something aside for a peaceful old age, and eventually be buried
with due ceremony in his own churchyard. Then the bereaved family had a
place to assemble and mourn him. Afterwards a beautiful gravestone with
maritime symbols was placed over the grave and everything was as it should be.
Memorial services were often held for the ones who never returned, services
which were believed to have a long-distance beneficial effect on their soul just
like requiems and prayers in the Catholic Church. Empty memorial graves
stood in many piaces waiting for the dead.
In our day it is becoming more and more the fashion to be cremated and then
have the ashes strewn into the sea. This romantic idea would have appalled the
sailors of old, for whom soul and body were quite closely linked.
Burial at sea is now an extremely uncommon event, indeed it is even forbidden
entirely on Italian ships for example. But even if much superstition
has vanished death is still life's great problem.
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