Funeral Customs
Roman Funeral Customs
Belief in the afterlife among Romans varied in the course of changing times. Around 300 B.C. the Epicureans philosophized that the body and soul, composed of atoms, simply disintegrated at death. Thus, afterlife was no different than the before life. The emergence of Christianity as the dominant religion of the Roman Culture (300 A.D.) made for the first time a theological orientation to death. Death customs for the most part were patterned by the Christians after the mode of sepulture of Christ. Both cremation and Earth burial were practiced by the Romans. The body was laid in state and anointed much the same as the Greeks, but when this "embalming" was done, it was supervised by the Libitinarius, the Roman equivalent of today's funeral director and our direct ancestor. This was the first time a secular functionary was involved with the dead. The Roman word funeral meant in essence parade, and depending on the importance of the individual, some were very ornate — even with professional mourners.
Funeral Beliefs of Ancient Scandinavians
Cremation of the dead held the attentions of the Greek and Romans for over a millenium, but fire burial practiced by the Scandinavians independent of this influence for over 2000 years. New beliefs or "folkways" began about the afterlife. One was to burn the body as a method of keeping spirits of the dead from harming the living; the other "to free the spirit of the dead from the clogging prison of the body". Two contributing concepts to this "freeing of the spirit" were the belief that in the afterlife the dead may enter into the realm of Gods. Another was the belief that life or spirit continues to exist in the grave mound itself. From this last belief sprang Cults of the dead. Scandinavians believed in "Journey to the land of the dead," as is reflected in the mode of Ship burials the Viking Age in Norway whereby a ship for the body was set afire and left to drift out to sea.
Funeral Beliefs of Early Christians
Early Christian beliefs regarding death and the disposal of the dead were built upon the general mortuary ideology of the Hebrews as vivified and expanded by the teachings of Christ. For early Christians the concept of "flesh and blood" relationship of man to God, an afterworld from which the body resurrected, and the eventual divine judgment where each man gives an account for his life on Earth, had and added dimension — the infinite and equal value of every human soul. The soul was both spiritual and immortal and not destined in the afterlife to be a discarnate spirit. No soul could be totally destroyed — resurrection was the Miracle of God. Customarily, the Christians buried their dead. There was a rigidly compelling doctrine prohibiting cremation and it was finally prohibited during the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337 A.D.). They believed that they were asleep in Christ and cemetery, by its etymology, designates a sleeping place. The concept and terminology of death as sleep have carried through almost 2000 years into modern funerary usage.
The Rise of the English Undertaker
Funeral undertaking as a clear cut distinct secular occupation had not appeared in Europe before the 17th century. Embalming developed as a medical specialty long prior to and independent of undertaking. The feudal period dramatized death with high ritual and ceremony an integral part of the life of English aristocracy. Segments of cities from the 17th century on demanded funerals simply in the name of religion. Others equally vigorously demanded it in the name of sanitation — Europe had already endured the Plague. Because of this, the undertaker, or one who provided all necessary items for such ceremonies, came to be. We now had one person coordinating all things involved in the burial rite.
American Colonial Funeral Behavior
Since American Colonial settlements were founded by English speaking Europeans, many of their skills, arts, and crafts remain as basic substructures to the distinctive American mode of living. Early New Englanders recognized death as a natural inevitable commonplace reality. Death was never denied. The earliest New England burials were models of simplicity and quiet dignity. The mourners merely followed the coffin and stood silently as the grave was filled. Later, the practice of funeral services in the church was observed and mourning took on an extensive social character. Despite the growing concern over burial expense and the legislative attempts to curb the practice of spending a sizable portion of the estate for gifts at the funerals, the colonists persisted in making the disposal of the dead an occasion for celebration.
Funeral Practices in the Middle Ages
The emergence of the Christian Church from persecution gave primitive burial practices an imposing dignity that better expressed the church's importance. By the late 5th century, the dead were brought to the church for a religious mass. People were buried in the costumes by which during life they had indicated their positions — Kings, Knights, Priests, Monks, etc.were all adorned with their own particular garb. Burial up to this time always took place outside city walls, but when Constantine's Edict of Toleration was passed in 313 A.D., burial within city walls was given tremendous impetus. People later wished to be buried in or near the church. This gave rise to the church graveyard and in Europe today many important religious figures are indeed buried in or under churches.
