Veneration of the Dead

VENERATION OF THE DEAD. - The complex of all the practices with which the dead are honored among different peoples and in different religions.

I. IN NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS

In non-Christian religions the veneration of the dead almost always took on the character of a cult. O. Schrader (op. cit., p. 16) holds that such a cult can be realized in three distinct ways, namely: the treatment of the corpse (burial, incineration, etc.) and the attentions directed toward it during and after the funeral rite (for this last form see also ANCESTORS, CULT of the; FUNERARY, RITES). The three forms can coexist more or less, but all of them imply, even where the dead are neglected or regarded with fear or repulsion, precise beliefs about death, the soul and the dwelling place of the deceased (see UNDERWORLD).

For prehistory, prudent conjectures of a cult of the dead can be drawn from the not very numerous sepulchral remains that are transparent with indications to this effect. Thus, while as regards the protoanthropes of the Lower Pleistocene (Abbevillian, Clactonian and Levalloisian cultures) nothing can be said that is less than hypothetical (doubtful is the interpretation of the Choukoutien deposit, in which skulls were found, which has led some to think of a skull cult connectable with the cult of the dead), the situation is relatively clearer for the Middle Pleistocene: in the Mousterian culture there was the practice of burying the dead "in a resting position with the head resting on the forearm" or in a position that would seem to attest the use (observable among present-day primitives) of binding the corpse, placing lithic tools beside them (funerary furnishings?), which, together with supposed vestiges of cannibalism (a form of cult of the dead among peoples of nature), would testify to genuine cultic practices in honor of the dead. In the cultures of the Upper Paleolithic one finds individual and collective tombs, in the open and in caves, in artificial pits or on bare earth: the corpse (sometimes in a resting position, at other times crouched - a sign of binding?-) is often sprinkled with red ochre or placed in a "bed" covered with this material (is it intended to restore to the dead the blood, the seat of vital energy, for the afterlife?), protected, particularly at the head and feet, by stone slabs, and has beside it genuine funerary furnishings, comprising weapons, ornaments and objects of common use. Similar characteristics are found in the finds of the Epipaleolithic (in which, however, particular honor was paid to skulls, arranged in collective pits, always on a layer of red ochre) and of the Mesolithic (see also PREHISTORY, RELIGION in; and, for the Neolithic and the Metal Ages, the history of the individual cultures in these periods).

Among primitives the complex of beliefs about the dead varies, and therefore the forms of cult vary as well.

Among the Australians, besides endocannibalism (the practice of eating the flesh of the dead to appropriate their qualities: cf. E. Volhard, Il cannibalismo, Italian trans., Turin 1949, pp. 488-506), also found in Africa, various forms of burial are noted: inhumation (corpse extended or crouched), deposition on trees or on specially made platforms (in order to obtain the mummification of the dead, who is then preserved by the family) and cremation. Singular is the practice of double burial, by which, after exposing the corpse so that it may putrefy, the bones are collected and then buried or deposited in caves, or, in part, preserved by the relatives. And it is a common belief that man continues to live after death: for this reason the corpse is sometimes placed on a boat so that it may make its journey; for this reason, among the Arunta, an armed dance is performed on the spot where the spirit of the dead is believed to hover, in order to induce it to depart definitively from the world of the living.

Among the primitives of Asia, the Andamanese behave similarly to certain tribes of Australia: they let the corpses putrefy, of which the relatives then preserve the skull, after painting it with red ochre. While the Sakai and the Jakun of the Malay Peninsula abandon the dead in the place where they were at the moment of death (sometimes covering them with a layer of earth) and then withdraw from that place. And a return to double burial is found among the Dayak and the Toraja of Indonesia.

Like the Bushmen, the Pygmies of Africa believe in the survival of the spirits of the dead, which have in the afterlife a reward or a punishment according to their earthly conduct. The beliefs of the Zulu are not dissimilar. On the other hand, among many African families there is the custom of abandoning the dead at the place of death and of performing on them practices that facilitate their decomposition: the reason for this is to be sought in a "fear of contamination" believed to derive from the corpse.

The raising up of the corpse, incineration and burial are likewise found among the Eskimos, together with the abandonment of individuals close to death in a secluded place. While among the Algonquins - as among other American tribes - mummification was common; but among the primitives of America there was also the belief that the dead could not enter their kingdom before their mortal remains had been destroyed: hence practices suited to hastening the decomposition of the corpse or the use of incineration (see also PRIMITIVES, RELIGION of the).

A precise description of the rites in honor of the dead we have for the peoples of pre-Columbian America. In Mexico the treatment was different for those who died in war and for those who died a natural death. The former were honored first of all with 4 days of funeral songs performed by the widows and children in a procession accompanied by a special dance. Subsequently "effigies were made representing the dead; they were covered with maguey or agave paper, dressed in tunics and sashes; to these effigies were attached vulture wings so that they might fly before the sun." After offerings of food had been made to the effigies, and another four days had been allowed to pass, "the widows made the final offering of Neuthli, an indigenous beverage, scattered roses on the ground and burned aromatics. Finally all the effigies were thrown into the fire, and while they burned, the widows wept" (C. Crivelli, La religione dei popoli che abitarono il Messico e l'America centrale, in P. Tacchi Venturi, Storia delle religioni, I, 2nd ed., Turin 1939, p. 127). The latter, instead, were cremated in the course of a ceremony that involved human sacrifices, and the ashes were collected in a small box on which the statuette of the dead was placed. There followed, at regular intervals, human sacrifices for a total of 80 days. The spirit of those who died in battle enjoyed immortality, while that of those who died a natural death (except those who died of diseases sacred to Tlaloc), after a long journey in the afterlife, died definitively (see also MEXICO: Religion; PERU: Religion).

In no other country, probably, did the cult of the dead attain such importance and splendor as in ancient Egypt. From the most ancient tombs, perhaps dating back to the 5th millennium B.C., in which the corpse was buried in an almost shallow pit, with various grave goods beside it, we pass to those of the Old Kingdom, consisting of much deeper pits, over which a small building with sloping walls was constructed. In the course of time the tombs were enlarged with the addition of a varying number of rooms. The kings were buried in the pyramids, and beside them a temple was built dedicated precisely to the king, in which a regular cult was maintained. The corpses were mummified with every care and with the concern to preserve the dead person as he had been in life. The burial rite entailed the recitation by the priest of incantations capable of restoring to the dead person the use of the senses: offerings of food were therefore made, which were then repeated at regular intervals. The complex of rites is also preserved in the Middle Kingdom, in which, owing to the increased economic level of the population, the tombs grew considerably in number. The system of inhumation did not change, nor did the offerings change, which, however, especially in the New Kingdom, were preferably made in the temples. Evident is the persistence of the belief in a life after death: a belief that, however, changes in substance, passing from the belief in a simple survival, perhaps in the tomb itself, with needs entirely similar to earthly ones, to that of the departure of the soul of the dead person into the "kingdom of the West" (Amenti [v.]; see also EGYPT: Religion; BOOK OF THE DEAD).

