What does 'mementi mori' mean?

[haller]

As above

[woofgang]

the phrase is memento mori and it refers to a article worn kept or given in memory of someone who has died. The victorians were very big on mourning jewellery and keepsakes, especially after the death of Prince Albert. at the recent Tiaras exhibition in london, there was a fabulous spikey mourning tiara that looked like it should belong to Cruella Deville or snow white's wicked stepmother (no offence intended to step mothers)

[haller]

ahh, i was wondering why i couldnt find anything on it. the place where i read it had it spelt wrong. kudos my friend. have three stars!

[Quizmonster]

Actually, it is not so much something kept in memory of someone who has died as a reminder that we are all going to die. In the past, for example, it was common for people to keep a skull on their desk as a reminder of their own mortality. This was just any skull, rather than their own granny's one, for example! The Latin words actually mean: "Remember that you must die".

[haller]

and thanks very much to you too quizmonster. I now feel like an expert on the word. If u were wondering what context it was in, it was to do with Damien Hirst's artwork (the animals in formalduhyde), so it makes alot of sense really.