Early Hebrew Funeral Customs
Like other Semitic peoples, early Hebrews regarded man as composed of two elements, Basar (flesh) and Nefesh (breath). Early Hebrews believed that the soul kept a close connection with the dead body so that, when the corpse was hurt, the soul suffered. In like fashion the early Hebrews generally held that the soul led a shadowy afterlife in a netherworld called Sheol. Around 547 B.C., Monotheism (belief in one God) developed as a belief centering are the figure of Yaweh. Hebrew dead were anointed, laid in state, and dressed in their best attire. Jewish belief mandated this since the dead could be recognized by their garments in the underworld. Burial commonly took place on the evening of the death of the death. This seeming haste was founded on hygienic necessity. During all historical periods, the ancient Hebrews interred their dead. Cremation was not tolerated, and when it took place, it was frowned upon as an indignity to the corpse; and by venerable custom and the Priest code, it was regarded as a means of intensifying the disgrace of the death penalty.
Ancient Egyptian Funeral Practices
Of all the great civilizations of ancient times, Egypt has had perhaps more influence than any other upon civilization intermediate to our own. For that reason, Egyptian civilization is singled out as the beginning of modern day funeral practices. Egyptians believed of death and the life beyond. The theologies of Sun worship and the Cult of Osiris maintained the body and one's possessions were necessary for the life in the here-after. Great steps were undertaken to preserve the body so that it could be used in one's afterlife. Mummies and artifacts found today are testament to this. Egyptians were the first to embalm — mainly for preservation of the body, and the Kher-Heb, or High Priest was the "Embalmer". Due to both their religious beliefs and an arid climate, this culture is the most studied today with regard to their funeral practices, and many things they did are still practiced today.
Ancient Greeks Funeral Customs
Unlike Egyptian cultures, the ancient Greeks conceived death as one of the harsher lots of mankind. The writings of the Classical Period (5 B.C.) used stern and severe epithets for death. Early beliefs maintained a bodily existence under the Earth. Later in Homeric times (700 B.C.) this belief gave way to the concept of a shadowy afterlife peopled by disembodied souls. Earth burial was practiced early in their culture with cremation later becoming the vogue. Reverence for the dead permeates the burial the burial customs of the Greeks through all the Ages. While no serious attempt at embalming was made, the body was anointed with perfumes and spices and laid in state. Since passage into the netherworld required crossing the river Styx, a coin was placed in the dead person's mouth for Charon the ferryman. Without such fare the unlucky soul was doomed to wander 100 years along the shores. While a choice of burial or cremation was available at all late Greek periods, their shadowy afterlife was a sharp distinction to the Egyptian belief in the reanimation of the dead.
Common Elements in the Mortuary Beliefs of Early People
We have seen the various beliefs and burial practices of early cultures — Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, Christians, and the Scandinavians. As we take a view across the primary mortuary beliefs of the early peoples and cultures so far, we are able to draw at least one solid conclusion: Death does not end all relationship between the living and the dead but merely signalized the transition from one set of relationships to another. Religious beliefs played an important part in their funerary customs as did practicality. Modes of burial were affected by religion as well as the need for sanitation and timely disposal. Today, as then, religion and public health continue to be prime consideration when death and burial occur.
Medical Embalmers and Anatomists
While the link between today and ancient Egypt is unbroken, there were almost 1500 years during which funeral embalming was rarely practiced, and then it was carried on only incidentally and secondarily by someone primarily engaged in an occupation other than the burial of the dead. In the 15th century, there was a revival of interest in anatomy and surgery. These demands for better methods of preservation were seconded by artists who drew anatomical plates. Leonardo Da Vinci developed a system of venous injection and was a precursor of modern embalming procedures. When the circulation of blood was discovered in the early 17th century, the art of arterial embalming emerged.
