Isabel Mastrapa

Funerals in Medieval EnglandBackground information:main idea of the church in England was the fate of the soul after deathWhile on this earth immortal soul bonded to mortal bodySoul not affected by bodily illnesses but body could be at the mercy of the soul.

(ex. Leprosy thought to be illness of the soul’s sexual sin)To protect churchgoers from sin , church instilled fear into the fate of hell

Purposes of funerals:To instill fear and caution about your souls fate the church depicted the afterlife

and death in religious texts, art and eventsFunerals were not only way to dispose of the body ,were also used to show living

that death the last destination and that afterlife was right afterFunerals showed that one must not fall into sin if they didn’t wish to

be tortured in pits of hell

Funeral Rituals:It was the persons job to prepare for their funeral a few days before deathDying person confessed to entire community then returned to bed where a procession

came and prayed After official death body placed on sack-cloth and ashes and whole community came and

recited prayers and litaniesBody then washed and placed in a hair-shirt and carried to church bier by people of the

same social standing.Body next day carried to burial site as procession recited psalms and the body was

covered in the smell of incense Body then lowered into burial and sprinkled with holy water and earth and procession

returned to church to hold mass for deceased.

Burial sites:The place of burial could be decided by persons will or by decisions of family membersLower classes had to generally be buried in the parish graveyard but nobility could be

buried elsewhereNobility could be buried in other countries besides their own as long as family willing to

travel with the body (ex. Noble died in England but wanted to be buried in Normandy)

Also if men died during battles or crusades their comrades had the duty to decide what to do with the body

They could bury them there , carry the entire body back, or bring back parts of the body (i.e. bones and heart)

One instance where a father buried in Normandy and son unearthed bones and reburied them in EnglandImages:

http:// youall.com/HELL/medievalhell.htmhttp:// contagions.wordpress.com/the-plague/http:// historum.com/art-cultural-history/48606-theme-death-art-down-

ages.htmlhttp://www.escapeintolife.com/showcase/medieval-art/http://www.medievalists.net/2013/04/28/magic-for-the-dead-the-archaeology-of-magic-in-later-medieval-burials/

3 Best sources:Danielle. Christopher. Death and Burial in Medieval England. London. Routeledge. 1997. PrintGordon. Bruce. Marshall. Peter. the Place of the dead. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 2000 . nonprintBinski. Paul. Medieval Death. New York. Cornell University Press. 1996. Nonprint.