Far less conspicuous was the cult of the dead among the peoples who inhabited Mesopotamia. Among the various forms of burial only inhumation is known: in the most ancient times the corpse was placed naked in the earth, probably beneath its own dwelling, or even placed in large terracotta coffins. Later the dead person appears in a crouched position, very often oriented. Beside it were foods, weapons, various grave goods. The funeral ceremony entailed lamentations in the temple, directed by a priest, animal sacrifices and libations made by the relatives on the tomb. In Sumerian times there were also — perhaps — human sacrifices. In the poem that narrates the descent of Ishtar to the underworld there is also mention of washings and anointings of the corpse, of a covering of red garments and of music that would have accompanied the funeral: the meaning of all this, however, is not very clear (see also BABYLONIANS: 10, Religion).

Inhumation — that is, burial in caves or in stone tombs, in which offerings of foods, drinks and objects were placed — was common among the Canaanites, who believed they could know the future through the spirit of the dead. Among the Phoenicians, on the other hand, there was the belief in the continuation of life after death, in which the soul is inseparable from the body, which must therefore be buried with care in the tomb ("house of eternity"), preserved in wooden chests or in a sarcophagus.

In the Aegean world, traces of the cult of the dead can be found in Crete (Mesara) as early as the Early Minoan period. Here were the great thaloi, perhaps family burials capable of holding hundreds of corpses, in which the dead were placed on the bare earth (but in some thalos there were sarcophagi)

and beside which were found mostly aniconic idols, and small vases (at Mochlos) intended to contain foods and drinks. In the Middle Minoan period one finds cemeteries or individual burials: over the dead person, in a crouched position, are large vases sometimes overturned (pithoi). And, very often, caves on the seashore were transformed into ossuaries: perhaps, as the sarcophagus of Hagia Triada proves, it was believed that a sea voyage was necessary to reach the afterlife. There were moreover artificial ossuaries (at Malia, for example), built of masonry and divided into several rooms, in one of which, an irrefutable document of the cult of the dead, tables were found that certainly had the function of altars. But it is in the Late Minoan period that one finds "funerary constructions architecturally independent, with a rich internal apparatus" (such is the "Tomb of the Double Axe" at Knossos). And it is thus in this period that the number of larnakes increases considerably, in which the dead person is placed supine, with the knees bent. Among these sarcophagi, famous is the aforementioned one of Hagia Triada, on which is painted a veritable ceremony in honor of the dead person: "three individuals covered with an animal skin bring to the deceased, standing before the tomb, two calves and a boat." On the other sides of the sarcophagus are represented the sacrifice of a bull, an offering by a priestess, and various other elements that lead one to think precisely of a funerary sacrifice (see also AEGEAN RELIGION).

The sacred texts of Vedic India give clear indications of a cult of the dead that was realized in the most complete way both in funeral ceremonies and in rites subsequent to burial on fixed dates. It was believed that the dwelling of the dead person was heaven, the kingdom of Yama, but from heaven the dead person could return in the form of a spirit to his house to seek food there (especially at the time of the new moon). A meal was therefore prepared and placed beside small pits filled with water that were to serve for the ablutions of the dead person. Offerings of oil, perfumes, etc. followed. Such offerings were repeated monthly and on the occasion of births, marriages and the like. The texts also give a precise description of the funeral ceremony, during which the corpse was burned with a ritual varying according to whether it was a Brahmin, a kṣatriya or a vaiśya (see BRAHMANISM). The practices are preserved, but with no slight changes, in Hinduism: the corpse is burned and the ashes, collected in an urn, thrown into the Ganges or another sacred river. The change of direction is justified by the new Hindu beliefs: man is reincarnated after death according to the law of Karman: everything must therefore be directed toward the attainment of purity in order to interrupt the cycle of births (see HINDUISM).

In the Zoroastrian religion the complex of practices in honor of the dead is regulated by the concept of impurity that is believed to emanate from the corpse: the dead person is neither buried nor burned so as not to contaminate the earth and fire. He is instead abandoned on the dakhma (a pit surrounded by stone beds arranged in concentric circles) as food for the vultures. The skeleton is then thrown into the pit. In the house of the dead person, purification ceremonies follow, intended to drive away the impurity. This horror of the corpse is also found among the present-day Parsis (see IRAN, religion of; PARSISM).

Traces of the cult of the dead in Greece are found as early as the Mycenaean age: from this era date the tholoi and shaft tombs; here — probably — a funerary sacrifice was performed and gifts and offerings were placed, the latter, perhaps, repeated on specific occasions. In this era cremation was also introduced alongside burial. The references to a cult of the dead found in the epic all go back to the Mycenaean age: funerary games too were therefore held in honor of the dead person; in the classical age, acts of cult were already paid to the dead person, who was laid out in his house after death. A vase full of water was by the door so that visitors, on leaving, could purify themselves. In the tomb, in which the corpse was placed enclosed in a chest of clay or wood, offerings were placed; in the mouth of the dead person was placed the coin to be paid to Charon. After the burial "a libation was poured on the tomb of wine, oil and honey; and bloody sacrifices were not rare, human ones in the more ancient age."

After the ceremony there was the funeral banquet, and offerings (ἐνγύγματα, γρά) were renewed on the tomb on the third, ninth and thirtieth day. Besides this there were the ἀξένα Ἐνάτης (v. ECATE), offerings left at crossroads in honor of the spirits that returned to earth in search of vengeance, and annual festivals: the Genesia (v.), the Nemesia (v.) and the Anthesteria (v.).

Among the Romans too burial was accompanied by sacrifices, and annual festivals were consecrated to the dead: the Parentalia (v.) and the Lemuria (v.). On the occasion of the Lemuria «the pater familias, having risen at midnight and having washed his hands three times with pure spring water, went about the house barefoot snapping his fingers and putting black beans in his mouth, which he then threw behind himself while repeating a certain formula of conjuration. It was believed that during this ceremony the spirits gathered up the beans». During the Parentalia, on the other hand, the sacrifices were offered by the sons or the heirs to the spirits of the departed.

Prehistoric finds likewise reveal the existence of a cult of the dead among the ancient Celts and the ancient Germans. But nothing precise is known about these, just as it does not appear that a cult of the dead in general existed among the peoples of the Far East (China and Japan), among whom, instead, the cult of ancestors can be found.

Mario Camozzini

II. AMONG THE HEBREWS.

The system of burial was inhumation, usually not in the earth, but in a cave or in loculi, often family ones, and this desire for cohabitation after death finds its realization in the successive Jewish cemeteries, cut into rocky walls, but also artificial ones (cf. for Abraham and Sarah: Gen. 23, 4-20; for Deborah: ibid. 35, 8; for Jacob, ibid. 49, 29-30; for Moses: Deut. 34, 6; for Joshua: Ios. 24, 30-33; for David: I Reg. 2, 10; for Solomon: ibid. 11, 43; etc.). Exceptional and due to foreign influences was embalming (cf. for Joseph: Gen. 50, 25) and cremation, due to contingent circumstances (cf. for Saul and his sons: I Sam. 31, 11-13; for a grave pestilence: Am. 6, 10).

The funeral preparation of the corpse comprised simply a washing (Act. 9, 37) and the closing of the eyes and mouth (Gen. 46, 4); it does not appear, at least for ancient times, that a particular dressing followed: but the dead was buried with his usual clothing and ornaments. The corpse was also wrapped in a sheet or shroud, bound with bands (cf. for Lazarus: Iob. 11, 44), and perfumed with the addition of aromas (cf. the burial of Jesus «sicut mos est Iudaeis sepelire» (Io. 19, 40) or burning them over and around it (Jer. 34, 5). The funeral transport was carried out by the friends of the dead and was preceded, accompanied and followed by the recitation of biblical passages and by lamentations. The exterior manifestations of mourning were reduced to a minimum, consisting in a funeral banquet («the bread of mourning»: Os. 9, 4), abstinence from work for seven days (so long did mourning last: Gen. 50, 10), cutting of the hair, sprinkling of ashes on the head (Esth. 4, 1); customs neither concomitant, nor to be considered normative. For important persons monuments were erected on the tomb (cf. for the Maccabees: I Mach. 13, 27-30); while the lack of burial and lying unburied was considered a misfortune or a punishment (I Sam. 17, 44; I Reg. 13, 22; Jer. 9, 22; 22, 19; etc.).

