History of Funeral Directing and Embalming Flashcards
Pgs 85-88
Adaptive Funeral
Funeral rite that is adjusted to the needs and wants of those directly involved; altered to suit the trends of the times.
American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABOFSE)
Organization with responsibility to accredit funeral service and mortuary science programs.
Animistic View
Early Roman view of the afterlife which emphasizes the soul as the vital principle. The soul at death hovered around the place of burial and required constant attention of the descendants to be happy. Neglect would bring evil upon them.
Anthropoid
Human shaped, some early coffins were described as anthropoidal shaped.
Anubis
Egyptian god of embalming said to be of human form with the head of Jackal.
Barber-Surgeon
The sole trade permitted to embalm and perform anatomical dissections in the city of London.
Bier
Forerunner of today’s Hearse; a hand stretcher on which the uncoffined body was carried to the grave.
Bloodletting
Belief or practice of draining a quantity of blood to cure illness or disease.
Burial Case
Generic term used in America to designate all burial receptacles as new variations of the coffin were being offered.
Burial Club
Organizations intended to assist people of the working classes, particularly guild members, to defray the heavy expenses of the funeral and to perpetuate the memory of dead friends; costs were shared by others via weekly collections; were the forerunners of industrial insurance.
Burial in Woolen Act of 1666
Required that woolen cloth be substituted for linen in the shroud and lining of the coffin; was an attempt to shift the use of imported linen to the expanding paper industry of England and provide customers for the wool industry. Heavy fines were assessed for violation; not repealed until 1814.
Burial Vault
Outer enclosure for caskets placed in the grave, originally intended to prevent grave robbery.
Canopic Jars
Jars made of alabaster, limestone, basalt, clay and other materials used by the early Egyptians to store viscera of the deceased.
Casket
From the French term “casse,” meaning “jewel box,” or container for something valuable, came into dominant use in patent literature for burial receptacles in 1890’s in America; a rigid container which is designed for the encasement of human remains and which is usually constructed of wood, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or like material, and ornamented and lined with fabric. A case of receptacle in which remains are placed for protection, practical unity, and suitable memory picture, any box or container of one or more parts in which a dead human body is placed prior to interment, entombment, or cremation which may or may not be permanently interred, entombed, or cremated with the dead human remains.
Casket and Funeral Supply Association of America (CFSAA)
Represents the interests of funeral service suppliers; its members manufacture or distribute virtually every type of product used by funeral directors (formely known as Casket Manufactures Association).
Catacombs
Originated in ancient Rome as excavated cemeteries cut out of soft rock for the tombs of wealthy Christians; later become a place for religious rites to avoid persecution.
Catafalque
Raised platform (with or without canopy) uded for a body to lie in state.
Catholic Cemetery Conference
The oldest and largest Catholic cemetery association serving catholic cemeterians nationally and internationally.
Chadwick’s Report
A report published in 1843 on unsanitary conditions in London created by intramural burials and the high cost of funerals; recommended use of a death certificate.
Circle of Necessity
Ancient Egyptian belief that the soul of the deceased would make a 3000 year journey and return to the body. Once reunited the whole man would live with the gods. This belief created the need for embalming.
Coffin
From the Greek word “kofinos,” utilitarian container designed to hold human remains, often anthropoidal in shape.
Corpse Cooler
Type of ice chest placed over the torso of the deceased in order to slow down the process of decomposition prior to the funeral. It was typically the undertaker’s reponsibility to provide ice and change the ice when it melted.
Cortege
Historical term for funeral procession.
Cremation
The reduction of a dead human body to inorganic bone fragments by intense heat in specifically designed retort or chamber; a heating process which incinerates human remains.
Cremation Association of North America (CANA)
Founded in 1913, CANA is an international organization of cemeterians, cremationists, funeral directors, industry suppliers and consultants. CANA was originally formed to promote cremation as a modern, safe and hygienic way of dealing with a dead human body.
Crier
English custom of Middle Ages which lasted until 19th century; person who walked the street calling out the name of the deceased and asking people to pray for the soul of the departed.
Designator
Master of ceremonies and director of the ancient Roman funeral procession.
Direct Disposition
Disposition of human remains without any rites or ceremonies with the body present.
Drummers
Traveling salesman who went from town to town selling their products. Early embalmers often obtained their products and training in this manner.
Effigy
A life-sized, waxen recreation of the deceased; often used at state funerals because the body of the deceased should be present for the funeral, but could not be preserved for that length of time.
Elysian Fields
The version of heaven in Greek mythology.
Extramural Burial
Burial outside the walls of the city; concept introduced during the ancient Roman times.
Fisk Metallic Coffin
Patented in 1848 as formfitting, airtight metallic coffin designed to improve ability to preserve the body; also had a glass plate to allow for viewing of the face.
