Lachrymatory

 Please don't think me morose. While reading my new historical novel set in the South in during the Civil War I came upon an object mentioned that I had never heard of before. Being the history nerd that I am I couldn't just let it slip by without researching further to find out about more. I found this interesting and I thought you may as well. In the book a little girl refers to her tear bottle, filled with tears she shed when she lost her baby brother. Interesting.

Tear catcher from the Civil War

.Lachrymatory Bottle, tear catcher, tear vial, unguentaria or unguentarium.  A small bottle or vial used to catch a mourners tears.

Its hard to tell when exactly they came into being, but one of the earliest references in in The Holy Bible in Psalms 56:8  King James Version.  King David prays to God, " Thou tellest my wanderings, put Thou tears in Thy bottle; are they not in Thy book?"   This predates Christ by over 1000 years.

They were fairly common in Roman times, around the time of Christ, when mourners filled small glass bottles or cups with tears and put them into the burial tombs as a  symbol of respect. Sometimes professional mourners, usually women, were paid to cry into vessels during the mourning procession. Those that cried the loudest and made the most tears were paid the most.

In the dry climates of Greece where water was prised above most all else, water from the body was considered a sacrifice, often becoming Holy Water to be sprinkled on doorways to keep out evil and anointing the sick.

Cigar shaped tear vial, Victorian times

During the Victorian period, tears were collected in bottles with special stoppers that would let the tears gradually evaporate. This would then signify the end of the mourning period and the bottle would then be kept as a memento of the person for whom the tears were shed. When given as a gift it meant that the person to whom you were giving it you highly respected and honoured and it brought the giver and give into close relationship as having this great loss in common.



Roman times, hand blown glass bottle for catching tears



During the American Civil War it is said that woman would cry into and save her tears until her husband returned from the battle. This would then show how much he was missed and adored. They were also given to wives and mothers at the time of the death of a husband or child and then either poured out upon the grave or sealed with wax and kept as a remembrance to be passed down.

So historically they have been used during mourning. Contemporary times have romanticized them and they are still used to collect tears of joy and inspiration. I however, have NEVER heard of this at all.



Victorian tear vial with garnets imbeded in the glass

I just love finding out about different customs and the things our ancestors did. I have found that the more I learn the more I need to learn.
Did you know about these? If you want to know more you can Google tear vial and you will find as much as you want to know. That's just what I did. 
Blessings, Sue   YAY for learning new things!!!