III. IN THE THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

The maternal attentions of the nascent Church for the bodies of the faithful departed are guided by two articles of faith: the resurrection of the flesh (v.) and sacramental sanctification (v. SACRAMENTO).

1. The faith in the resurrection, which Christianity defended against the assault of general unbelief (cf. Mt. 22, 23; Lc. 22, 27; Act. 17, 32; St. Augustine: «In nulla re sic contradicitur fidei christianae, quam in resurrectione carnis» Enarr. in Ps. 88, 2: PL 37, 1134). Over the remains of Christians there breathed from the beginning an atmosphere of peace, of hope, of joy: the faithful one is not dead, but has withdrawn from the land of exile: recessit (Christian epitaphs) and has preceded the others into the homeland: praecessit (Christian epitaphs); praecessit cum signo fidei (canon of the Roman Mass), because he has been called by the Lord: accessitione dominica (Cyprian, De mortalitate 20: PL 4, 596) and by the angels: accessitus ab Angelis (in two Roman epitaphs). He therefore is not lost, but rather sent ahead as it were to prepare a place for the other brothers: non amissimus sed praemissimus (Cyprian, loc. cit.), therefore the day of his obitus must be celebrated as a new dies natalis. His body is not stiffened by death, but composed in sleep, awaiting the trumpet of the resurrection: «In christianis mors non est mors, sed dormitio et somnus» (St. Jerome, Ep. 75 ad Theod.: PL 22, 685), whence the name of cemetery (καμιάω = I sleep) given to the sacred place, where the bodies were laid. Because of this sublime conception of death the ancient Christians banished from their funerals laments and weeping: «Non ululatum, non planctus, ut inter saeculi homines fieri solet sed psalmorum linguis diversis examina concrepabant» (St. Jerome, Epitaphium Paulae: PL 22, 878) and St. Paulinus of Nola gives the reason for it: «gaudentemque Deo flere, nocens amor est» (Poem. 32, 44). In an epitaph of the 4th century this delicate concept is developed: may the groaning of hearts be understood because you, innocent child, were received by the Mother of the Church (Mater Ecclesiae) while joyfully making your return from this world.

2. Sacramental sanctification, of which the body was, as it were, the pivot — «caro salutis cardo» (Tertullian, De resurrectione carnis 8: PL 2, 806) — penetrates the whole human being, so that when the spirit returns to God, it leaves the corpse imbued with heavenly fragrances. The body of the faithful is therefore not impure, as the Jews held, nor is it sacred in the sense of the Twelve Tables, but it is a human remnant consecrated by the divine charisms — «caro abluitur... caro signatur... caro ungitur... caro corpore et sanguine Christi vescitur» (Tertullian, loc. cit.) — and destined to the most coveted of fates: perfect reintegration at the end of time. Piety and human tenderness, sustained by this faith, multiplied around the corpse of the faithful the most delicate attentions: a) once death had occurred, the eyes and mouth of the deceased were closed: «Oculos illos et ora claudentes» (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VII, 22: PG 20, 690), and after washing him with lukewarm water, he was modestly laid out on the bed: «Exinde... manus componunt, oculos claudunt, caput directe statuunt, pedes reducunt, lavant» (St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in Iob.; cf. Tertullian, Apologeticum, 42: PL 1, 492).

b) Then, in imitation of the treatment given to the body of the Redeemer, it was anointed with precious aromas: «Thura plane non emimus; si Arabiae quæuntur, sciant Sabaci pluris et carioris suas merces christianis expeliendis profligari quam diis fumigandis» (Tertullian, Apologeticum, 42: PL 1, 490). By the 4th century, an aspersion of balsam and myrrh sufficed: «Aspersque mirra, sabaeo corpus medicamine serva» (Prudentius, Cathemerimon, hymn., 10, 51: PL 59, 880). Sometimes perfume was introduced through small holes made in the stone of the tomb, and many times a vial of fragrant essences was placed beside the corpse, so that it might spread its scent even after burial.

c) The corpse was then wrapped in one or two sheets, generally white: «Candore nitentia claro, praetendere lintea mos est» (Prudentius, Cathemerimon hymn., 10: PL 59, 870), and covered with a layer of lime. If the deceased were members of the clergy, they were dressed in the garments of their rank; martyrs were wrapped in rich robes. People of high station made an excessive display of clothing for their dead, for which they were sometimes reproved: «Cur et mortuos vestros auratis obvolvitis vestibus? Cur ambitio inter luctus lacrymasque non cessat? An cadavera divitum nisi in serico putrescere nesciunt?» (St. Jerome, Vita 1. Pauli Eremitae: PL 23, 28).

d) The corpse, thus prepared, was laid out in the house or in the church; vigils were kept around it with the recitation of prayers, especially of the psalms, which, when possible, were sung (cf. St. Gregory of Nyssa, Vita Macrinae, 41: PG 46, 992-93; St. Augustine, Confessiones, 9, 12: PL 32, 776). The psalmody was interspersed with the joyful singing of the Alleluia, as is still the custom in the Eastern Church.

e) The transport assumed greater or lesser solemnity, according to circumstances. In time of peace the corpse, carried on shoulders or in special carts (carrucae), was accompanied by the clergy (cf. the epitaph of Pascasius, at Viviers) and by the faithful bearing torches: «atque cereis calicibus funus duxerunt» (inscription of Chiusi). Sometimes it took on the appearance of a triumphus, especially when the bodies of martyrs and confessors were transported (cf. Victor of Vita, Historia persecutionis vandalicae, 1, 14: PL 58, 198).

f) At the place of depositio, which was the cemetery (catacombs) or the adjoining basilica, the funeral rites were held: psalmody, prayers, Mass: «Item antitypon regalis corporis Christi et acceptam seu gratam Eucharistiam offerte in ecclesiis vestris et in coemeteris atque in funeribus mortuorum» (Apostolic Constitutions, VI, 30). St. Augustine thus describes the funeral of St. Monica: «Cum offerretur pro ea sacrificium pretii nostri, iam iuxta sepulcrum posto cadavere, antequam deponeretur, sicut fieri solet» (Confessiones, 9, 12: PL 32, 776).

3. St. Paulinus of Nola asked St. Augustine whether the attentions devoted to the corpse of the dead benefit their soul, and the holy Doctor replied masterfully in the celebrated treatise De cura gerenda pro mortuis (PL 40, 591-610). Directly, «curatio funeris, conditio sepulturae, pompa esequiarum, magis sunt solatia vivorum quam subsidia mortuorum»; nevertheless these delicate attentions, «humanitatis officia», are to be approved, because they indicate respect for those bodies which, sanctified by the Sacraments, became instruments of the Holy Spirit «ad omnia bona opera» (cf. De Civitate Dei, I, 1, cap. 13). Indirectly these attentions benefit the souls of the departed, inasmuch as they rekindle remembrance and prayer, «recordantis et precantis affectus», which «cum defunctis a fidelibus carissimis exhibetur, eum prodesse non dubium est iis, qui cum in corpore viverent, talia sibi post hanc vitam prodesse meruerunt». St. Thomas (Sum. Theol., suppl. q. 71, a. 11) echoes the thought of St. Augustine, which has become the common doctrine of the Church (cf. cann. 1203-12; Pius XII, encycl. Mediator Dei, 30 Nov. 1947, in AAS, 39 [1947], p. 530).

