The Evolution of theScythe

How the Scythe formed the Lawn and symbolized Death in Society

The Evolution of the Scythe

hile the scythe was originally used as a harvesting tool and also as an implement for aristocrats to maintain their lawns for games the symbolic nature of the object always was applied to the harvesting of any good in general which also included souls. This concept was originally introduced with the icons such as Saturn, Four Horsemen, and also the depiction of Death. From these original depictions, the success of Chris-tianity (which further prolonged the use of the symbol in western society), and the neglecting of the tool in practical use the scythe became associ-ated with the harvesting of souls rather than the maintenance of lawns. Today the scythe has been adapted into something that primarily isn’t seen as a tool but a weapon that the grim reaper wields. The grim reaper is a direct descendent of the Horsemen of Death and is simply a reappropriated version of this character. With the increase of technology and understanding of the world the belief in superstition decreased and caused the Grim Reaper to be a laughable character (such as the depic-tion of the grim reaper in children’s cartoons). This character’s tool, the scythe, has evolved from being a functional item, that was used by peas-ants to maintain aristocrat’s lawns, into a symbol of death which seems to have a foothold in society’s mind.

W

The emblem of the God Saturn (Chronos to the Greeks) was the scythe, which represented the nature of the cycles of time.

117

The scythe was invented 500 B

CE

The american depiction of Death (Four Horsemen) can be found in the Bible (Revelation 6:7-8) .

95

The image of death is depicted with a scythe as early as the 15th century

1400

The Scythe appears in Europe1150

Scythes were used in the German Peasants’ War during 1524-1525,

a fencing book edited by Paulus Hector Mair described in 1542

techniques how to fence using a scythe.

1524

1500In ancient Roman religion and myth, Saturn was a major god

presiding over agriculture and the harvest time.

A war scythe has had its blade transformed so that it extends upright from the staff, and is used much like a halberd. It was widely used by Polish and Lithuanian peasants in the 18th and 19th centuries.

1750

The first cholera pandemic occured from 1817-1823. This disease that killed hundreds of thousands of people was per-sonified by the image of Death in Europe.

1817