The Dead: Join the Club

Roman death masks

Since the Romans believed the dead lived on as spirits who participated in the living world, influencing the lives of their descendants for good or ill (see last month's post for more on that), funerals in ancient Rome were serious business. Insufficient mourning could doom the deceased to wander the earth without peace, lonely and restless; this might turn them from benevolent lares to malevolent lemures, wreaking havoc on the living, and possibly drawing the ire of the gods on those who had neglected to show the dead the proper respect. Therefore, a decent funeral was a necessity. For wealthier Romans this was no problem; you can read all about the elaborate funerals put on by the well-to-do, sometimes lasting for weeks, featuring everything from a grand lying in state to public parades, games, sacrifices, feasts, and eulogies by famous orators. But what about the ordinary Roman? How did the vast majority of the population – tradesmen, laborers, farmers – provide a suitable farewell for their dearly departed? The answer was thoroughly Roman: they joined a funeral club.

Social clubs, known as collegia (colleges), were quite common in Roman society, so much so that the government kept track of them to make sure they weren't used to foment dissent. Romans formed clubs based on all sorts of associations: trade guilds, religious cults, sports affiliations, various hobbies and pastimes. One of the most common was the funeraticium collegium, the funeral club. Members paid an entrance fee and monthly dues, which were used to pay for each member's eventual funeral expenses. This ensured your funeral would have all the trimmings an ordinary Roman couldn't afford: a good undertaker, a death mask, professional mourners (usually women, paid to wail theatrically and keep up the required level of grief), musicians and singers, a procession to the cemetery outside of town, offerings for your pyre, and a tomb for your ashes. Club members were bound to help plan and attend the funerals of fellow members, and were responsible for providing the cena novientas, the dinner that took place nine days after death to celebrate the life of the deceased. Membership in a funeral club ensured that even the poorest Romans would be ushered into the afterlife in style.

One such club in the Italian town of Lanuvium had the minutes of their first meeting carved in marble as a charter. Dated 133 CE, these by-laws show in great detail how funeral clubs operated:

...it is decided that those who wish to join this club should pay an initiation fee of 100 sesterces and an amphora of good wine. Then each month he should pay five ases. 

...if any member of this club has paid his dues regularly and then dies, 300 sesterces will be allotted from the treasury for his funeral. Of this amount, 50 sesterces will be used to reimburse participants in the funeral procession.

...if any member of this club should die beyond the 20th milestone from this town, three men chosen from this club will go to that place and make arrangements for his funeral. They will then make a report of the expense  without deceit.

...if any member of this club who is a slave should die, and if his body should not be handed over to us because of the unfairness of his master, a funeral will be held for an effigy of him.

...if any member of this club has not paid his dues for six months in a row, and then meets death, arrangements will not be made for his funeral.

Regulations were set down for electing a club president, scheduling meetings and dinners, setting fines for infractions, and investigating fraud. The club president was tasked with making offerings at festivals on behalf of all members, keeping track of the treasury, and hosting the monthly meeting, including providing dinner and oil for bathing.

You might think that a club based on death would only meet when a member had died, but records show that funeral clubs were in fact active social groups. For poor Romans who couldn't afford multiple membership dues, or people who lived in sparsely populated areas, the funeral club might be their only social outlet; it seems morbid to modern sensibilities, but to the Romans being dead was just another version of being alive, and what could be a stronger basis for friendship than helping each other find peace in the afterlife? Such clubs provided community interaction and social welfare, with members looking after each other in good times and bad. Besides the monthly dinner meeting, one can imagine them getting together for holidays and festivals, inviting each other to weddings and births as well as funerals. Roman funeral clubs were more than a group savings account for cremation – they were an example of the Roman integration of death into life, and the importance placed on taking proper care of the dead, even before they've died.

Quotes from the Lanuvium charter are taken from As the Romans Did by Jo-Ann Shelton (1998), pg 97.

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Heather Domin has been an Unusual Historicals contributor since 2011. She is the author of The Soldier of Raetia, set in Augustan Rome, and Allegiance, set in 1920s Dublin. Her newest title, The Heirs of Fortune (sequel to Soldier of Raetia) will be released on November 30.

Social Taboos: English Death Rituals

By Anita Davison

Protestant doctrine in England, Wales and Scotland from the time of Elizabeth I, decreed the living could no longer assist departed souls by prayer and that the dead body is not a worthless thing and even if decayed, it will rise again.

For this reason, bodies should have a Christian burial, and the burial-places must have a fitting appearance and were therefore taken beneath the auspices of the church.

Undertaking as a profession was virtually unknown in Europe before the 17th century. Some European cities demanded funerals simply in the name of religion, while in others it was the name of sanitation, so to have someone in charge of the details of 'proper burials'.

Many funeral customs that have survived the Church's decrees have historical basis in pagan rituals.

--Mourning clothing was worn as a disguise so that returning spirits would fail to recognize mourners and thus confused, overlook them.
--Pagan tribes believed that the spirit of the deceased escaped through the mouth. They would often hold the mouth and nose of a sick person shut, hoping to retain the spirits and delay death. This may often have had the opposite effect.
--Wakes originated from the custom of keeping watch over the deceased in the hope that life would return.
--Feasting after a funeral began as offerings of food being made to appease spirits after a death.
--The ringing of bells and lighting of candles is to protect the living from returning spirits.
--The firing of a rifle volley over the deceased mirrors the tribal practice of throwing spears into the air to ward off spirits hovering over the deceased.
--Originally, holy water was sprinkled on the body to protect it from the demons.
--Floral offerings were originally intended to gain favour with the spirit of the deceased.

