Pet epitaphs: From canary crushed by a chair leg to a flea's 'crux of the matter'

Literature professor Daniel Möller is an expert on Swedish pet epitaphs, the poems written for departed companions.

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Admiral and poet Werner von Rosenfelt's "Lament over a Very Polite Parrot's Death" is a possible contender to Israel Holmström's Pompe poem. It is both learned and witty and concludes with the parrot summarizing its life: "In India I was hatched," "in the world I died."

In a series for Dagens Nyheter, Möller shares some of the most notable examples. He points to Admiral Werner von Rosenfelt's "Lament over a Very Polite Parrot's Death" as a contender for the best memorial verse, surpassing even poems for King Charles XII's dog, Pompe.

Möller notes that while animals were sometimes thought to return to their birthplace, early epitaphs did not shy away from tragic or even darkly humorous circumstances of death. He recounts a 17th-century poem from 1825 describing a canary's demise, accidentally caused by a maid crushing it with a chair leg. Despite the mishap, the poet focuses on the bird's imagined afterlife on the "Smiling Canaries."

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In a poem from 1825 by C.A. Nicander, a canary's death is described. Despite dying due to a clumsy accident – a maid accidentally crushed it with a chair leg – we find no intentional humor in the poet's description of the interlude that led to its departure. The bird is encouraged to dream that it wanders around the "Smiling Canaries."

The professor explains that the Cartesian view of animals as unfeeling machines began to erode in the late 18th century. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham's emphasis on animal sentience contrasted with Descartes, leading to a shift in how animals were perceived. Modern gravestones often reflect animals' "human" traits, a departure from earlier poems that frequently referred to them as "unreasoning creatures."

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Under the latter part of the 18th century, the Cartesian notion of animals as mere machines began to erode. In contrast to Descartes, the philosopher Jeremy Bentham emphasized animals' capacity to feel pain. On contemporary gravestones, animals' "human" traits are reflected.

Möller also touches on the characteristics owners valued. Rosenfelt's parrot could whistle, sing, and talk, while Pompe served as a living hot water bottle for King Charles XII in cold field camps. He observes that even when animals were considered soulless and irrational, traits like faithfulness were still appreciated, a sentiment that evolved with the Romantic era.

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Rosenfelt's parrot both whistled, sang, and talked. Pompe slept in King Charles XII's bed and served as a kind of hot water bottle, which must have been appreciated by the king in the cold field camps.