Antonio Piolanti

IV. IN THE LITURGY OF THE CHURCH.

Prayer for the dead is attested by the whole of Christian antiquity, and in the 2nd century it also assumes a public and official character; for the dead began to be commemorated in the canon of the Mass (v. CIMITERI CRISTIANI), and the Apostolic Constitutions of the 4th century speak to us of gatherings at the tombs of the dead, with the singing of psalms and the reading of passages of Scripture on the 3rd, 9th, and 30th day and on the anniversary of death, as a widely diffused custom. Alongside this custom ran that of commending oneself to the intercession of the dead, who were trusted to have attained eternal peace.

I. HONORS TO THE BODY IN THE WESTERN RITE

The first Christians continued (Acts 8:2) the practice of washing the body, entrusting it in some Churches to clerics or attendants, of anointing it and laying it out according to local custom, wrapping it in bands, linen or silk sheets, or, as a sign of penance, in haircloth. Sometimes these bands were gathered around the head and fastened with a wax seal, sprinkled with holy water; sometimes a tin chalice was placed in the hands of priests. Persons who had held ecclesiastical or civil dignities were clothed in the garments and insignia of their own office.

Today it is common practice to place the Crucifix or the Rosary between the hands of the deceased.

The use of the coffin became general at the end of the Middle Ages. The corpse was covered, except for the face, by a pall, which hung down over the sides, sometimes precious; today the pall is black with a cross in the middle and covers the whole bier; for young unmarried women it is permitted that it be white. For children, as a sign of purity, the entire rite is performed in white and with its own formulary, informed by the idea that they have no need of suffrages. Custom also permits that on the bier, or beside it, or around it, there be placed or carried the marks of the social class, of the offices and dignities held by the deceased; the presence of banners of associations that have no party character and no tendencies recognized as opposed to the Church is also permitted. In the past the Church had several times to intervene to limit excessive pomp in funerals, especially those of ecclesiastics; in the 17th century it still regarded the hearse as a sign of vanity and luxury. The gravediggers, who from the beginning were charged with carrying the corpses, were sometimes replaced, as a sign of honor, by clerics and even bishops; in the Middle Ages this function was performed by companions of the same guild or trade, by colleagues of equal rank in the case of ecclesiastics, always excluding women, since the funeral is a liturgical service. Today bishops must be carried by priests in surplice; ecclesiastics by other ecclesiastics of lower rank, laymen by laymen.

The use of candles in the procession is very ancient, and had its reason in the fact that funerals were held at night; afterward it remained as a sign of honor. With Christianity it took on the meaning of light and eternal life, and it was never absent from the funeral liturgy, beginning with the candles that were lit beside the bed, then accompanied the deceased to the church and remained lit around the corpse during the office. It is mentioned already in the funeral of St. Cyprian (d. 258), and St. Jerome commented on its use "ad significandum lumine fidei illustratos sanctos decessisse et modo in superna patria lumine gloriae splendere" (Adv. Vigil., 13).

The use of flowers at funerals is in its nature indifferent; it receives special meaning from the spirit that accompanies it. The Roman Ritual (tit. V, cap. 7, 1) says regarding children: "si impone sulla testa una corona di fiori o di erbe aromatiche ed odorifere in segno della integrità della carne e della verginità." Because of the use that the pagans made of flowers at feasts and banquets, so that they appeared a sign of vanity, some ecclesiastical writers such as Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Clement of Alexandria, showed themselves opposed to it. The Fathers of the 4th century seem less severe; St. Ambrose and St. Jerome warned that prayers and alms should be preferred to them. Prudentius sings of the Christian's tomb: "Nos tecta fovebimus ossa — violis et fronde frequenti" (Cathemer., X). No special prescription today governs customs in this regard, provided no local abuses occur; but it is consonant with the spirit of the Church that the deceased be accompanied to the grave with prayer and with works of charity rather than with pomp of illuminations, trappings, and flowers. Priests go in procession to the house of the deceased to take away the corpse and then accompany it to the church, as a rule by the shortest route, singing psalms. In the church the bier is placed in the middle in such a way that the feet are turned toward the altar, as the deceased did in life when looking at the altar itself; if the deceased is a priest, his head is turned toward the altar, because in that position he stood with respect to the faithful.

St. Augustine, in the Confessions (IX, 12), describing his mother's funeral, makes it clear that the principal part consisted in the Mass celebrated at the tomb before the corpse was laid there. Paulinus writes that, when St. Ambrose died, he was carried into the church and after the Mass was buried. And even today the substantial part of the funeral liturgy is the Mass. The little that precedes and follows is a composition of the late Middle Ages (the Libera me Domine is from the 9th century); it is called "funeral absolution," a rite that has nothing to do with sacramental absolution, although the prayers are inspired by the same concept of the power to loose and bind conferred on the Church. There is proof of this in the classic formula "Absolve quaesumus, Domine, animam famuli tui," still used today; the aspect of a judgment appeared clear in the Roman Pontifical of the Curia (13th century), where the celebrant, before proceeding to the absolution of a cleric, asked permission of the clergy standing around him. In any case the ancients saw in the rite the remission to the deceased of the penalty due to his faults and the absolution from ecclesiastical censures. The formula of absolution was once a single one, as it still appears in the Roman Ritual. But the Pontifical assigns a more solemn one for the pope, the cardinals, the bishops and distinguished personages of the State, introduced at Rome around the 13th century. On such an occasion the absolution is given by the celebrant and by four bishops, who, placed at the four corners of the bier, repeat the incensation each time, while the schola sings a responsory with verses and recites an oration. The rite is closed with the fifth absolution by the celebrant, preceded by a sermon on the life of the deceased. In the absence of bishops it can be performed by the dignitaries of the cathedral. The sermon may also be given by a simple priest.

Although Tertullian and St. Cyprian already speak of a Mass for the dead, its type must not have differed from the usual one, but perhaps in the 4th century proper formularies began. The introit Requiem aeternum is taken from IV Esd., which could have been counted among the canonical books until about the end of the 5th century; it is also found in the epitaphs of Ain Zara (Tripoli) in the 6th century and was always sung with Ps. 64, Te decet hymnus. The Requiem at the Gradual must be contemporary with the Introit and has the verse derived from Ps. III. From the 2nd century the Alleluia is excluded from the liturgy of the dead; nevertheless St. Jerome recalls it in the funeral of Fabiola (PL 22, 697).

The Dies irae (v.) is a medieval sequence rich in doctrinal content, religious feeling and lyrical-dramatic impetus; for this reason it was received into the liturgy. The offertory Domine Iesu Christe lends itself to discussion on account of certain phrases whose flavor was considered even pagan, but which in fact correspond to biblical expressions; on account of the accent at the signifer sanctus Michael, of plainly oriental, perhaps Coptic, flavor; on account of the hemistich Quam olim, repeated according to ancient usage and here preserved because the offering by the faithful was preserved longer in the Mass for the dead. It is held to have been composed in Rome in the 8th century and modified in Gaul in the 9th century, probably by an Irishman. The text once had not one but three verses. At the communio, the Lux aeterna already appears in manuscripts of the 10th century. In the Mass for the dead certain parts and ceremonies are omitted (Ps. 41 at the beginning, the blessing of water at the Offertory, the kiss of peace, the Ite missa est, the blessing) because they are not consonant with the particular austerity of that Mass, or because the intention was to make the whole rite converge upon the suffrage for the dead.

The accompaniment to burial "must not be made with groans and weeping, as usually happens among the men of the world (an allusion to the praeficae, women hired to weep at funerals), but with the singing of psalms" (St. Jerome: PL 22, 898). And such indeed was the constant and universal purpose for which wondrous antiphons, responsories and psalms accompany the dead, by the hand of the angels, to eternal peace, not to the burial but to Paradise. Roman law forbade burial within the walls, but later this precept fell into disuse for various reasons and burials took place in cemeteries around the church and in the church itself; and the brevity of the journey well explains the body of formulas still in use.

Note should be taken of the custom, attested already by St. Ambrose, of kissing the dead before burial, bidding him farewell three times according to an oriental custom; later is the custom of scattering a little earth on the tomb while saying: "Sume terra quod tuum est, terra es et in terram ibis", which has remained a popular usage in several places. Also widespread, though disapproved, was the custom of placing the Eucharist in the mouth of the dead; a custom corrected in many places by placing it there a few moments before death, or else in the tomb, to protect the body against diabolical or sacrilegious influences. Likewise practiced in some places, down beyond the 6th century, was the rite of refreshment, already very common among the pagans, which consisted in a libation of wine or in a banquet celebrated by the relatives on the tomb of the dead. It was forbidden on account of the abuses that arose from it, as the well-known episode of St. Monica bears witness (St. Augustine, Confess., VI, 2).

The dead are remembered in every Mass (v. DITTICI), but care was always taken to pray for them particularly on the days following death: in the East and in the Gallican countries of the West on the 3rd, 9th and 40th day after death; in Rome, in Africa and in Palestine on the 3rd, 7th and 30th. This usage is inspired by biblical events: on the 3rd day Jesus came forth from the tomb; Joseph the Hebrew proclaimed a mourning of 7 days for his father (Gen. 50, 10); the Hebrew people wept for 30 days for Moses (Deut. 34, 8) and for Aaron (Num. 20, 30).

On these days and on the anniversary the obsequies are celebrated with rites that recall, in their texts and ceremonies, those of the funeral, evidently in reduced form.

The Ambrosian liturgy has an ordo for the funeral with a scheme identical to the Roman one, but richer in elements and with a flavor of great antiquity; it has preserved the singing of the Passio of Our Lord, already in use in Rome, and completes the funeral of bishops, priests and deacons with other additions of antiphons and responsories. Also very significant is the singing of the litany of the saints. In the reform carried out by St. Charles there were various Roman influences: until St. Charles the commemoration of all the dead, introduced in Milan between 1120 and 1125 through the work of Oirico, was celebrated on the Monday following the dedication of the Church Major (3rd Sunday of Oct.). This usage has been preserved to a certain extent in the parishes of the diocese for the day following that of the dedication of their own church, or, when its date is unknown, for that of the Office for the dedication of the minor church.

Enrico Cattaneo

II. HONORS TO THE BODY IN ORIENTAL RITES

In the Byzantine rite funerals involve three stages: in the house of the deceased, in church, at the cemetery. In the house of the deceased the priest celebrates a brief office accompanied by an incensation, and called, when it is performed separately, Ἀκολουθία τοῦ νεκρωσίμου τρισάγλου, or more often "small pannikhida." It comprises the singing of three troparia, of a brief litany, of an oration and of the apolysis: all applied to the deceased. During the transport the Trisagion is sung. In church the office takes place, composed of texts that differ according to the category to which the deceased belongs: man, woman, child, monk, priest. The last of the hymns is always a moving farewell that accompanies the kissing of the deceased's hand. Once the "small pannikhida" has been repeated, the exclamation resounds three times: "Eternal memory." Meanwhile, a priest approaches the coffin and recites a prayer of absolution. Then, if the deceased is a priest, the coffin is carried three times around the church before being taken to the place of burial. There the celebrant throws a little earth on the coffin, pours blessed oil on it and sprinkles it with ashes taken from the censer. While the coffin is being closed and the tomb sealed, the "small pannikhida" is recited one last time.

In the other Oriental rites too the funeral office comprises a great number of chants, hymns, rhythmic compositions of various kinds, with which the Oriental liturgy is rich and which are applied to a great variety of categories of persons. Particular rites are reserved to priests (anointing with holy chrism in the Armenian rite, procession in the sanctuary or striking of the coffin against the doors and walls of the church in the Syrian rites), which emphasize the close bonds that united him to the altar. The farewell is always moving and is often expressed in dialogues full of tenderness between the dead and those who remain. The Syrians have an office of consolation for the second and third day after burial; among the Copts the prayers are prolonged over seven consecutive days.

The commemoration of the deceased takes place, in the Armenian rite, on the 2nd, 7th, 15th day and on the anniversary; in the Syrian rite on the 3rd, 9th, 30th day and on the anniversary; in the Coptic rite on the 3rd, 7th, 14th (or 15th), 40th day, after a month, six months, a year; in the Ethiopian rite on the 3rd, 7th, 12th, 30th, 40th, 60th, 80th day, after six months, a year.

The commemoration of all the dead is made, in the Byzantine rite, twice a year, on the so-called Saturday of carnival and on the Saturday that precedes Pentecost; in the Armenian rite, five times, on the day following the great feasts: Epiphany, Easter, Transfiguration, Assumption, Exaltation of the Cross with the recitation of a special office in the night hour; in the Syrian rite three times, namely on the last three Fridays before Lent (the first for priests, the second for the faithful and the third for strangers); in the Chaldean rite every year, on the last Friday before Lent.

Special remembrances of the dead are made several times during Mass, in particular in the preparation and offering of the Eucharistic Bread, more at length in the diptychs and in the prayer of intercession (before or after the Consecration), in many other prayers and litanies, or at certain hours of the Divine Office.

It should be noted that the color black for the liturgy of the dead is not known to the Orientals, except by some Catholics who have undergone, in recent times, Latin influence; just as funerals do not of themselves entail the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Several customs (e.g., olives or blessed bread among the Byzantines, funeral banquets, farewell kiss) are ancient and have precedents in pagan customs, sanctified by Christianity.

Alfonso Raes

III. OFFICIATION OF THE LATIN CHURCH OF THE VENERATION OF THE DEAD

The oldest texts of the Office of the dead date from the 11th-12th centuries, and have been published by Tommasi (Op. omn., ed. Vezzosi, IV, Rome 1747-54, pp. 163-65), by A. Mocquereau (Paléogr. musicale, IX, pp. 535-60); by M. Magistretti (Manuale Ambros., II, Milan 1905, pp. 487-91). The form of the text corresponds to that already indicated by earlier authors, e.g., Amalarius and St. Angilbert in his Ordo, composed in 800 for the new monastery of St-Riquier. But Vespers and Nocturns are not in conformity with the Benedictine Breviary or with the Gallican or Ambrosian manner, but rather with the Roman one, that is, with 5 psalms at Vespers, three psalms and three lessons at each Nocturn. Missing are the elements added to the canonical Office after St. Gregory the Great: the introductory prayers, the invitatory, the hymns, the Chapter, the final doxology (neither Gloria nor Requiem of the Psalms).

