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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture The picnic (often a feast as in the [ethnic-group-of-your-choice] wake) in commemoration of the dead was an ancient Roman custom, going back centuries before Christianity. As burials had to take place outside the ritually prescribed city limits, these meals were traditionally taken al fresco. I would guess that this continued to be the norm even after catacombs came into use and that the lamps in the catacombs were left during visits to the actual gravesite occurring in conjunction with the feast. Thus perhaps they were ancestors of the modern (and equally mass-produced) small votive candle. Best, John Dillon On Sat, 9 Nov 2002 09:53:55 -0500 Wendy Reardon <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >I will look in my many death books for you...I'm sure I've come across that subject before. > >From: "Carol Fountain Ciomini" <[log in to unmask]> > >> Not sure about Medieval traditions, but we >> went to the catacombs in Rome and were amazed. >> >> They found thousands of oil lamps there . They believe that families would >> bring a "picnic" and visit their dead in the catacombs. >> ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html