In the 17th Century, a passing bell was rung for the dead or dying: Nine rings for a man, six rings for a woman and three rings for a child--followed by one ring for each year of the deceased life.

A 'searcher' was summoned to decide the cause of death. These people weren't qualified in medicine, but employed provided they were 'of suitable moral standing', so many suspicious deaths must have gone unnoticed.

The details of the death, including the cause, such as it could be determined by a cursory inspection, were recorded in the Bills of Mortality published for public record. Post-mortems were considered taboo, that little could be determined from them and to cut up a body was merely to satisfy the morbid interests of physicians, who were often equally suspect.

The house where the deceased lay until the funeral was draped with heavy black mourning cloths. All windows, mirrors, even bowls of water, were concealed to prevent reflective surfaces from attracting the spirit of the dead and keeping him earthbound. Jewellery was hidden away and non shiny fabrics used for mourning clothes.

In 1660, King Charles II passed a law intending to promote the English wool trade that decreed all persons had to be buried in 'shifts, shrouds and winding sheets' made of woollen material, rather than linen, and free from 'flax, hemp, silk, hair, gold or silver or other than what is made of sheep's wool'. This act, strengthened in 1678, remained on the statute books until 1815, although the very wealthy would prefer to pay the £5.00 for default as it was considered ill-bred to 'bury in flannel'. Most people would buy highly-taxed Irish linen instead. The shroud or winding sheet had to be made in one piece of material and to be tied and knotted at the head and feet, but not sewn.

One effect of the act was to encourage the practice of grave clothes and coffin linings being supplied as sets by specialist workshops in Spitalfields.

Most coffins were of black painted oak, the interior covered with a thick layer of bran to soak up bodily fluids and to reduce the smell, especially in the summer. The deceased would lay in an open coffin, in a black draped room lit by candles. There was no specific time for this lying in state, this being determined by how long it took to arrange a funeral and summon the mourners. A family member would take turns to sit in vigil and friends and family would visit, often kissing the deceased, to pay their last respects.

Embalming was sometimes carried out, but this wasn't common practice and mostly among the rich. In the case of Queen Mary II, who died of smallpox on Christmas Eve 1694 at the age of 32, this would have been necessary as she wasn't interred in Westminster Abbey until March 6th 1695.

Funeral cards to inform friends and relatives of the time and place of the funeral were sent out. Made of pasteboard with black edges, they bore illustrations of gravestones, skeletons and other gruesome images. In the 17th Century, this was not intended to be morbid or grotesque, but to remind the living that this is what mankind comes to and that death was a serious business.

Wealthier families had mourning rings made up to distribute among friends and family. These bore the name of the deceased and the date of death engraved on them. Worn for up to a year after the death, these were usually fashioned from black enamel for the men and gold with a black band for the ladies.

On a mourning ring crafted as a memento of the Martyr King, Charles I, the inscription says, 'prepared be to follow me'.

Silk crepe scarves were handed out to the gentlemen to be worn on their hatbands for weeks after the funeral. Depending on the closeness of the deceased, some would tie these to their upper arms after a certain time had passed.

All members of a gentleman's household, including the servants, were expected to wear full mourning for at least three months, bought at the expense of the deceased’s family. Wives could change into purple and white after six months, but some liked to wait for a year.

Funerals

The funeral party tended to walk behind a cart bearing the coffin to the burial site. Even Queen Mary's mourners walked to the Abbey, apparently an uncomfortable journey as there was snow on the ground and Westminster Abbey was unheated.

The ceremony was often carried out at night, supposedly to emphasise the seriousness of death. The carrying of hundreds of torches gave the ritual a more solemn atmosphere. It also became an arena for the display of wealth, the larger the cortege and the more torches they had to line the walk, the richer the family.

Funeral accoutrements were very expensive and usually hired. A pall for the coffin, heavy silver candlesticks, the ornaments on the cart, even the handles on the coffin were rarely bought. Some of the torchbearers were not family at all, but security guards hired to protect these expensive items, there being a roaring trade in stolen palls and candlesticks.

If the family could afford it, the deceased had their own burial plot, even a tomb where other family members lay. In London cemeteries, space was at a premium and multiple burials were not uncommon. When the multiple plot was full, the grave would be covered and a new plot opened.

In Exeter, the area around the cathedral was used as a burial site. However by the 17th century, it was so overcrowded, the level of the graveyard almost reached the windows of the cathedral. The faithful started complaining about the smell during services, so a cemetery was opened outside the city walls and the coffins removed from the cathedral close.

Grave robbers were also a worry, so on occasion, guards would be employed to ensure no one dug up a newly buried coffin to steal the deceased's jewellery and clothes.

The tradition of returning to the deceased's home for refreshment is an old one, although in the 17th Century this was for 'wine and biscuits'. As with modern wakes, these sometimes deteriorated into drunken brawls when mourners imbibed too much of the free spirits on offer.

Plus ca change, plus le meme chose