Like the Office of the Sacred Triduum, so too that of the dead has preserved its archaic character. Already Amalarius notes this resemblance, which he explains by the character of sadness or mourning that would have inspired the composition of this Office in the manner of that of the Sacred Triduum. In reality, this resemblance indicates its antiquity. The Office of the dead seems in fact to go back to the time before St. Gregory the Great. Hence its Roman origin. From the texts, such as the Ordo of St. Angilbert, the prescriptions of the Council of Aachen (817; cann. 12, 50, 66, 73) and Amalarius (De secl. Off., I, IV, cap. 42; De ord. Antiphon., cap. 65) it appears that the Office of the dead was already in use in Gaul before the reform of St. Benedict of Aniane, so much so that Amalarius notes no differences between the Gallican books and those recently come from Rome. From the Ordo Romanus of John the archcantor (ed. Silva-Tarouca, Mem. della Pont. Acc. Rom. di Archeologia, I, Rome 1923, p. 213 ff.) one concludes that already before 680 this Office was in use at Rome.

The Office of the dead consisted at first only of Vespers, with the 3 Nocturns and Lauds. Subsequently additions and variants were introduced: e.g., from the 9th century at St. Gall the invitatory with psalm 94, which came into general use in the 13th century (corpse present); St. Pius V made it obligatory. From the 10th century a greater funeral Office is distinguished, with 3 Nocturns and 9 lessons, and a lesser one of a single Nocturn, chosen from among the three preceding according to the day. And the lessons too were changed: instead of from Job, those taken from Eccles. 7 "Melius est ire" or from St. Augustine's book De cura gerenda pro mortuis (as today on Nov. 2). The text of Notker (d. 912) "Media in vita" was often sung at the "Benedictus" instead of the original antiphon "Ego sum".

The Office of the dead was recited on the 3rd, 7th, 30th day and on the anniversary of a death (for the Office with corpse present, the ancient orders prescribe the recitation of the psalms according to the order of the psalter). Little by little this Office remained the only official prayer of the Church for the suffrage of the dead. It was recited moreover at funerals (independently of the canonical Office of the day), on the first free day of the month, on every Monday of the week or even every day, except in Paschal and Christmas time, for all the dead. In the reform of the Breviary under Pius X, Compline and the little hours were added for the day of the commemoration of the faithful departed (Nov. 2), and the lessons were changed, while in common use the Office remains unaltered.

Pietro Siffrin

IV. COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

Testimony of a collective commemoration of the faithful departed is found in St. Augustine, who, in De cura gerenda pro mortuis, c. IV, speaks of prayers that the Church offers in a general commemoration of all the faithful departed: « supplicationes pro spiritibus mortuorum, quas faciandas pro omnibus in christiana et catholica societate defunctis etiam tacitis nominibus sub generali commemoratione suscepit ecclesia ». Prayers for the dead in general are already found in a fragment of a very ancient anaphora of the liturgy of Mark from the time of St. Athanasius (295-375): « Iis qui obdormierunt, requiem animarum praesta » (Rev. des scienc. relig., 8 [1928], pp. 489-515), and in the euchologion of Serapion of Thmuis (after 359), orat. IV: « Sanctifica omnes in Domino defunctas ». The Roman Church had in the prayer of the faithful (Oratio fidelium), before the Offertory, a special supplication for all the faithful departed. When the prayer of the faithful disappeared from the Roman rite at the time of Gelasius I (it has remained in the Ambrosian rite), the prayer for the dead was replaced by the Memento after the Consecration, where prayer is first made for the departed specially commemorated, then for all; however, until the 12th-13th century only in Masses of the dead and in weekday Masses, not in those of Sunday. Of this Memento the so-called Missal of Bobbio (PL 72, 434) in its Missa Romensis cottidiana (8th century) is the first witness. But perhaps the Memento goes back already to the time of Gelasius I (492-96), who with the Memento replaced the commemoration of the departed in the prayer of the faithful.

A special day for the commemoration of the departed appears for the first time in the « Regula monachorum » attributed to St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636), fixed on the Monday after Pentecost (PL 83, 894), ch. 24 no. 2: « Pro spiritibus defunctorum altera die post Pentecostum sacrificium Domino offeratur ». These customs of a special commemorative day are found as a rule in the prayer confraternity between monasteries; for example, between the monasteries of Reichenau and St. Gall in the year 800 (Monumenta Germ., Libri confraternitatum, ed. P. Pieper, Berlin 1884). The day established was 14 November: « commemoratio omnium semel fiat... defunctorum memoria. Ipsoque die presbyteri ternas Missae et ceteri fratres psalterium decantent ». Subsequently other monasteries joined this confraternity, which thus spread through Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Austria. Another center is Fulda, where the day of prayer is fixed as 17 December, on which was celebrated the anniversary of the first abbot founder Sturmio and together the memory of all the deceased brethren (PL 105, 400, no. 25). In other places different days were fixed, as noted by Mabillon for 26 January (Acta SS. Ord. S. Bened., VIII, p. 584, no. 111) and by Martène for the first day after the octave of the Epiphany, 14 January (De antiquis ecclesiae ritibus, Antwerp 1738, I, IV, c. 15 no. 16). At the same time bequests multiplied in the documents, with the obligation of prayers for all the faithful. From this custom of founded Masses or prayers derives at Cluny the « fidelis inventio » of choosing 2 November, the day after the feast of All Saints, for the special commemoration of all the faithful departed. Already Amalarius in the De ordine Antiphonarii had brought the two Offices, of the Saints and of the dead, close together, but without establishing a special day for the commemoration of all the departed. To St. Odilo, the great abbot of Cluny (994-1048), is due the choice in the Cluniac Benedictine calendar of 2 November as a day of special prayers for the departed of the whole world and of all times: « festivo more commemoratio omnium fidelium defunctorum, qui ab initio mundi fuerunt usque in finem » (PL 142, 1037, 38). By virtue of the statute of St. Odilo, generous alms of bread and wine were given, as on the day of the Lord's Supper, to 13 poor people and to others, and Vespers of the dead were sung on the preceding evening, after the Vespers of the Saints. On the day itself all the bells were rung, as on feasts, the Office of the dead was recited and Mass was celebrated with great solemnity. All the priests said Masses for the departed. Besides this custom of 2 November for all the departed of the world, St. Odilo established certain prayers for an anniversary of the deceased brethren. Among these confreres is also named the emperor Henry (d. 1024). The date of the statute of St. Odilo is uncertain, but in his chronicle Sigebert of Gembloux (d. 1112) fixed it at 998, narrating under this date the legendary events that would have given rise to it (PL 160, 197-98). However, to determine its time, it is better to adhere to the « Consuetudines Farfenses », written by Guido of Farfa (cod. Vat. 6808), which note this innovation twice over: the first, shorter recension without the name of Odilo and without the statute of confraternity (with the name of the emperor Henry); the second, longer one attributes the statute to St. Odilo and also contains the prescriptions for the confraternity itself. Mortet and Wilmart date the « Consuetudines Farfenses » to the years 1039-1043: Hourlier to 1024-33, from the fact that the imperial insignia given by Henry to St. Odilo after his coronation were carried in the processions. In 1033 they were almost all sold for the aid of the needy in a great famine. A single manuscript of the National Library of Paris (lat. 17716), somewhat late, fixes the decree of St. Odilo at 1030-31, a date that corresponds to that indicated by the « Consuetudines Farfenses ».

