IHS Headstone Symbol

The IHS headstone symbol represents Iesus Hominem Salvator (Jesus Saviour of Mankind). The letters are know as a christogram, a combination of letters that form an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ. The first three letters of Jesus in Greek.
This is the Christian symbol that can appear in two forms, as the letters IHS or as a monogram. Both forms only differ in presentation. The meaning does not change as letters or a monogram. It can be alternatively be spelled IC, XC, or XPS.

There are many different interpretations of the meaning, however all agree it essentially stands for the name of Jesus Christ. The symbol was used frequently by the French St Bernard in the 12th Century as he urged his followers to give devotion to the name Jesus.

Here are a few facts about the symbol IHS:

1. The most common translation is that it stands for the first three letters of Jesus Christ’s name in Greek, iota eta sigma. When capitalised, the word eta appears as ‘H’

2. IHS can stand for for the Latin phrase Iesus Hominum Salvator, or Jesus Saviour of Mankind.

3. It can also be traced back to an 8th century Latin phrase “dn ihs chs rex regnantium” which translates to “Jesus Christ is King of Kings”. In this instance, IHS simply stands for Jesus, spelt in the Latin as Ihesus.

4. As “In Hoc Signo” which translates to “In This Sign”, it is often used as a reference to the crucifixtion and the Christian faith.

5. As IHSV it stands for “In Hoc Signo Vinces” or “In this sign you shall Conquer” which is in refernce to the battle of Constantine over Maxentius in which the Emperor was believed to have seen the sign of Jesus Christ in the sky and heard the phrase repeated to him.

6. In her research Liz Blades, has been told that it stood for In his Service or In his Steps.

Some different examples from our cemetery