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Just to add to the discussion about heart and viscera burials, and esp. in reply to Dr Felicitas Schmieder's point: > And regarding the point of utilitarian measures: it's possible, but not > necessary: one of the carolingian kings in the 9th century - as far as I > remember - died in Italy and was brought to the north as a whole body - > salted. And would it have been reported so often, would the places of the > heart's burial have been so much remembered as they normally have, if > there hadn't been seen a meaning in it? At least: the necessity has > obviously been covered by something of difference. There were many aspects to these separate burials. Yes, in some cases there was a clear utilitarian reason behind it when a person died far away from his chosen burial site and his body therefore had to be prepared for transport. The heart and viscera were often removed (and buried) separately while the rest of the body could be embalmed or pickled, or even boiled down if only the skeleton was to be transported to the eventual burial site (in which case - not a pleasant thought - even the left-over 'soup' could receive a separate burial). However, under normal circumstances, there was both a prestige and a religious aspect to heart and viscera burial; it was prestigious for the deceased to be commemorated by monuments in different sites. These monuments would also each be a focus for prayer, thus conceivably multiplying the prayers for the deceased. It was also a mark of special favour for religious houses to receive the heart or viscera of a royal patron for burial. All in all, even when there was no utilitarian reason for heart and viscera burials, the custom was clearly so important that it was worth asking the pope for special dispensation as there was an official papal decree against this custom, which continued well beyond the Middle Ages. Medieval heart monuments may be still be found in England while there is extensive documentation on some royal heart burials, eg in the case of Anne of Brittany whose heart burial received a major ceremony. (Of course, this is far removed from the original question regarding the Empire.) Sophie Oosterwijk University of Leicester %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%