With the name and authority of St. Odilo, this « fidelis inventio » of 2 November was definitively introduced into the Cluniac calendar and spread to all the dependencies of Cluny, still during the lifetime of St. Odilo, as far as Farfa. From John of Avranches (d. 1079) it is known that it was accepted in Normandy. Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury (1070-89), prescribed in his decrees that the monks should observe it both in monasteries and in cathedrals: « ipas die sacerdotes omnes celebrant misus pro omnibus fidelibus defunctis » (PL 150, 477). Besides the Benedictines, the Carthusians also accepted the new custom (Consuetudines Guigonis, c. XI: PL 153, 655). The secular clergy followed little by little the example of the monks, both on their own initiative and by imposition of the bishops. In Milan it was introduced in 1120 by archbishop Udalric, for 16 October, the day after the anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral; St. Charles Borromeo placed it on 2 November. Sicard, bishop of Cremona (d. 1215) in the Mitrale, I, IX, ch. 50 (PL 213, 426), speaks of it as already in use in the territory of Cremona. In Rome it was certainly known and in use at least at the time of the Ordo Romanus, XIV (1311), where in nos. 98 and 101 it is indicated as « Anniversarium omnium animarum »; there is no preaching and no consistory is held. In the Ordo Romanus XV, however, according to card. Schuster (Liber Sacramentorum, IV, Turin 1932, p. 85), traces are found of a much more ancient liturgical custom, since on 8 July an « Officium defunctorum pro fratribus (the cardinals) et Romanis Pontificibus » is indicated (PL 78, 1343), precisely as in the Ordo of Farfa of the 10th century.

A new phase of the commemoration of the faithful departed begins toward the end of the pontificate of Pius X. By decree of 25 June 1914 (AAS, 6 [1914], p. 378) the plenary indulgence « Totius quotius » was granted for 2 November, already previously granted to the Church of the Benedictines. With the bull Incruentum of 10 August 1915, Benedict XV granted to every priest the privilege of saying three Masses on 2 November: the first according to the particular intention of the celebrant, the second for all the faithful departed, the third according to the intention of the Pope, that is, to satisfy the many Mass bequests that in the course of the centuries have become insoluble, lost or left unsatisfied. All altars are privileged.

This privilege was already in use in Spain shortly before 1500. In 1540 Paul III granted to the churches and chapels of the diocese of Orihuela in Spain the privilege of saying two Masses both on the feast of All Saints and on the day after, that is, November 2, in order to satisfy the great number of Masses requested by the people for the suffrage of the dead. Likewise Julius III confirmed "vivae vocis oraculo" in 1553 the ancient privilege in force in the province of Aragon (including Catalonia, Valencia, Navarre and the islands of the Balearics, Sardinia and Ibiza), and in the Dominican Order, of celebrating three Masses on November 2 for the same purpose. And on June 25, 1571, Pius V confirmed the same privilege for the Dominican province of Spain (with Navarre detached from the province of Aragon). Meanwhile Ladislaus IV, king of Poland (1632-48), obtained on the day of his coronation the same privilege for his kingdom, but afterward it was forgotten. At the request of the kings of Spain and Portugal, Benedict XIV extended the privilege of three Masses to the regular and secular clergy of their kingdoms and colonies (Benedicti XIV Bullarium, II, Venice 1748, n. 225), and Leo XIII in 1897 granted it to all of Latin America.

As a consequence of the privilege of three Masses, Benedict XV raised (February 28, 1917) the day of November 2 to a feast of double rite for the universal Church.

Pietro Siffini

V. IN CANON AND CIVIL LAW.

Canon and civil law here take into consideration not only the human body, whole or mutilated, deprived of a soul but with at least an apparent organization, but also the parts separated from the human body, the bones and the ashes (Sacred Congregation of the Council, December 10, 1927, in AAS, 20 [1928], p. 261; Holy Office, August 3, 1897, in P. Gasparri, Fontes iuris canonici, IV, Rome 1926, n. 1100).

I. CANON LAW

In accordance with Roman law (Law X of the Twelve Tables: Hominem mortuum in urbe ne sepelito, neve urito) Christians in the first centuries buried the dead outside the city walls along the public roads, above ground and below ground (catacombs). Only as an exception, from the 4th century onward, did they begin to bury the dead also within the city, around the churches; later (6th-13th centuries), as a privilege that was ever more widely extended, until it became common practice, corpses were interred also in the atrium and then inside the churches, though always at a certain distance from the altar and never beneath it (c. 15, C. XIII, q. 2; can. 1202 § 2).

Corpses must be buried in cemeteries (v.) or in tombs blessed with a particular rite (cans. 1205-1206); only the body of persons invested with special ecclesiastical dignity or of royal family may be interred in a church (can. 1205 § 2). Interment must not take place until a sufficient time has elapsed to remove all doubt concerning death (can. 1213), and a buried body may not be exhumed without the license of the Ordinary (can. 1214). The corpse is carried to the church for the funeral rite by the priest and then to burial (cans. 1224 ff.). Whatever the dignity of the deceased, clerics are forbidden to carry the corpse of a layperson on their shoulders or in their hands (can. 1233 § 4). While piety must be shown toward all the dead, only to the corpses of those whom the Church has raised to the honors of the altars is it lawful and obligatory to render worship and liturgical veneration (v. RELICS).

Toward all corpses the Church professes respect, but she excludes from the honors of ecclesiastical burial the corpse of those who are not members of her or who, though members, have rendered themselves unworthy of it (v. ECCLESIASTICAL BURIAL).

To guarantee the respect due to the corpse and to the place where it is laid, the CIC regards their violation committed for theft or for any evil purpose as a crime and punishes it severely (can. 2328).

Elio Gambari

II. ITALIAN CIVIL LAW

Italian legislation, like that of almost all countries, permits both burial and cremation (v.), the latter however only if the deceased has expressed in a will the wish to be cremated, and any suspicion of death due to a crime is excluded (art. 59 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942 no. 1880). Burial, as a rule, must take place in a cemetery (v.), or in private or family chapels not open to the public, situated no less than 200 meters from inhabited centers; however, the Ministry of the Interior may authorize the entombment of bodies in other locations when grounds of special honors exist. Cremation is carried out in crematoria authorized by the prefect; and the cinerary urns containing the remains of complete cremation may be placed in cemeteries, or in chapels or temples belonging to moral entities, or in private columbaria that have a permanent purpose and are guaranteed against any profanation (arts. 337-43 of the Consolidated Text of 27 July 1934, no. 1265).

No corpse may be enclosed in a coffin, nor be subjected to autopsy, embalming, preservative treatments, freezing or preservation in a refrigerator, nor be buried, entombed or cremated, before 24 hours have elapsed from the moment of death, except in cases of decapitation, crushing, and other cases with absolutely certain thanatological signs, ascertained by the medical examiner; in cases of sudden death or if apparent death is suspected, observation must be extended to 48 hours, unless the medical examiner ascertains beforehand certain signs of incipient putrefaction of the corpse; in the case of death due to an infectious-diffusive disease, or if the corpse shows signs of incipient putrefaction, or when other special reasons require it, the mayor, on the proposal of the health office, may reduce the observation period to less than 24 hours (arts. 7-8 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942, no. 1880).

Burial may not take place except with the authorization of the registrar, who may not grant it unless the prescribed observation period has elapsed and following ascertainment of death made by the medical examiner not earlier than 15 hours after death (art. 141 of Royal Decree of 9 July 1939, no. 1238, and arts. 4-6 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942, no. 1880). The corpses of persons who died in hospitals, or of those who, having died elsewhere without medical assistance, are transported to a hospital or an observation depot or a morgue, are, save certain exceptions, subjected to diagnostic examination, which has predominantly scientific purposes (art. 32 of the Consolidated Text of 31 Aug. 1933, no. 1592; art. 85 of Royal Decree of 30 Sept. 1938, no. 1631; arts. 34-36 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942, no. 1880). Furthermore, corpses whose transport is not carried out at the expense of relatives included in the family group up to the sixth degree, or by confraternities or associations that may have assumed an obligation for funeral transports of their members, and corpses resulting from medico-legal examinations (excluding suicides), which are not claimed by relatives included in the said family group, are reserved for teaching and scientific investigations; they therefore, once the prescribed observation period has elapsed, are consigned to the university anatomical halls, to be then, after the investigations and studies have been carried out, reassembled as far as possible and transported to the cemetery for burial (arts. 37-39 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942, no. 1880).

Other rules govern: a) the requirements of coffins and funeral carriages (arts. 15-16, 27-29, 32-33, 53-54 and 56 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942, no. 1880); b) autopsies (art. 16 of Royal Decree of 28 May 1931 no. 602, and arts. 40 and 96 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942, no. 1880); c) embalming and treatments for the temporary preservation of the corpse (art. 41 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942, no. 1880); d) exhumation and removal from the tomb (art. 16 of Royal Decree of 28 May 1931 no. 602 and arts. 61-67 of Royal Decree of 21 Dec. 1942, no. 1880).

The Penal Code, moreover (arts. 410-12), protects the public interest in guaranteeing respect for the sentiment relating to piety toward the dead, imposing severe penalties against anyone who: a) commits acts of vilification upon a corpse or its ashes (imprisonment from 1 to 3 years; and from 3 to 6 years, in the case of disfigurement, mutilation, acts of brutality or obscenity); b) destroys, suppresses or removes a corpse or a part of it, or removes or disperses its ashes (imprisonment from 2 to 7 years); c) conceals (that is, temporarily hides) a corpse or a part of it or its ashes (imprisonment from 15 days to 3 years); d) dissects or otherwise uses a corpse or a part of it, for scientific or didactic purposes, in cases not permitted by law (imprisonment from 15 days to 6 months or a fine from 400 to 40,000 lire).

Pio Cipratti

VI. IN MEDICINE

From the standpoint of hygiene, the removal of the corpse from the social community is carried out in all human groups, under the various forms of burial, incineration, exposure of the corpse.

From the affective point of view, the most obvious arrangement that can be given to the corpse is undoubtedly that of preservation, the simplest form of which was that of entrusting it to the bosom of the earth, almost forgetting that the latter, obeying the laws of nature, inexorably takes back that matter which it had already lent to life.

Not rare, however, are the particular cases in which the earth departs from this law, preserving intact, for a longer or shorter time, the body entrusted to it.

The corpse in such conditions undergoes a process of saponification (adipocere) or spontaneous mummification brought about by natural processes by virtue of particular environmental and climatic conditions. Thus, for example, in the Strait of Magellan, between Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, as in the African deserts, the degree of dryness is such that corpses, even abandoned on the surface of the ground, rapidly mummify, remaining undecomposed for years. At Ferentillo (Spoleto), in the parish of the Precetto, in a cemetery of about 200 years arranged in a building of the 11th and 12th centuries, the dead deposited there, after about a year, appear mummified so as to preserve clearly recognizable features, with a body weight reduced by about six sevenths and therefore very light; this occurs through a natural process of rapid removal of liquids from the corpse (dehydration), by virtue of the particular hygroscopic qualities of the soil rich in calcium and clay and of the strong ventilation. However, apart from such and other cases of spontaneous preservation, since the most ancient times men attempted methods that would better guarantee the preservation of the corpse, particularly for those cases in which the deceased had been a person of high rank.

Examining the various methods of preservation, mummification presents itself as the oldest process, very widespread among the Egyptians, who were its idestors. It is based mainly on the drying of tissues, a drying that constitutes one of the most valid means of preserving organic tissues. The mummification process of the Egyptians, although varying in relation to the expense that could be borne by the relatives of the deceased, consisted essentially in the emptying of the visceral cavities (skull, thorax, abdomen), by mechanical or chemical means (caustic solutions), in the careful washing of these with antiseptics, in their filling with balsamic and resinous substances (myrrh, cassia, bitumen, asphalt), in the careful desiccation obtained by keeping the body for many days (Herodotus speaks of seventy days) entirely immersed in a dehydrating powder composed of sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, sodium chloride. The bodies of the rich and of persons of high rank, after a further washing, were tightly wrapped with strips of cloth glued and varnished with gum and other resins.

The art of embalming flourished in Italy and in particular in Rome from the 16th century onward, reaching its highest perfection. Subsequently the methods attempted became increasingly oriented toward the concept of the complete imbibition of the corpse with balsamic and antiseptic substances incorporated in more or less inert media forcibly introduced into the circulatory system in place of the circulating fluids.

While the methods based on vascular injections aim to preserve in the body a flexibility similar to that of the living, another series aims to achieve the preservation of the corpse by drying it out, hardening it, almost petrifying it.

The most famous among the methods of petrification is the one linked to the name of Girolamo Segato (1792-1836) of Vedana (Belluno).

It seems that Segato, who at his death carried with him the secret of his discovery, had achieved the goal of the perpetual preservation of organic bodies. But in reality today at the Museum of the History of Science in Florence his works can be seen, like the famous mosaic table, worm-eaten and of a leathery appearance.

Not a few others attempted the petrification of cadavers, seeking to replace organic matter with inorganic; thus, the Florentine Andrea Cozzi in 1837, the Pisan D. Mori and the Roman D. Comi in 1839; Dr. Paolo Gorini of Lodi in 1849, whose preparations can still be observed in the Museum of the Hospital of his city. Efisio Marini of Cagliari, who died in Naples in 1900, seemed to have conquered the secret of the petrification of bodies, but the secret was not revealed and is still guarded by his living daughter. Among the most recent, in our century, the names of Antonio Lotteri, C. Gregory, G. Chiarella, A. Maggia, N. Pianotti, O. Nuzzi should be remembered, and finally that of Prof. Francesco Spirito, current director of the obstetric-gynecological clinic and Rector of the University of Siena, whose method of preserving bodies guarantees, beyond complete petrification, also a perfect persistence of form and a satisfactory one of color. A secret method of embalming corpses is the one employed by the Russians Zbarsky and Vorobiev to preserve Lenin's body, a method that however requires periodic inspections, continuous care and repairs of the cadaver (G. P. Arcieri, op. cit.).

Following a different path, Variot succeeded in metallizing cadavers by electroplating, infiltrating them with gold and copper; the process, however, does not penetrate to great depth and therefore cannot prevent decomposition for very long.

Giuseppe de Ninno