history ch9 & 10

Roman Empire:

753 BC - 476 AD

Middle Ages (Medieval):

476 – 1500 (Middle Ages begin around the end of the Roman Empire)

Early (Dark Ages)

476 - 900

High

901 - 1300

Late

1301 -  1500

Renaissance:

1501 – 1650 (Middle Ages end with the start of the Renaissance)

The Pax Romana

latin for ; “Roman Peace.”

Attila the Hun/Vandals sacked Rome

455 AD

Odoacer-Fall of Rome , declared first King of Italy

476 AD

_____, an Arian by belief, did not persecute the Roman Church

Odoacer

Many Middle Age funeral behaviors were influenced by the ____

Christians

during the Middle Ages, The dead were brought to church for ___

Requiem Mass

Requiem Mass

a Catholic Mass for the dead and offered for the repose of the soul

During the mass the priest would use the _____ to mask the odor of decomposition

burning of incense

It was during the ____ that the custom of bringing the deceased into the church for the service was begun

Middle Ages

in the Middle Ages , they sprinkled ____ on the body or coffin

dirt

Sprig of ____ was put in the pockets to ward off evil spirits and dispel negativity

rosemary

Middle Ages// Clergy were buried with feet toward the ___

east

Sin-eaters

a person who consumes a ritual meal in order to spiritually take on the sins of a deceased person. (Usually bread and beer.)

Began as a simple and community-based activity; was one of the seven great corporal works of mercy

Burial

Kiss of Peace

A final kiss of the deceased to wish them eternal peace.  It was an ancient traditional Christian greeting.

Burial

•No coffin or outer container

•in consecrated ground blessed by the church

•Farewell prayers

•Anointing with oil

Catafalque

raised platform (with or without canopy) used for a body to lie in state

middle ages// christian customs had a ___ vigil

Three-day

middle ages// Became prevalent after Constantine’s “Edict of Toleration” (313 AD) -

a declaration, by a government or ruler, which states that members of a religion will not be persecuted for practicing their religions. The edict implies acceptance of the religion but not  necessarily endorsement.

middle ages// burial Concern for sanitation” replaced by ___

“concern for sentiment”

Once the Edict of Toleration was passed there arose a great desire to ___

bury the dead within the walls of the city.

Included “intramural” burials:

in walls, under altars and floors of church

Miasma Theory

Dead infected the air , “bad air” theory

The Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory (or Purgatorial Doctrine)

Catholic belief that those whose souls are not perfectly cleansed undergo a process of cleansing before they can enter heaven

Led to formation of Leagues of Prayer

formed in the Middle Ages by laypersons to bury the dead and to pray for the souls of the faithful departed

middle ages// Church was paid a “soul shot” or “mortuary fee”

mortuary fee paid to insure entrance of the deceased’s soul into heaven

middle ages// _____ made arrangements

Steward of the Guild

The vigil (or wake) of the dead originated out of the Hebrew Practice to avoid ___ and continued during this time

premature burial

By the 10th century, included riotous and drunken behavior

“Rousing the ghost”

Primarily it was to pray for the dead

•Secondarily, it served as an opportunity for those present at death to clear themselves of foul play and those not present to ensure no foul play had taken place

In the Middle Ages, wakes were also used to divide the estate and drink ale with the ___

new heir; (Heir takes over and it was a time to welcome them)

Funeral Feast

In Middle Ages the wake also served as a feast to welcome the principal heir to his new estate.  For the ancient Greeks, the funeral feast ended the last of the bereaved

Tombs and Monuments

•Began with use of stone coffins

•Lids formed pavement outside the church

•Some with carvings such as a cross for piety or an emblem of occupation

•Later placed inside the church

Bubonic plague

“Black Death”; Great Plague of London (1664-65); 15% of the population died (68,596); Still no cremation (seen as a pagan practice)

during the middle ages, there were ____ because the cemeteries were overloaded

No funerals

funerals after 1066 AD

Became more elaborate, especially for the wealthy

•The practice of burying the dead in white garments of linen, which signified “the new clothing of incorruption”, yielded to burying persons in clothing that reflected their positions in life.

•Kings were buried in royal finery, knights in shrouded military garments and monks in their habits.

Effigy

(or wax death mask) - 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.  Made from a mold of the face and painted to look like the deceased.

during the middle ages , Because there was no embalming, _____ killed in battle were returned home for burial because that was all that could be preserved.

•Their _____ were buried in the foreign countries.  

•This was done with Martyrs and Saints too

the bones of soldiers ; hearts and other organs

Burial Clubs

They were 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 for the dead; 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 violations.

•Only exception was plague victims and the destitute, all others to be buried in pure English woolen shrouds.  

•Later repealed in 1814.

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 (remember in ancient Rome, this was called a Praeco)

Mourning colors

(white, black, and purple)

“Dowager”

The widow of an important man was expected to retire to a convent or live the rest of her life in strict seclusion in the “dower-house” garbed as a nun.

