The Stålhandske Chapel or All Souls Chapel was built in the 1420s. In 1654, Christina Horn, widow of Torsten Stålhandske (and later, wife of Jöns Kurck), bought the chapel from the Cathedral to use as a tomb for her family. Stålhandske’s coffin is currently on display in the chapel. Also on display there is the armour worn by Torsten Stålhandske and Åke Tott.
In the vault under the chapel floor there are wooden coffins and coffins covered with velvet or woollen cloth.
The modest coffins of children whose names have been lost are a touching sight among the more decorative coffins for grown-ups. The vault houses nine coffins for adults and three for children.
In addition to the family’s coat of arms, coffins could be decorated in forged metal or embroidered cloth with Christian symbols, such as a Christogram (originally IHΣ in Greek, later Latinized to IHS, which could also stand for Iesus Hominum Salvator, or ‘Jesus, Saviour of men’).
On the side of a coffin decorated with appliqué, coats of arms recall the noble origins of the deceased. The coats of arms could also be placed at the head of a coffin if no other details, such as a name, year of death or a Biblical quotation, had been placed there.
At the foot end of a coffin there would usually be a reminder of death in the form of a skull and crossbones, either in forged metal or embroidery.
