Is 'quartodecimo omnium sanctorum' the same as 'Nov XIV' on this Latin grave inscription?

Question

I have been translating the Latin inscription on a 19th century tomb in the parish churchyard, Mitcham, south west London, UK. I'm using a Latin dictionary and a 'Latin Made Simple' book I bought many years ago, as well as online resources. I have been able to translate the inscription but have a hit a problem in what looks like a duplication.

The tomb is of Richard Cranmer, who died in 1828, and is listed grade 2 by Historic England. In addition, his daughter and widow are in the tomb, and their names are listed below his.

The inscription reads

HIC IACENT

RICARDVS CRANMER LLB HVIVS ECCLESIAE PAROCHVS QVI OBIIT DIE FESTO OMNIVM SANCTORVM A.D. MDCCCXXVIII AET XLIV

ESTHER MARIA LOVISA CRANMER FILIA EIVSDEM NATV MINOR QVAE OBIIT DIE OCTAVO OMN SANCT A.D. MDCCCXLI AET XVII

ELISABETHA MARIA CRANMER EIVSDEM RCI VIDVA OVAE OBIIT DIE QVARTODECIMO OMN SANCT NOV XIV A.D. MDCCCXLV AET XLV

REQVIESCANT IN PACE

AMEN

I have translated this as

Here lies

Richard Cranmer, L.L.B., pastor of the church, who died

on the Feast Day of All Saints 1828, at the age of 44

Esther Mary Louise Cranmer, his young daughter

who died on the eighth day of All Saints 1841, at the age of 17

Elizabeth Mary Cranmer, his widow, who died

on the 14th day of All Saints November 14 1845, at the age of 45

May they rest in peace

The duplication is the date for the third occupant of the tomb, Elizabeth Mary Cranmer. DIE QVARTODECIMO OMN SANCT I have translated as the 14th day of All Saints, which I take to be 14th November. If I have that right, then why is this followed with NOV XIV which is the same date?

It does seem odd to me that they all died around the same time of year, so have I got the OMNIUM SANCTORUM wrong as a date?

I haven't found a translation of this anywhere else, and have looked at British History Online as well as the Mitcham History Series of books by the late Eric Montague, of the Merton Historical Society.

Any help is appreciated. I aim to produce a video of the tomb and want to add the correct translation of its inscription.

Answer 1

It does seem a coincidence that they all died in November, but this coincidence has been made into something of a joke.

In the first place the reverend gentleman himself died on November 1st which is the feast of All Saints. This was felt worth noting on the tomb, perhaps in part because All Saints Day is the festival of the Christian dead. There was no need to mention that All Saints Day is November 1st as everyone knows this (or might be assumed to).

The 8th day of a feast (i.e. the same day of the week as the feast) is generally known as the "octave". If someone died on November 8th normally it would be very unlikely to be noted as the octave. However, when the daughter died on November 8th and the time came to add her to the inscription, the coincidence was felt worth noting. The father on the day of the feast and the daughter on the octave of the feast. Again, since "octave" is a recognised word for the day exactly one week after a feast, everyone would understand what was meant.

Lastly, the wife died on November 14th, and the person responsible for her inscription had something of a sense of humour. Although the octave of a feast is a recognised concept, there is not really any such thing as the fourteenth day after a feast. Since the death of her husband and daughter were both inscribed in relation to All Saints Day the person responsible thought to do the same. But nobody would ever really refer to November 14th as the Quartodecimo of All Saints, and so the actual date November 14th was also mentioned.

It is a little like saying X died on Christmas Day, Y died on Twelfth Night and Z died on Fifteenth Night. Twelfth Night is a "real" thing, Fifteenth Night is merely jocular.