The strange case of Sir Thomas Browne's skull
Drawings of Thomas Browne's skull, as illustrated in Charles Williams's The Measurements of the Skull of Sir Thomas Browne (1895)
.But who knows the fate of his bones, or how often he is to be buried? To be knav’d [gnawed] out of our graves, to have our skulls made drinking-bowls, and our bones turned into pipes, to delight and sport our enemies, are tragical abominations escaped in burning burials'. Browne
|
The Measurements of Thomas Browne's skull - a 12 page publication printed for the author Charles Williams by Jarrold and Sons in 1895. You can downloada. PDF version of the pamphlet above archive.org/details/b22362551/page/12/mode/2up
|
A case of Sir Thomas Browne’s stolen skull and a new replica
One of the fascinating tales about Thomas Browne is the fact that many years after his death, in 1682, his grave in St Peter Mancroft Church was disturbed while a vault was being dug next to his plot in 1840. At that time, there was a great interest in phrenology and skull-theft was popular. Sensing an opportunity, the sexton George Potter took the skull, and after touring it around a bit, he sold it to a local GP Edward Lubbock. When Lubbock died in 1847, he bequeathed Browne’s skull to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital Museum, which put it on display. Over time, the church made repeated requests to the museum to have the skull returned, to no avail, as they didn’t want to relinquish it. Eventually, the hospital capitulated and in 1922 St. Peter Mancroft Church was finally able to rebury the retrieved skull back in the church with the rest of his bones (though apparently in a different location). The entry in the church register shows the burial age of the skull as 317 years.
Before the skull was reinterred, some plaster casts were made. We think there are four; one is held in St Peter Mancroft Church, one at the Norwich and Norwich University Library, one in London (at the Wellcome Trust or the Royal College of Physicians) and one which has found its way into private ownership in the United States (we think).
The cast in the NNUH library is encased in a glass cabinet on a plinth which was arranged and paid for by Sir William Osler, a physician who was inspired by Browne and a great fan of the man and his work. It is on display but can’t be handled as there is no easy access to the case. The edition in St Peter Mancroft, on the other hand, is easily accessible in an open wooden box hair and has been handled quite a lot in the past. As a result, the jawbone has become detached and broken and the skull itself has been chipped.
After discussion with the church management, we decided to try and user newer technologies to reproduce the skull so that they can display a replica once more. Contacting Steve Kingsley from Pixel Past, who specialises in scanning and 3D printing historic artefacts, we set out to make a new replica skull that can be handled and displayed without worrying about its safety. It also means we have a 3D modelled file which can be shown on screen, enabling a view of all aspects from anywhere in the world – of interest to academics and Browne enthusiasts wherever they are.
The project is a work in progress as we are hoping to get access to a skull with a complete jawbone. Steve has mended the jawbone digitally and printed it, but the join is still visible. He is also planning to make a better quality scan using another process called photogrammetry. You can find out more about Steve and his services here
And what would Thomas Browne think?
In his book Urn Buriall, Browne talked about the customs of burial and what we do with bodies after death. Before his death (clearly) he wrote this “But who knows the fate of his bones, or how often he is to be buried? Who hath the oracles of his ashes, or whither they are to be scattered?”,
Browne wrote this in 1658, arguing that “To be gnawed (knaved) out of our graves, to have our skulls made drinking-bowls, and our bones turned into pipes to delight and sport our enemies, are tragical abominations.”
He clearly didn’t approve of the practice of grave-robbing or the theft of skulls for sport, profit or examination, and he could not have known that it would be the fate of his own, most important bone, should be stolen.
Whether he would be interested in the process of 3D scanning and digital technology or not is a matter for speculation. In general, he was interested in scientific developments and new things, so I think it is safe to assume that he would, even if he were not impressed!
One of the fascinating tales about Thomas Browne is the fact that many years after his death, in 1682, his grave in St Peter Mancroft Church was disturbed while a vault was being dug next to his plot in 1840. At that time, there was a great interest in phrenology and skull-theft was popular. Sensing an opportunity, the sexton George Potter took the skull, and after touring it around a bit, he sold it to a local GP Edward Lubbock. When Lubbock died in 1847, he bequeathed Browne’s skull to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital Museum, which put it on display. Over time, the church made repeated requests to the museum to have the skull returned, to no avail, as they didn’t want to relinquish it. Eventually, the hospital capitulated and in 1922 St. Peter Mancroft Church was finally able to rebury the retrieved skull back in the church with the rest of his bones (though apparently in a different location). The entry in the church register shows the burial age of the skull as 317 years.
Before the skull was reinterred, some plaster casts were made. We think there are four; one is held in St Peter Mancroft Church, one at the Norwich and Norwich University Library, one in London (at the Wellcome Trust or the Royal College of Physicians) and one which has found its way into private ownership in the United States (we think).
The cast in the NNUH library is encased in a glass cabinet on a plinth which was arranged and paid for by Sir William Osler, a physician who was inspired by Browne and a great fan of the man and his work. It is on display but can’t be handled as there is no easy access to the case. The edition in St Peter Mancroft, on the other hand, is easily accessible in an open wooden box hair and has been handled quite a lot in the past. As a result, the jawbone has become detached and broken and the skull itself has been chipped.
After discussion with the church management, we decided to try and user newer technologies to reproduce the skull so that they can display a replica once more. Contacting Steve Kingsley from Pixel Past, who specialises in scanning and 3D printing historic artefacts, we set out to make a new replica skull that can be handled and displayed without worrying about its safety. It also means we have a 3D modelled file which can be shown on screen, enabling a view of all aspects from anywhere in the world – of interest to academics and Browne enthusiasts wherever they are.
The project is a work in progress as we are hoping to get access to a skull with a complete jawbone. Steve has mended the jawbone digitally and printed it, but the join is still visible. He is also planning to make a better quality scan using another process called photogrammetry. You can find out more about Steve and his services here
And what would Thomas Browne think?
In his book Urn Buriall, Browne talked about the customs of burial and what we do with bodies after death. Before his death (clearly) he wrote this “But who knows the fate of his bones, or how often he is to be buried? Who hath the oracles of his ashes, or whither they are to be scattered?”,
Browne wrote this in 1658, arguing that “To be gnawed (knaved) out of our graves, to have our skulls made drinking-bowls, and our bones turned into pipes to delight and sport our enemies, are tragical abominations.”
He clearly didn’t approve of the practice of grave-robbing or the theft of skulls for sport, profit or examination, and he could not have known that it would be the fate of his own, most important bone, should be stolen.
Whether he would be interested in the process of 3D scanning and digital technology or not is a matter for speculation. In general, he was interested in scientific developments and new things, so I think it is safe to assume that he would, even if he were not impressed!