Module 1: Part 2 Flashcards
What kind of influence did Christianity have on funeral behavior during the Middle Ages?
Burial practices were no longer simple, but funerals expressed the importance of the church and that of her certain members. The dead were brought to church where a Requiem Mass or Mass of the Dead was said or sung. Those of certain positions like Kings, Monks, etc. were dressed in their costumes that indicated their positions.
In Anglo-Saxon times, the body of importance was placed on a bier and the book of the Gospels was laid on it to symbolize faith and a cross indicated a symbol of hope. The funeral processions consisted of priests, bearing lighted candles, changing psalms and marching before and on the sides of the dead.
After the Norman Conquest, the funeral of a rich Englishmen from King to Squire grew in pomp and length, sometimes lasting a full week. The Mass was sung and the body laid to rest. After the burial, the principals of the funeral, including clergy ate the ?funeral baked meats.?
There were “Church burials” during the Middle Ages. What were they and what were the disadvantages of them?
Church burials occurred within the walls of the church or near the churches in the yard. This custom was begun when Constantine (at his request) was buried in the vestibule of the church. There were attempts to prohibit this because of the concern for community health. Burials within the church were a nuisance because of the strong offensive odor despite the perfumes. There was also a belief that the dead infected the air by their odor and struck horror into the souls of the living by their ghastly looks.
It later became common in Europe for the churches to maintain a churchyard burial ground for their members. It was believed that evil spirits were powerless in consecrated ground.
What were the “Leagues of Prayer”?
Leagues of Prayers were developed because of the purgatorial doctrine. This was a burial organization and not a religious one. The members of the League of Prayer were devoted to burying the dead and praying for the souls of the faithful departed.
What was the Purgatorial Doctrine? Who believed in it and who fought against it?
Purgatorial Doctrine is a doctrine that makes a distinction between ?venial sins? and ?mortal sins?. A ?venial sin? is an offense against God and merits only temporal punishment. It is more easily pardoned than mortal sin. ?Mortal sin? is a grievous offense against the law of God and deprives one of a supernatural life and brings damnation and death of the soul. Those guilty of ?mortal? sin go to hell, not to purgatory. The doctrine of Purgatory offers a second change to sinners.
The Catholics believed in the purgatorial doctrine while the leaders of the Reformation (Martin Luther), the Orthodox Church and the Protestants rejected this doctrine because it was ?unbiblical.?
Explain the concept of Purgatory:
Purgatory is a concept of what happens at death. The soul is in a state of purgation meaning the souls are not perfectly cleaned and must undergo the process of cleaning before it can enter heaven. The living are encouraged to offer Masses, prayer and other acts of piety on behalf of those in purgatory. Purgatory will end with the Last Judgment at the close of the world.
What was the importance of the Steward of the Guild?
The Steward of the Guild was a member of a guild who made the necessary funeral arrangements that included a Requiem Mass, burial with solemnity, the payment of the mortuary fee and a liberal distribution of alms.
What was a Soul Shot?
Soul shot was the mortuary free. A penny paid for the good of one’s soul.
Explain what a “death watch” was during the Middle Ages:
Death Watch? was the announcement of the demised made by the human voice because of the lack of newspapers and printed death notices. This function was originally with the purgatorial doctrine, but later because the ?Death Crier? or ?Death Watch?. This person dressed in black and rang a bell to announce a death and the time of death.
What were the traits of the Wake during the Middle Ages?
The wakes in the Middle Ages were lively - singing, rejoicing, drunkenness and laughter. This custom of behaving riotously was widespread. By the 14th century, disorder at wakes had gone beyond rioting to a new custom of ?rousing the ghost?. The dead were ?raised? by playing practical jokes on superstitious relatives to frighten them.
What were some of the ways in which the people of the Middle Ages celebrated deaths or the conclusion of the funeral ceremonies?
The people of the Middle Ages celebrated deaths with funeral fests for welcoming the principal heir to his new estate. ?Averil? was the old word for funeral feast meaning ?heir ale? or ?succession ale?. Another common practice in medieval England was to place a cup of wine in the coffin next to body. The mourners felt like they established communion with the dead by drinking of it.
What was an effigy? Why was it used and in what instances would it be used?
Effigy was a waxed death mask. It usually made of a great personage (nobility). It was common for the effigy to be exhibited in church upon the catafalque, in place of the real body, because of a hygienic and aesthetic necessity. This was the custom because the funeral of a noble lasted for many days in the hot weather.
What were the characteristics of tombs and monuments during the Middle Ages?
The beginnings of Christian sepulchral monuments were stone coffins whose lid formed continuous portion of the pavement of the churches. Later it was customary to mark the monument with a carved symbol to express piety or an emblem to tell the occupation or position of deceased.
Later, carving an effigy of the dead in stone was practiced. Effigies were first carved with wood and then later brass. Tombs were eventually raised above pavement level.
The cost, beauty and magnificence of some of the monuments were great ? enriched with semi-precious and precious stones and adorned with life-like figures of solid brass.
Discuss the Plagues or Black Death. What caused them? How many people did they affect? How did they affect funerary practices?
The Plague was an epidemic that killed many people (as many as 10,000 in a day). The most severe form of the Plague is Black Death. It was called Black Death because of the black spots it produced in the skin.
A bacillus in black rats caused bubonic plague. Fleas transmitted the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly. The disease seemed to disappear in winter because fleas were dormant.
68,596 deaths out of a 460,000 population occurred during The Great Plague of London (1664-1665). A high percentage of serfs were wiped out and forced freedom of the land, ending the system of semi-slavery.
The plague brought about burial crises because of the large number of deaths. The burial and funeral customs and practices depended in part of what people were able to earn and to provide for the dead. Because so many people died, one visitation might have been like any other. The practice of toiling the bell was ended. The Christian burial rites could not be provided. After all the consecrated grounds were filled, trenches were dung and bodies were placed layer upon layer, with a sprinkling of earth between layers, until they were filled.
The Act of 1547 forbade burial between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. because it was thought that people were less susceptible to foul vapors of contagion in the day than in the night. It was difficult to find people who would risk contagion by burying the dead.
One interesting fact about the effects of the Plague is that cremation was not considered despite the filling of cemeteries and the spread of the disease.
During the English Middle Ages there was an increase in funeral ostentation. What is ostentation, and why did it occur?
Ostentation is pretentious or excessive display. Ostentatious public funerals rose among the English Middle Classes to maintain the surviving family?s social or personal importance. Costs of funeral grew as more wax torches were carried, more shields of arms displayed, more mourning gowns distributed and more lavish entertainments provided. It was a choice to a man before death and to his heirs afterward as to whether a funeral should be costly or inexpensive.
What was a “Burial Club” and why did they exist?
Burial clubs were guild members who formed a club to help working class people with the heavy expenses of a funeral and to perpetuate the memory of dead friends. Burial clubs were also common among other groups of laboring classes. The guild provided prayers, masses and palls. A contribution called a quarterage was levied among the living to defray costs of the services. They paid the chaplain, for candles, other equipment and supplies. The activities of burial clubs gave rise to new full-time occupations such as inviters and bell ringers.