The widow was expected to wear a __ which was a long-pleated arrangement of fine linen, so called because it resembled a beard.

barbe

The lower classes wore barbe ____ the chin.

beneath

Widows above the rank of ____ wore barbe above the chin.

baroness

Widows wore a ___ that was derived from a nun’s habit. This represented the past practice of the cutting off a portion of the widow’s hair.

bonnet

Holy Relics

Sacred objects associated with holy individuals, were often buried with Maryrs and Saints

Charnal Houses

A house where bones or bodies are deposited

Momento Mori

Remember that thou wilt die

the middle ages, Was considered ____ and was rarely practiced (less than 1%)

mutilation

Cerecloth (bodies were cered up) –

cloth coated with wax so as to be waterproof

Sexton

Church caretaker who had responsibility for church property, ringing of bells and digging of graves in the churchyard cemetery

Martin Luther, October 31, 1517

• influence of the Protestant Reformation

• “95 Theses”

• Rejected doctrine of purgatory

• Said that Requiem Mass not needed

• No need to pray for the dead

• Lying-in-state eliminated

• Funeral and procession became simple

• Maintained belief in resurrection of the dead

Who was interested in embalming?

Surgeons and anatomists

Artists

why did surgeons and anatomists have interest in embalming

•Preservation of cadavers for anatomical study

•Trace circulation of blood

why did Artists have interest in embalming?

•Anatomical drawings

•Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

•Dissected over 50 bodies

•750 anatomical drawings (plates)

•Developed system of venous injection

Fredrick Ruysch  

•1638-1731 Dutch

•Arterial embalming

•Left no records

•Known as our “Father of Embalming” because he did so much of it

Gabriel Clauderus

•German Physician

•Arterial embalming, but no evisceration (did not remove organs)

•Liked to pickle people

•Wrote a book

William Harvey

•1578-1657 English Physician Anatomist

•Injected colored solutions

•Discovered blood circulation (1618) – first person to describe circulation of blood thru the body and described it completely in detail

Dr. William Hunter

•1817-1783 Scottish Anatomist

•Arterial and cavity embalming

•Originated injection method, considered the originator of the injection technique for preserving humans

•Said that embalming should begin within 8 hours of death

John Hunter (younger than his brother William Hunter)

•1728-1793 Learned from his brother

•Described the region called Hunter’s Canal in thigh – femoral artery and femoral vein (found this opening between the muscles that creates a tunnel or channel)

•Embalmed wife of a London physician and was then displayed in home

Jean Gannal

•1791-1852 French

•Chemist

•Wrote the classic text, “History of Embalming”

•Developed method of embalming called Gannal’s Process

•Method was used by French police to preserve crime scene evidence

•First to make embalming public to consumers for funerals

Barber-Surgeon

the sole trade permitted to embalm and perform anatomical dissections in the city of London

Bloodletting

belief or practice of draining a quantity of blood from the body to cure illness or disease for healing purposes

Medical research

was the primary reason for learning embalming, but artists also learned a lot.  Doctors needed bodies that would last so they could study them.

Embalm

comes from the Greek word “balsomon”

“balsomon”

greek word which means balsamic resins or aromatic oil  (embalming with tree sap)

Undertaker

original term applied to those whose occupation included responsibility to organize and facilitate funeral activities; used by some for the term funeral director starting from the 1500s

Funeral Undertaker

provided services of organizing and facilitating funeral details as an occupation; aka undertaker, different from furnishing undertaker

Feudal Funerals

•Elaborate and lavish

•Family purchased funeral paraphernalia

•Included mourning bed, funeral carriages, and mourning gifts

•In 1698, “undertaker” appears in print

•Provided funeral furnishings

carpenters and cabinet makers

• crafted early coffins

• Provided funeral goods

• Palls, draperies, candles, etc.

• Included chandlers and other craftsmen

• Practiced “crude” embalming

Shop Signs

•Identified early undertakers (1680)

•Physical side of death

•Coffin

•Profession used skull and cross bones to show they worked in the funeral industry  

•Skeleton

Church and clergy criticized the undertaker because they felt they provided unnecessary and pompous funerals

• That was thought to be a ______ not suitable for Christians

pagan practice

Pagan

a follower of a polytheistic religion

Cemeteries became overcrowded in England due to the _____ of 1831-1833, killing 31,000 in England

Cholera Epidemic

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

leading to First Public Health Bill (1848)

Certification of death began due to murdering children (parents wanted to collect burial club benefits so they would kill their children.)  Led to medical certificates and finding cause of death.  Eventually led to medical examiners and coroners.  

•Also increased cremation rate

english undertaking

Began as “jack-of-all-trades” during 1600’s

•Became a specialized occupation by late 1800’s

•Provided services for a fee

•Evolved into a specific trade – a single occupation instead of various occupations that collaborated like the candle industry, the furniture making industry, the wax companies, clergy, grave diggers, etc.)