I was thinking more of the prohibition of cremation by the catholic
church, but I am not quite sure when it was in force. For some time
cremation must have been a pagan ritual only, and therefore referred to in
classical terms - as in 'al cener di Sicheo' in Inf 5.62. In
protestant countries cremation was maybe more of a statement.
However, Foscolo refers to Le ceneri in l.40 of Dei sepolcri after
what seems to be a burial, so perhaps the terms are interchangeable in
Italian? I would be interested to hear what people think!
Judy Rawson.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|