Grave of Johannes Proys, Dom Church, Utrecht
For centuries, the dead were buried in and around the church. The graves around the Domkerk church in Utrecht have long disappeared, but inside there are still quite a few interesting objects.
Near the entrance, behind the baptismal font, is the grave of Johannes Proys, deacon and canon of the Domkerk, who died in 1482. After 500 years, the grave stone is somewhat worn, and the text is hard to read, but apparently the (Latin) text reads:
Anno Domini MCCCCLXXXII die XIX obiit venerabilis et egregius vir dominus Johannes Proys decanus hujus majoris ecclesia cujus anima requiescat in pace (In the year of our Lord 1482 on 19 [December] died the honourable and excellent man sir Johannes Proys deacon of this cathedral whose soul may rest in peace).
The grave was a family grave, others are buried here as well. The grave was sold in 1698 and again in 1809. The text on the stone was never adjusted, for other burials memorial shields were created. These shields probably did not survive until the present, or maybe some of these shields made their way into the collections of local museums.
The coat of arms in the middle of the stone is the Proys family coat of arms. The image bank of the Utrecht archive has a drawing of the grave stone of Jacob Proys, with the same coat of arms.
Source: Arie de Groot, Nel Borst, Tine Jonker and Richard Roks, Graven en Begraven in de Dom van Utrecht, Bunnik: Uitg. Henk Reinders, 1997. Photo: Grave stone of Johannes Proys, taken on 1 November 2008 by me.
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