In the previous post, we discussed about the 46 tombstones (47 epitaphs) mentioned by Julian James Cotton (JJC, 1905) inside the St Francis Church. Interestingly, he also records 12 Portuguese tombstones outside the church (pp. 272-273). They include 3 tombstones on the compound of the Port Office, Parade Road; 8 tombstones scattered in the streets, used as doorsteps to houses or as platforms to wells; and one tombstone in front of the Cochin Library which is illegible. The oldest of the 12 is Simeon de Miranda, who died on August 8, 1524 and according to JJC, this is also the oldest European tombstone in South India. Interestingly, when Vasco da Gama was buried inside the St Francis Church in December, 1524 (then dedicated to St Antony), Simeon Miranda who died 4 months earlier in the same year was interred somewhere in Fort Cochin, but outside the St. Francis church. Perhaps Vasco da Gama due to his legendary status was the first to be buried in the church. Remember, the oldest tombstone reported inside the church after Vasco da Gama is that of Diogo Dias and is dated to 1546 only. JJC notes that Miranda’s tombstone was brought to light while digging the foundations of the new Port office. In the introduction to his monumental work on the tomb inscriptions in Madras (1905), JJC states (p. vi): “The Cochin slab, dated 1524, recently disinterred near the new Port office, is apparently the oldest memento mori of this nation in the peninsula”. Out of the 8 tombstones scattered in the streets of Cochin, JJC identifies 6 from the 16th century, the oldest in the name of Antonio Mendes is dated to 11th December 1532, the year according to him could also be read 1522. Today, Miranda's tombstone is also conserved inside the St Francis Church along with the actual 46 tombstones. I don't think many are even aware that this rare tombstone has survived and is well preserved in Fort Kochi. Also, we do not know when exactly this 1524 tombstone was transferred to the church, but it is highly plausible that the shifting was done somewhere in the early 20th century.
The
Portuguese inscription on the epitaph of Simeon de Miranda reads (JJC,
p. 272): “En esta sepultu ra iaz Simea De Miranda ffo do Fyco de Mirada
e de Dona Cezilia d’Azambuja q faleceo a 8 d’ Agosto de ISZ4”, which is
translated as: “In this tomb lies Simeon de Miranda, son of Francisco de Miranda and Cecilia d’ Azambuja who died on the August 8th, 1524.’’
The inscription on the tombstone is distributed in 9 lines and on
closer observation you can see that the year “1524” is the last word,
but inscribed in 2 lines, the numbers “152” in end of line 8 and the
number “4”, though faintly visible now, is the only character engraved
in line 9. Thanks to JJC for deciphering this rare epitaph and like he
had commented, the inscription written in a crabbed character is the
most difficult to read. Thus the arrangement of the inscription in the
tombstone is as follows: