medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
This is something of a follow up to an earlier discussion. Regardless of whether hands and feet
were tied, when do bodies of other than religious start to be 'watched' over in churches prior to burial? I´ve just
come across a reference which implies that this did not become usual until the 13th century, at least
in Liege; until that time, the body was kept overnight in the house of the deceased, and all kinds of inappropriate
(in the eyes of the preachers) activity took place - hence the desire to get the bodies into the church where
things could be controlled to a greater degree. Not that this was foolproof; in the example I´m interested in, the body sits up and demons attack the sole watcher . . . .
Any references to customary practice will be appreciated,
Meg
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